Photo Diary: Boys + Girls

There is no greater honor than being asked to stand by your friends side on their special day. Till you realize you just said goodbye to all your free time, discretionary income, and sanity until they walk down the aisle. 

Dear family and friends, fear not, I plan on eloping.

I digress.

Enter, D.I.Y.

Obviously as maids we all wanted to create the most memorable, well planned, and just-their-personality Coed shower for A + C. Without losing any friendships, ending marriages, or creating mountains of debt. 

Thank God for whomever invented Pinterest, Google, and Martha Stewart.

(via Instagram)

Ever the booze hound wine connoisseur I drank wine to get bottles saved our wine bottles from recycling and once I had enough, got down to "bizness". I "M.O.H.'d" my rear off people.

Step 1: Pour yourself a glass of wine. 

Step 2: Pour Goo Gone over the entire wine label and let sit. Pour yourself a refill while you wait.

Step 3: Peel wine labels off, thank baby Jesus for the forethought to not get a mani, and repeat steps 2 and 3 until the labels completely gone. 

Step 4: Wash and dry wine bottles

Step 5: In a well ventilated area spray bottle with Chalkboard Paint. (tip: I used the round paper portion of a hanger from the dry cleaner to insert in the bottle, turn upside down, and spray.). Let dry.

Step 6: Pour a celebratory glass of wine, and decorate your bottle - you crafty thing you.

(via Instagram)

To save dolla dolla bills I thought a nice compromise to all fresh blooms as part of the decor were these Paper Flowers. Elegant without being cheesy, and super duper easy peasy (and inexpensive - pre-made were $5 each, Tissue paper is $1 for a bazillion sheets, you do the math) to create. 

Tips: 

You can use any size tissue paper. 

I used fishing wire instead of craft, and it worked great (use what you have!)

The morning of, I fueled up with my favorite cup filled with (lots of) iced java, turned on some tunes, and got to work. 

To show how ready I was, I sent this pic to my sis who replied, "be sure you leave enough time to shower and do something with your hair". Sweet gal.

Thankfully the chariot arrived in the form of my smother and youngest sis to help me turn the house into something out of a magazine, and not a scene from a horror flick taped in a dilapidated old house.

We succeeded, just in time! (And yes, I had time to shower, Jennifer)

Light smell good candles and dim artificial light

In true host fashion, I took exactly three pictures of all our hard work, with my iPhone hours after the party started. #hostfail. But, luckily I'm OCD and had the bride send her guests an app I found for that purpose so guests could share the photos they took with the couple so they could make an album, and the bridal party could focus on hosting, not following people around and staging photo ops. Bonus, the app is FREE.

One game was played to allow for maximum hang-out-drink-mingle about Coed shower.

Turn the couple back-to-back, each holding a item of theirs and the other person.  Then a maid asked them a series of questions and they had to answer who was most likely. It was hilarious! (sorry, one of the maids was in charge of this, so no link!)

Played Pandora through our TV (on low) for mood music

Bought a bouquet of wedding color blooms and spread throughout the house 

Banner made from a template I found online, burlap twine, and wrapping paper.

Nibbles:

Savory - crudite, charcuterie, fruit, bread + pita, olives, hummus. 

Sweet - cupcakes (with toppers) and home made Chocolate Chip cookies (in a cookie jar - grooms favorite!)

Drink - Blue Moon (grooms fav) in a giant bucket of ice, Moscato (brides fave), Tea, Water in a pretty dispenser, Tea in a beautiful ceramic carafe dispenser, and a Mimosa Bar, complete with fruit garnish, mini name tags for glasses (steal in the Target $1 aisle!), and plenty of bubbly on ice at the ready.

Bride-to-be, Groom-to-be, and her soon to be in-laws

This was the first shower I've hosted in my (new-to-me) home (and the first Coed shower I've ever thrown/been to), so I wanted to make it super special without being to "themed", and make every guest feel welcome. If you've met me/stayed over you know I go into full "hostess" mode and go to great lengths to create a enjoyable time for all complete with home made dishes, personal touches, and wine love. 

Borrowed serving pieces from family/friends (giant shout out to my Aunt Cathy for all the gorgeous serving dishes and dispensers!), and utilized what we already had (M may have a coronary if I buy one more kitchen item) to enhance the party without going (too) overboard. Scoured my local party stores, dollar stores, and SAM's for decor, supplies, food, and booze.

 Tip: shop early and keep your eyes open for deals. The bride LOVES Moscato and on a trip to Sam's I found an end cap and cleared it. Ordered booze the Champagne and Beer from my families bar to help defray costs. I had plates, utensils, and cups from my apartment warming a few years ago so we used those and only had to buy napkins and extra cups. And because I'm type A, made a separate table for dishes since they didn't match and did not throw off the table decor. Yep, I'm a loon.

Everyone seemed to have a nice time, the hounds behaved outside peacefully, and my moon boot didn't stop me from making sure everyone's glass was filled, joke was heard, and goodbye said.  Gosh I love hosting.

The aftermath

Thoughtfully the groom and a groomsman brought the dogs crates back into the house for me, and the entire wedding party helped tidy up so the next morning all I had to do was wash the dishes, spot clean, return borrowed items, take out the trash, and spend quality time with the hounds and my DVR till M got off work.

----------------------------

Do you enjoy entertaining?  Nothing brings me greater joy, after wine + compression socks

Ever been Maid of Honor? This is my second time