Bridal Bash & Big Bucks

Today was our dear friend Gina's bridal shower and we had a fabulous time! It was hosted by Gina's mom Grace, Sara, Kels and I and we had so much fun putting it all together. With a little teamwork, we were able to pull off a shower for 21 people (some of the gals in Nick's family, Gina's family and some of Gina's close friends) without any mishaps, running out of food, any spills, etc.

Originally I was planning to have the shower in my condo but after 21 people RSVP'd, I thought it might be a tight squeeze. In the lobby at NoMa, there is a conference room and library that are connected and any resident can reserve these rooms, which is what I ended up doing to help allow everyone enough space to mingle and get comfortable. This setting worked out perfectly. We placed the food and drinks in the conference room and then folks relaxed and mingled in the library.

It was great to finally meet some of Gina's family and soon-to-be family that I hadn't yet met. It was also a blast to see all the fun gifts that everyone brought - Gina and Nick are well-stocked with goodies now! For my gift to her, I made her a newlywed cookbook on Blurb.com using lots of recipes that Corey and I use and recipes from my mom, Kels and Natalie. I also compiled a memory book of memories / words of advice and photos from the shower attendees, which made Gina cry by page 2. Props to all the attendees for their help in creating this book for Gina!

All in all, it was a great day and we were thrilled to host a celebration in honor of our bride-to-be!

Below are a few photos from the shower and rest can be found here.

Sara helping to set up all the goodies.


Girlfriends! Sara, myself, Kels, Gina and Richelle scoping out the mountain of gifts.


Gina and her mom, Grace.


Kels added some extra raspberries to her bellini (this is an orange drink, mind you, however with all the extra raspberries, you'd never know).


An emotional bride-to-be with her memory book.

After the shower, Corey and I met up with the Gossetts and Reeders at Cactus in Kirkland for a yummy dinner before hitting up Snoqualmie Casino.

In just 10 minutes at the first slot machine (a penny machine nonetheless), I won $48! This win me feel a little better about my luck after not having such good luck on our recent Vegas trip.

We had a great time catching up - it had been awhile since we'd all gotten together.

Lisa, Natalie and me with our high roller cards.


Big winner!