ABOUTCLICKS

January 7, 2013

The House Entertaining

My house likes entertaining.  As in, it likes keeping its rooms full of people and festivities. 
So, it was very agreeable to invite in Samantha's excited family for her bridal shower. What fun!


Samantha and her Josh will be married this May 17th - very special because that's my anniversary :>)
They met at Dordt College in Iowa (they will graduate May 10th), were engaged in California (Josh's home state), and will be married in Illinois with the reception in Indiana (her residence).   They still are waiting on where to begin their married life, depending where their jobs and the Lord leads them.Oh, to be young and adventurous again!







Her friendly family is obviously quite happy for Samantha; they showered her with happiness, congratulations, and gifts to set up her new home. I had a bit of time to sneak around with the camera to capture some of the fun they had planned.












Wedding Colors

Purple and Gray










Menu

Ham Corn Chowder Soup
Broccoli Cauliflower Cheese Soup
Olive Garden Style Salad
Teibel's Warm Rolls

Purple Punch
Hot Cocoa Bar
Coffee

Candy Bar
Finger Desserts




Personal touches....









Set out fixings for hot cocoa...
(The hot cocoa was kept warm and ready to pour from a coffee carafe server.)





I didn't get a photo of the punch/coffee/hot cocoa table all put together.
I can tell you it looked terrific, though!
I do have a quick snap shot of the coffee pot and some ribbons hanging near the punch table, that was just to be for my reference.
I'll let you see that, because this rather ordinary photo makes me smile for several reasons...



Smile 1
My coffee pot was happily conscripted into use for the shower.  It belonged to my Aunt Judie, who went to be with the Lord years back; she had died young from breast cancer.  She, like my house, loved to entertain.
Smile 2
The pot is raised up to get taller coffee cups underneath.  Isn't it the perfect "book" for the bridal shower?  It was a gift from my son Steve this Christmas. Actually, it is an opening wooden box - but concealed as a faux book - with 1 Corinthians 13 written on the lid.  Perfect!
Smile 3
The ribbons conceal a last minute attempt to remove a couple adhesive smudges on the wall... that got worse as I tried to clean it off.  Thank you, Lindsey and Kristen for your  brainstorming solutions!
Smile 4
The candle holder to the side is from Leah's wedding.
Smile 5
The little purple flowers and ribbons are from Jessica's wedding.
Smile 6
Who knew an obscure snapshot can produce so many smiles for one person?






Assemble bite-sized sweets for scrumptious desserts.








Top-Notch valet service ~





...to get the guests' cars up and down the hill.






OK, I know you're not supposed to use similar photos in a blog post,
but I am anyway.  The next close up is so nice, though it doesn't show much of the hill problem.








Time to light the candles...






Welcome in the guests...





Gifts are placed around the tree....






Pray to bless Samantha and Josh... and the food,
and let the celebration begin!











Toss in some Bridal Shower fun with the Left-Right game...













And then shower their gifts on Samantha...
(a happy bride-to-be, by the way ~ she must be excited for her marriage to Josh :>)






A Honeymoon Care Package from her sisters... so cute and thoughtful!
It includes beach towels, sunscreen, beach snack food, crossword and word search books for waiting at airports, Tylenol for any headaches, and these awesome shirts!




A little extra fellowship and final feasting to end the celebration...




It was a pleasure to watch the smiles and hear the laughter of Samantha's family sharing in her joy.

Samantha, God has blessed and surrounded you with caring, loving, and fun-filled people.  
This blessing will continue as they watch, pray, and walk alongside you and Josh throughout your married life.  
That is a rare and beautiful treasure to have.



8 comments:

  1. k, what a beautiful post! You should print it and do something special with it as a gift for Samantha. It would be a gift to treasure throughout their married life....and your house looks great too! Congratulations on your hosting your first bridal shower. I think their will be several more before you're done. Are you going to start catering also? ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love the idea, thanks! Actually, my house entertained another bridal shower w/o me while I was on vacation a few years back :>) I was a bit envious of the house's fun while I was away!

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  2. Replies
    1. Love all the ideas they had, and how it all came together. Great idea for a winter luncheon menu - soup and salad, and the hot cocoa bar. Warm and cozy.

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  3. Karen, thank you again for hosting and making the shower even more special with your pictures! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was a lot of fun. I hope the rest of your wedding details go as well as your shower did :>)

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  4. Oh my...where do I begin?! This. Is. SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

    Love your Christmas decorations...pretty colors on your tree & mantel!
    Purple & Gray wedding colors...one of my favorite combinations :0)
    Favorite picture ~ decoration table with the photo of the happy couple & bokeh of the tree in the background. So lovely!
    Coffeepot photo...what a sweet story behind the vignette! I loved reading all of the history in each item...and it adds such a special touch to a celebration of Life like this!
    (Cute shirts from the gift-opening pics....what a neat idea, lol!)

    I do believe you have a perfectly lovely place for hosting showers!
    Thanks for sharing these pics....so much fun to peek in & see everything!

    ReplyDelete
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