Serena's shower in St. Louis was perfect and beautiful. Her fiance's cousin—who just happens to be an event planner—put it together, and she did the most marvelous job. My favorite part of all, though, was getting the chance to meet Serena's friends and new family.
Friday evening I slept over with Serena—and of course our conversation included all our usual sleepover topics like Anna Karenina, Kristin Lavransdatter, and everything else we've been reading lately. Saturday morning began with a late breakfast at her fiance's family's house; her wonderful fiance Anthony and his sweet dad cooked an impressive feast.
^^I couldn't get enough of the apple-topped fence posts at Anthony's parents' house—a perfect touch since his mom is a teacher.
Serena is collecting teacups to use for the wedding reception (I can't give any more details than that as I don't want to give anything away for my friends who are going to the wedding!). She told me how Anthony's extended family has been so helpful, finding teacups from all over and bringing them home for her.
^^All the teacups were spread out on Anthony's mom's dining room table. They have over 100 already!
We sat around and talked for a while after breakfast. Anthony's dad is studying for the diaconate, and he had such great insights to share. I also enjoyed a good conversation with Serena's Maid of Honor, the lovely Rachel, who is absolutely a kindred spirit—but more about her later. :)
Finally we piled in Rachel's car to drive to Anthony's aunt's house for the shower. I walked in and pretty much began taking notes for Lillian's bridal shower, which I'm planning for next month. Everything looked beautiful!
A huge highlight of the trip was getting to meet Rachel. You know those moments when you meet your friend's friends and realize you have a ton in common and were pretty much meant to be friends? It was one of those moments. Rachel teaches high school English, and her insights about various books (and just life in general) were fantastic. I could have listened to her talk about literature forever. (And lucky for me, she has a blog where she writes about all things literary—I fully intend to stalk on a regular basis!) I think this is one of the best parts about getting to be in Serena's wedding—the chance to connect and bond with her friends from high school and college. I love it!
And last but not least, Anthony's aunt has a fantastic teapot collection. I admired it all through the bridal shower, and finally decided I just had to take a picture for you guys:
My favorite is the one on the bottom left—if you look closely, you'll see that the lid is a little tea table.
And now, it's Friday. Frank and I have big plans for this weekend—just kidding, our plans mostly involve sleeping in and probably visiting a new parish for Mass on Sunday. We've heard so much about St. John Cantius that we decided this week we have to go. Does anyone else go to Mass there? Any tips? Last but not least, I'm hoping to try my hand at making homemade bread this weekend using a recipe book that sweet Sukie sent me for a wedding gift. Wish me luck!
I'm pretty sure you'll love St. John Cantius. :) I'm curious to find out what parish you settle on!
ReplyDeleteLook at all those teacups!!!! I love them!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE all the teacups! I can't wait to hear how they use them. My one piece of advice for St. John Cantius is that there's almost a different 'parish community' for each Mass-they are all unique and beautiful. Parking around that neighborhood can be a little bit of an adventure :) I think the thing I love most is that they offer confession before and DURING all Masses on Sunday-how awesome is that? They've been working on restoring the church during this whole past year, so it's in really good shape relative to years past (the ceiling is an example). There is this great little family-owned cafe just down the street from the church-it's great for a convenient, sizable, delicious, and reasonably priced brunch. Have fun!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.windycity-cafe.com/
Teehee, I recognize two of those teacups from cousin's bridal showers. Everything is so lovely! <3
ReplyDeleteBoth trips to Chicago my family went to mass in the Extraordinary Form at Saint John Cantius. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The church is just gorgeous! I agree with the JoAnna on parking-come somewhat early because you may have to walk.
ReplyDeleteThat teacup collection is pretty amazing! I have a collection, but it only has five members right now. : )
Sarah
We were parishioners at St. John Cantius :) Loved it! We always had fun counting how many kids each family had haha. That aside, Mass is so incredibly reverent, and I loved that Confession is offered the whole Mass. The priest are such wonderful, thoughtful confessors. It gets really hot in there though so maybe wear a lighter dress? Always a good opportunity to offer it up haha.
ReplyDeleteWindy City Cafe is delicious, but my favorite place in all of Chicago is Delux Bar and Grill which is super close. It is nothing fancy, but it served all of my pregnancy craving needs. They have the BEST fries in all of the land. And wonderful Mac and cheese! They serve brunch, also.
Ahhhh I wish I were going to both places, St. John Cantius and Delux!
Yay, you met Rachel! Isn't she lovely?? (I am a little biased, we roomed together in college. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, you are a lucky duck, because she's wonderful! It makes so much sense that you two would be friends. :)
DeleteBridal showers are so fun! And now I'm definitely intrigued by the tea cups - don't forget to take photos at the wedding of how she uses them!
ReplyDeletexox
giedre
www.walkingdotphotography.com
The teapot you are pointing out, is so cute!
ReplyDelete