My Illinois Bridal Shower

Two weeks ago I had my shower back home in Illinois with all of my family and friends.  This was actually a big source of stress for awhile, but it turned out just fine!  My aunts and grandma drove in from Wisconsin for the day, and another aunt left her brand new grandson and drove in from Indiana.  Most of our close family friends were able to make it, and all 5 of my bridesmaids were there!

My bridesmaid Arin, and her mom made all of the food and it was absolutely delicious.  Because of an invitation mixup, we ended up changing the shower to my parents' house, so unfortunately they had to bring over all of the food and decorations.

 How cute are the margarita glasses for candy??  She found them at Walmart...and let me keep them afterwards! Can't wait to fill them up this summer =]

I didn't get a picture of all the yummy food after it was put out, but I did remember to take a picture of all the presents before I opened them.

We played a couple of games before opening the presents.  One was a how well do you know the bride type game.  Everyone had to answer questions about what my favorite color, band, etc was.  I didn't even know some of the answers! haha I'm not really one to pick favorites.  The other was famous couples in history.  You had to complete the couple after Arin said the first name.  She ended up giving out prizes in a really cute way.  She had little bundles of flowers in a vase, and the winner had to pick one.  There was a tag tied around the stem with a number on it that went with a prize.  It was a neat way to do it.

Then we moved on to presents =]

Here's the obligatory present opening picture...but only one:

A garden hose and home for it...Mr. T loves it =]

Our friends and family really spoiled Mr. T and I.  Here are some of my favorites for the day.

Don't mind the cheesy smile...I was excited! I got all 16 place settings of the china I picked out from my mom and her mom.  There was actually a mixup and they shipped the wrong pattern, so that is currently getting sorted out.  Mr. T totally doesn't get the concept of china, but I'm excited to use it in a few years when we're all settled in and having family holiday dinners.

See that wooden sign? It has our last name on the top =]  My boss ordered it for me through work.  It's from a company called Meissenburg Designs.  You can see some more options here. And I love the planter...I can't wait to get it into our backyard.  We got one of our silverware sets...it's service for 4.  Inside the blue box is a gorgeous crystal bowl.  A woman I've known for almost my whole life got it for me, and inside the card she said she got one as a young bride and thinks of the woman who got it for her every time she uses it and that she hopes the same would happen for me.  I told her most of my childhood memories are tied to her so there's no way I could forget about her.

I got my cake serving set and toasting flutes to use at the reception.  They're called "With Love" by Vera Wang Wedgwood.  I found the little charms at Hobby Lobby on sale for $2.50  They say Bride and Groom.

I got all of the stuff for my bathroom.  I just painted it, so I can't wait to put all of this in.  I actually got two sets, so I returned one and bought a matching toilet paper holder, shelving system for above the toilet, and two hooks to hang towels on.  Can't wait to see it all come together!

We also got a meat thermometer, foldaway griddle, cookie sheets, pyrex pans, electric can opener, serving platters, a second sleeping bag, lots of cheap kitchen stuff to take camping, a folding step stool, a beverage dispenser, and some other awesome things.
And the last thing, that I didn't actually get to open, and I don't have a picture of:
A KITCHENAID MIXER!
I'm so excited =]  My aunt came straight from her daughter's house from visiting her new grandson, so she didn't have a chance to get it from her house.  But it's from her, her daughters, and my great-aunt.  She's going to bring it to the wedding.  I can't wait to see it.  I actually don't even know what color it is.  I'm registered for the stainless steel one, so we'll see.

I've got just a couple more pictures to share with you from the day. 

 I threw together some vases of flowers to decorate the house with.

My beautiful cake.

Arin and I with the ribbon bouquet she made for me.  I only broke one ribbon while opening presents.

The lineup of gifts I gave to all the bridesmaids.  The totes are the ones I made for them.  I wrote up a post awhile ago.  I was actually cutting and sewing all of those handles the morning of the shower.  Just a little stressful!

And here's my favorite picture of the day.  All five of my girls modeling the cute towel wraps I made for them to wear the morning of the wedding.  Can we all just take a second and see how cute we are?! I love my girls.

That's about it! Sorry this post was such a long time coming.  It's been half finished in my drafts for awhile now.