Showers of Happiness

With a lot of the "big" wedding planning out of the way, our bride's attention turns to her bridal shower.

By Sara Cardace

Readers, I'm starting to understand why people freak out so much over these things. (Weddings, that is.)

I was really starting to think that I was making good progress. We have the venue booked, we're waiting on proposals from several different caterers, our first tasting is this Friday, and I've e-mailed everyone I know for their thoughts on officiants. The next step will be to figure out the invitations, I think. We have both our moms working on lists of who they'd like to invite, and John (a burgeoning graphic designer) is brainstorming ideas. 

I'm feeling pretty good about all that, but I have to admit that I do feel a bit like I am just keeping it together. Not to mention that all of this is hurting the bottom line a bit--I'm a freelance writer and haven't taken on any big projects in a month because every spare second is going into wedding planning! But I can always make money once I'm married. (I hope?)

Anyway, my helpful sister Chris called from upstate New York to gently inquire about my plans for the shower. Right...the shower. I'd totally forgotten, obviously. My response to her: I have no idea where I want to have it, who I'd like to invite, or what I want to do. Totally helpful, I'm sure. What I do know is that the thought of sitting around in a circle with a bunch of my friends and relatives opening lingerie gives me hives.

Chris suggested a wine-themed shower, where we'd have an afternoon soiree at a wine bar in Brooklyn and everyone would bring a bottle they like as a present. That sounded absolutely perfect--although a tiny part of me is still wedded to the idea of a traditional shower with dainty little tea sandwiches and cakes. The problem is that even my richest friends in New York have apartments that would fit a maximum of about 12. So I guess it has to happen at some sort of restaurant...but my initial research into the matter has already started giving me flashbacks to those early days when I was desperately searching for a venue that wasn't too expensive, too restrictive, too out-of-the-way...you get the drift.

Enter...my friends! I mentioned that I'd been stressing over this a bit and it turns out that some of my girlfriends already had a bunch of ideas for my shower and bachelorette party in the works! Best. Friends. Ever. The group-hunt is officially on for the perfect little Brooklyn spot where we can reserve a private space to have a mellow afternoon brunch. I still like the idea of the wine theme, so we're going to try to incorporate that as well.

So I'm glad the shower is somewhat off my plate, leaving me free to concentrate on the 8,596,059,860 other things that I'm already feeling I should have started already. Phew...I guess?