Bridal S-H-O-W-E-R

This past Saturday my wonderful bridesmaids (pictured with me below) threw me a delightful Scrabble-themed bridal shower in Wheaton. So much fun, and such a fitting theme for me! It was incredible to look out on so many dear women from all different phases of my life - some who have been there for all 29 years (my mom, aunts and cousin), a few who have been friends since elementary and middle school, others from high school and college and since, girls from three different seasons of Harvest small groups, a couple friends' moms who have become friends in their own right, and my new sister. How blessed am I!
What makes a shower a Scrabble shower, you ask? (Well, my Aunt Lori asked, at least, so I will answer here for her and anyone else who might be curious!) To start with, in their invitation each guest was given a letter and asked to incorporate that letter into their gift and also come prepared to share a piece of advice starting with that letter. So, for example, I received napkins for N, Oxo utensils for O, wine glasses for G, ivory sheets for I, a cookbook and cake pans for C, etc. I also received some great pieces of marital advice, including:

• Talk - don't assume he can read your mind. (He can't.)
• Kiss often.
• Cuddling is free.
  
• Pray together.
• Be best friends, but keep your girlfriends.
• Make him do the heavy lifting.
• Keep Jesus at the center of your marriage.
• Choose to focus on the 90% you love about him and not the 10% that drives you crazy.

Decorations included wedding-related words spelled out in construction paper Scrabble "tiles" scattered about the walls (see photo below). We played two games, the first an "unscramble the wedding words and phrases" game, and the second bridal Scattergories. The favors were adorable and delicious (well, the edible one, anyway). Bethany made chocolate-covered Oreo pops and wrote a letter (and number) on each to look like a Scrabble tile. Allison made magnets out of real Scrabble tiles (which you can apparently buy in bulk on eBay - who knew?!) with sets made up of words like FUN, SMILE, JOY, LOVE, and I DO. (These are pictured below, though I know it's hard to tell what they are.) Food included cupcakes that spelled out "Congratulations, Suzanne!" (I ate the last of the leftover cupcakes with my lunch today. Yum!)