August 22, 2013
I was so incredibly honored when my cousin-friend, Tiffany (long story short… we’re not really related, but we grew up together because our parents are friends) asked me to be one of her maid of honors. Rarely do I get to experience this side of weddings. I’m the wedding photographer. Not the bride, not the bridesmaid, not the guest… more often than not, I’m the one working my butt off behind the scenes to capture every special moment. So when I found out Tiff wanted me to be such a big part of not only her wedding day but all the things that go into the planning beforehand – I was totally game 🙂
And then reality set in. Not only had I never been to a bridal shower that I was old enough to remember, but never had I planned one. Panic. I knew nothing about bridal showers… but was lucky enough to have the bridesmaids give me tips and my friends give me ideas on what to do – and of course, I hit up the Pinterest boards 🙂
I wanted to throw Tiff a meaningful, personal, and of course – beautiful bridal shower. She’s been there for me through everything (minus the 4 years we were both in high school… a 3 year age difference is big back then! Thank goodness for gchat that reunited us). But ever since college, we’ve been super close and I couldn’t imagine giving Tiff a bridal shower that I didn’t put my heart and soul into. So, after weeks of gathering ideas and materials, I took the Thursday and Friday before the shower to put everything together – and this is what I came up with. I’m not saying it was the best shower ever, but I’m pretty darn proud of myself for it being the first one I’ve ever done 🙂 It was filled with cute details, thoughtful gifts from family and friends, two super fun games put together by a few of the bridesmaids, and Tiff’s sister and fiance even Facetime’d in from Arizona. All in all, the day was a success and I’m glad that I was able to give that to Tiff. HUGE thanks to everyone that helped!!
Lastly, something that I will take with me from this shower is a message that my aunt wrote to Tiff in her card. It is excerpts from the poem, The Art of Marriage by Wilferd Arlan Peterson… and I definitely cried when she read it aloud during the gift opening:
“A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things. It is never being too old to hold hands… it is remembering to say I love you at least once each day… it is never going to sleep angry… it is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives… it is standing together facing the world… it is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family… it is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways… it is having the capacity to forgive and forget… it is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow… it is finding room for the things of the spirit… it is a common search for the good and beautiful… it is not only marrying the right partner, it is BEING the right partner.”
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