Hey That’s A Nice Life

As I mentioned yesterday, my friends threw a fabulous shower for me on Saturday, March 28.  I did not, however, mention that my office also held a shower the day before.   So it was a whole weekend of celebrations and gifts … and that means a pile of thank you notes to write.

The weekend started at 3 p.m. on Friday when my co-worker Tori and my boss Susan threw a shower at the office.  A co-ed shower, actually … so Don was able to attend.  We had a great time.  There was lots of champagne and really delicious desserts.  And, of course, presents.  Susan also made a very sweet toast.  The shower theme was “Sunrise to Sunset” and it was a time of day shower (where everyone picked a time and brought something that Don and I could use at that hour of the day).  Very fun!

The next morning, my friend Kelly came to whisk me off for a mani/pedi while Jaimie, Lynda, Katy and Dawn stayed at my house to set up for the next bridal shower.  We had about 22 women there!  The house looked great.  Jaimie’s theme was Margaritaville and they went all out with a big margarita maker, a themed cake, key lime punch - even tattoos for all the girls.  That may have been everyone’s favorite part.

Here’s a picture of me with Jaimie and Lynda:

Before we opened presents, we played “How well does Susan know the groom.”  I did pretty well, only getting one answer totally wrong and offering “It’s either THIS or THIS” for a couple of answers.  Sadly, no one else was very good at picking Don’s answers.  There were 15 questions and the winner (my cousin Amy) got 5 of them correct.

After the game we opened presents (during which the guests played Wedding Gift Bingo) and then we cut into the beautiful cake.

It was a really great weekend.  Even though I was very self conscious about opening the gifts while everyone watched, I was comfortable and relaxed all weekend.  

Here’s a picture of me and Dawn after the festivities had ended:

So, now I’m working on those thank you notes.  And, you won’t be surprised to read, I made the cards myself about a month ago.  Here’s a shot:

I bought the card stock and matching envelopes at Michael’s.  The image is a photograph Don took when we shot the Save the Date cards.  We printed two images per 4 x6 photograph and cut them in half.  Then I used photo tape to adhere them to the cards.  I hope to get them all written and mailed by the end of the weekend.

I’m not sure how it happened.  For a long time, I thought there was every possibility that we were not going to register for gifts.  And then one day I went online and started a Macy’s registry to complete the four colors of Fiesta ware that we currently own (cobalt, sunshine, plum and tangerine).  And then Don agreed that Bed, Bath and Beyond would be a good place to register.  When I saw the amazing plates that are fancier than our Fiesta ware (but not too formal and stuffy) at Pottery Barn, I wanted to register there, too.

This is the Emma pattern from Pottery Barn.

And then it was basically done.  Last week, Don and I headed to each of the stores to make our final selections.  There were a few things I wasn’t happy with at the end of the day.  The silverware we selected at Macy’s turned out to be $60 a place setting (we saw the sale price at the store) and we immediately ruled that out.  I didn’t love the barware or stemware we found.  BUT, it was basically done.

We popped into Crate and Barrel to see what they had on the after-Christmas sale and I found the stemware and the glasses and the silverware I want.  It was an agonizing moment.

We couldn’t possibly go from zero to four registries.  No way.

But Don, who is never one to play by the rules and occasionally manages to surprise even me, said, “Why not?”.  In the age of online shopping, directing people to one more Web site is not really that big of a deal, he argued.  Even if people go into the store to make their purchase, they’re likely to investigate online first anyway, right? 

So, there you have it.  We created four gift registries.  I’m relieved it’s done and I’m very happy with our selections, but I still feel a little sick about it so we also decided to list a few charities we care a lot about on our Web site registry page.

Our registries:

Bed, Bath and Beyond
Crate and Barrel
Macy’s
Pottery Barn (this one will not take you directly to our registry for some reason)

Or make a donation to a charity of your choice, or to one of the three charities listed below that mean something special to us:

• Habitat for Humanity
• Gilchrist Hospice Care (Formerly Hospice of Baltimore)
• A charity to support marriage equality

  (We did not send up charitable registries with these organizations, so be sure to let us know if you make a donation so that we can make sure you get thanks where thanks is deserved!)

Over at a Practical Wedding, the wise and wonderful Meg just hit the nail on the head as she so often does. Meg and her boy have been struggling with the wedding registry and this week she figured it why it matters. She said so perfectly herself that I can only quote her.

And then I got it. The registry has nothing to do with the wedding. Our great-aunts and grandmothers are on to something when they insist that you register so they know what pots you want. The registry is not about the wedding, the registry is about the marriage. For us, we hope that means a long life with a passel of kids, a ton of family gatherings, and lots of cooking. So for us, that’s what a registry is about - letting our friends and loved ones build that home for us. The registry is like a barn raising.

Don and I have been struggling with the whole registry thing, too. I’ve attended dozens of weddings so I understand why you need them. I get that even if you make a real effort to try to encourage people not to give you gifts or make donations, people WANT to give you an item to have in your new life as husband and wife and that it’s a lot easier for the couple AND the gift giver if you provide suggestions. Quite honestly, I prefer to buy a gift than to make a donation when it comes to weddings (I’m all about supporting charities - I just like the idea of helping people I love create a home they will love).

Don has struggled with it even more than me … and I had to start our registries on my own while trying to coax him in.

For awhile I was making the joke that our wedding Web site would have to say:

But then one day a few weeks ago, I met him at a store. When I walked in he said, “Does this place have a wedding registry?” I told him it did and he said, “OK. We can register here.” So we did. He liked that the store in question had a lot of low priced items (they have a lot of high priced items, too - but a huge variety) and that they have a coupon every week.

We haven’t finished our registries yet, but we’re getting there and hope to be done before Christmas. And, as Meg said, we’re registering for things we’ll have and cherish as we grow old together - like the rest of our Fiesta Ware collection (which I already love and on which I want to serve Don dinner for the rest of our lives) and for a fancier place setting, too (which I will love and on which I want to serve holiday meals and other fancy dinners until I am too old to stand at the stove). We’re registering for some silly things that might not stand the test of time, too - but things that we will enjoy for right now anyway (like silpats for baking).

If our guests would prefer to make a donation to their favorite charities, I’ll be delighted. But I am going to be just as pleased to get a spoon that I will use to stir the creamer in my coffee and Don’s coffee when I am 34 and when I am 94.

Thanks, Meg, for helping me see the light.