how do you spell greece

Where did I leave off? Ahh, dessert.

Before we could actually move onto dessert, we had to have an inevitable bridal shower game. It’s not just any game. We made this one up ourselves so we like to think it is original and more entertaining than the typical games turning up at showers.

Let’s call it “honeymoon girl”. The object of the game is for a guest to answer a correct trivia question. Then they get to put an article of honeymoon attire on the bride for the guests’ sheer entertainment.

By the end of our game “honeymoon girl” had everything on that she needed for the beach and we all had a good laugh! She was a good sport. This game is easily transferable as long as you come up with trivia questions that apply to the couple or their destination. Our questions were related to cities named Athens. Turns out there are tons of Athens beyond just Greece.

Now for dessert – baklava, oh how I wish I had more of that. Chocolate cake, almond cookies, brownies. I am sure I missing something. Check the menu. Did I mention that the brownie was iced in the Greek flag? How cute. Mmm, more baklava please.

We wrapped up the shower with gifts. As you know by now this wasn’t a typical bridal shower so there was no need for buying cutlery and sheets from Macy’s. We asked that the guests bring gifts that were “out of the box, off the registry” so we could send the bride to Greece in style.

We asked and they answered! She got fabulous floppy hats, beach bags, flowing dresses, summer scarves and more practical things like an umbrella, a passport purse, travel guide books, luggage, custom luggage tags, sunscreen, travel games and tons of flip flops. These are all ideal gifts to give at a honeymoon shower. The bride could get on the plane tomorrow to Greece and be set with those presents.

She also received several fun "before and after" gifts like a Greek cookbook and photo albums.

One guest had a creative way of presenting her honeymoon gifts. She lettered 6 blue gift bags with the letters G-R-E-E-C-E. Each bag had a different present that corresponded to the letter on the bag. For example, G – “Get ready for your trip”. The DVD of My Big Fat Greek Wedding was one of the items inside! There are so many ways you can spin these lettered bags to work for you for almost any occasion. It was such a clever idea! I want to try it.

Overall, this shower was as un-bridal shower as a shower can be and that was pleasing! A little bit of creativity and a great theme can really spice things up.

Stay tuned for some details about planning.

-The perennial bridesmaid

defining a honeymoon shower

I’m still recovering from my fantastic weekend that was jam packed with wedding festivities. As promised, I am sharing details. I have been trying to organize them in my brain to present them in a comprehensive manner.
Let’s start with the bridal shower… I am going to break it into a mini-series, if you will.

The bride’s mom and I opted to plan a honeymoon shower. I had heard of this concept but never executed it before. Commonly a honeymoon shower is thrown to prepare the couple for their vacation. The idea is to shower them with travel related gifts rather than items from their registry.

We took it a step further. You could actually say about 3 steps further…

The newlyweds will be vacationing in Greece later this summer. Therefore, we themed the entire shower around Greece. This was not only a surprise for the bride but also a surprise for the guests. They knew they were invited to a honeymoon shower for the bride but didn’t know it would be Greek themed for them as well.

When guests arrived they were presented with apps to munch on like olives, hummus & pita. Once the guest of honor came, we broke into Greek dance. This was led by a very talented little boy appropriately named Alexander. He is a Greek dancer who came prepared in the traditional outfit. Alexander taught us the traditional moves.  Opa!

Think that’s better than bridal bingo? We do.

After we caught our breath from dancing, we toasted to the bride with ouzo. An anise flavored aperitif that I’m sure the bride and groom will sample more of on their honeymoon.

Finally it was time for the delicious main course, which consisted of spanikopita, tzatziki, dolmades, olives, hummus, and many many good things that I do not know how to say, let alone spell. The mother of the bride is such a fabulous cook and baker. She made it all herself from scratch! And no, she is not Greek. Check out her menu below.

Hungry for more? Stay tuned for dessert.

-The perennial bridesmaid

cocktails, cardstock & crinoline

I’ve made it halfway through 2010 ‘the year of the weddings’. I only have minor aches and slight sleep depravation. This feeling is probably evident because it is Monday morning after an insanely busy 48 wedding hours.

It started with an invitation assembly line. 10 crafty ladies with a goal of 140 wedding invitations. Stacks and stacks of cardstock surrounded us. How exciting to know that it would all be transformed into something beautiful.

I woke up early the next day and put on my best 1950s ensemble. With Kinicki on my arm we headed out to rock around the clock at the rockabilly themed wedding. Into the pastures of rural Pennsylvania we went. Soon we were surrounded by more polka dots, muscle cars, greasers, 45s & red crinoline than this century has ever seen. The morning turned into afternoon and the bride and groom turned into husband and wife.

Before we knew it afternoon was evening and it was time for our next stop. June brides share the stage with grads. I soon found myself even further into the country and looking slightly out of place when I brought rockabilly to graduation. The bonfire was burning bright but I was burning out. As tents began to line the landscape, it was time for me to call it quits on Saturday.

Sunday morning came early with another enticing theme on the horizon. The 50s were behind me and a Greek honeymoon shower was ahead. We stacked pita and scooped hummus, sampled baklava and tzatziki, toasted with ouzo but most of all truly surprised a bride to be. She opened gifts for her honeymoon to where else but Greece!

Sunday evening finally arrived. I came home to my weekend’s mail. One package with an invitation for yet another wedding!

My eyelids grew heavy but why was it so hard to sleep? Visions of Greek men in polka dots & red crinoline skirts danced through my head while holding purple cardstock and shouting opa!

Have I lost my mind?

I’m glad to see a well needed vacation in my future. A little down time from the wedding scene might do me some good. But don’t worry because I have enough content from these past 48 hours alone to keep my loyal readers satisfied. Stay tuned for details.

-The perennial bridesmaid

the plunge

When getting married, it's known as "taking the plunge" because you're plunging into marriage with another person. 

One guy close to me took this idiom quite literally... 

After his wedding, him and his new wife honeymooned in Jamaica.  After approaching a 50 foot cliff over the White River, he decided to take the plunge and did a cannonball!  Well that wasn't adventurous enough, so he thought he was up for a massive belly flop from 50 feet above.  I know what you're thinking...

SMACK!  That's the sound his belly made when it slapped the water.  That wasn't the only impact that the belly flop made.  His brand new wedding band flew right in the river never to be seen again. 

Less than one week he had that ring.

Needless to say, his wife wanted to "ring" his neck.

Moral of the story:
Guys, lock your jewels in the safe when necessary (such as 50 foot belly flops). 
Don't do any extreme sports or work with them on.
Consider getting them insured. 
Do anything to avoid such an early loss!

-The perennial bridesmaid