Bacheleorette Party Fun

I really love weddings.

In fact, up until I got this job, I was still reading wedding blogs, even though my wedding was long gone.

I enjoyed planning mine for the first few months, but then it got old, which I feel is the common sentiment. I became overwhelmed by the possibilities and a bit sad at times that I couldn't afford to do all the cool things I saw in the blogs and magazines. But then I realized that at the end of the day, all that mattered was that I was married to my best friend. And while sometimes I do think back about what I might would have done differently, I know it does not matter. I had a wedding, it was nice, we had good pictures, and I had the support of my closest family and friends. And if that wasn't enough, I also got to go through more of the wedding fun with my friend Jennifer who got married a month after me as I served as one of her bridesmaids.



(Oh yeah, we definitely got the same necklaces for our bridesmaids, though not on purpose. Amusing.)

Now I get to stand by one of my other bridesmaids, Elissa. Even before she and Graham started dating, I knew they were the perfect match, and it has been exciting to watch their relationship unfold. Garrett and I have been excited from the beginning of their planning about the fact that we both get to be a big part of their special day. And with weddings come all the fun gatherings in showers and other get-togethers. And this past weekend was Elissa's bacheleorette party, at the one week mark for their wedding.

There was not a lot of planning for Jennifer's party, but the other bridesmaids and I really got into planning for Elissa's party, exchanging probably over 100 emails, and I'm honestly not exaggerating. I might be a little over on the number, but not much. We planned for matching t-shirts and fun activities that would reflect what Elissa liked. And even though our original plan to go to a Predators game after dinner fell through, all the planning paid off because it was an amazing good time.

The fun started when those from Murfreesboro met up and informed Elissa that before we left, we all needed to change... into the aforementioned matching t-shirts. How very handy that one of the bridesmaids works at a t-shirt design place! The t-shirt truly came from ideas that each of us had and it was obvious Elissa really liked it. Then we jumped in the car to head off... and proceeded to blindfold her.



Mandy had come up with rhyming clues for Elissa to guess where we were going. Once she guessed correctly, the blindfold came off. And boy was she excited to learn that we would be eating at The Cheesecake Factory!



Our matching shirts said "Elissapalooza," which really seemed to amuse our waiter, so as you can see, he requested a special message for her cheesecake!

Before we gorged ourselves with yummy food and extra yummy cheesecake, we gave Elissa a series of gifts corresponding to a poem I found online about the various pairs of panties a bride needs throughout her life. We thought this was a good route because everyone needs underwear and this seemed something she would appreciate more than your typical lingerie and whatnot, and she really did seem to enjoy it.



As I mentioned before, our waiter really seemed to enjoy our group, so before we left we were sure to grab a picture with him.



Since the game plans fell through, we decided on putt-putt for our next adventure, an activity which Elissa greatly enjoys. It was a bit chillier than our dinner in the sun, but still a good time!



After that we called it a night! It was honestly the best time I've had in a while. I can hardly believe the wedding is less than a week away! I'll be sad that all the activities are over, but perhaps that would just be motivation to plan more fun events! Besides, it'll be nice to have my weekends back and Graham and Elissa will be married. :)