This past weekend the moms (with outside help from MOH Amy) threw us a joint wedding shower. It was put together a little last-minute (yes, procrastination runs in the family) and even with best intentions and high hopes we didn’t get the turnout we had expected. A lot of our invited guests had weddings to attend, hours to be worked, or were tied up in other plans. Either way, it didn’t matter—we made the best of it and had fun!
FMIL Locket worked her butt off to gather all of the goodies for the event and did an amazing job! On the day of we all worked together to get things set up and before we knew it we had a table full of enough food to feed an army.
Bro Locket getting ready for the grill:
Lovely, watermelon fruit-bowl:
The gift table…
After all was set up and decorated, we waited…and waited for our guests to arrive.
(No, I am not angry in this picture…I just make that weird squinty face when it’s bright out)
Eventually, we welcomed a handful of our guests and made a few calls to check-in with others who had RSVPed, but weren’t there. Apparently, a few guests had last-minute things come up (getting called to work or unexpected family visits) while others were running behind or waiting at the wrong location. In the end we had about half of our expected guests turn up (some much later than others); but it didn’t matter—the food was ready to be eaten and we and our guests were ready to eat.
After our tummies were filled to contentment there was cake, gift opening, and a late arrival…
Cutting the cake…
Opening gifts…
And, our late arrival…
Our friend Crystal and her little girl arrived late to the party, but were still able to enjoy food, cake, and company. All in all, despite our tiny turn-out the party was great and we all had fun chatting, eating, drinking, and even playing Frisbee. I am really grateful that the moms worked together to throw us a shower and that even with it being last-minute there were guests that could make it.
There are some things that I might recommend (judging by the moms’ experiences) when it comes to planning a shower…
- Plan ahead—like, 6 months ahead if you can. Booking a location (if you don’t have one) can be tricky when done last-minute.
- Evites can be dangerous. Some people don’t check their email often enough or may skip over the invite thinking it is spam. We had this issue with a few people who never even knew they were invited. If you have time, plan a paper invite and have guests confirm via phone or verbally.
- Host the shower in a location that is both convenient to guests and guests of honor.
- If you want to have games or other activities, plan ahead and make sure it’s something the bride (or groom) is OK with.
- Don’t stress, even if things don’t go perfectly, all are bound to have a decent time (and if they don’t…pssshh!)
And, with these tips I conclude my post! Do you have any tips for throwing a shower? How did your shower turn out?
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