The Bachelorette Festivities: Relaxation, excitement, and slight panic sets in

After a day at the aquarium followed by a night on the town, the bridesmaids and I decided that the next day would be one of relaxation. Well, sort of! We slept in a little later than usual, then quickly dressed and ran out the door to get to the nail salon.

We picked up some sustenance in the form of Panera sandwiches and coffee, and proceeded to the nail salon for manicures and pedicures. It was definitely nice to sit in a comfy massage chair for an hour or so...with the hustle and bustle of pre-wedding excitement, it can sometimes be difficult to take a moment to relax and take everything in. However, I highly recommend taking some time to yourself before your wedding day if at all possible!

After the nail salon, the bridesmaids and I headed over to my parents' house. Some of my relatives had arrived the previous afternoon, and I was eager to say "hello!" Do you remember how I mentioned that I had committed my relatives to slave labor on my behalf? Well, my mom, both my grandmothers, my aunt, AND my grandfather had been hard at work on our favors into the wee hours of the night. They must love me...

They look happy enough, right?

The idea for our favor came up randomly one night. I was at dinner with my parents, and we were discussing some wedding details. My mom and I were commiserating about the situation. The original idea was to bag up some yummy key lime cookies from a local bakery. However, something about it was just not exciting us. Then, out of nowhere, my dad came up with a brilliant idea! If you recall, Justin and I met because of our pups. When I was a kid, my mom used to make a delicious snack called "puppy chow" all the time - a combo of Crispix cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar. Why not bag up some "puppy chow" for our guests as a nod to the furry friends that brought us together? The decision was made on the spot. So, a few days before the wedding, my family members were wrangled into melting peanut butter and chocolate, shaking bags filled with powdered sugar, and portioning each treat into white coffee bags that I had affixed monogrammed stickers to.

Things were incredibly busy at our household when we arrived; bags had to be packed, supplies had to be delivered, and we still had an important appointment to go to that afternoon! Do you remember how I said my florist would give me a flower preview? It was time for mine! When we walked into my appointment, I was bracing myself...even though I knew that Debbie had a firm grasp on my vision, I was very anxious to see if it was realized!

Oh boy, was I ever excited! As soon as my eyes landed on our flowers, a huge grin spread across my face. They were perfect. No, more than perfect, if that is even possible! Ok, so I am going to go ahead and spoil my pro pics by showing you my flowers now...but I just can't help myself! Can you see why I was about ready to jump for joy?

Fun fact: I don't know that we ever discussed the size of my bouquet in our meetings. My bridal bouquet was LARGE and IN CHARGE! Seriously: look at it next to me!

However, it was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The peonies and cabbage roses looked stunning together, especially with the seeded eucalyptus.

Debbie even added sprigs of rosemary, as it is a calming herb (and what bride doesn't need a little bit of calm on her wedding day?). The bridesmaids' bouquets turned out beautifully as well; they were created with cabbage roses, creamy stock, lisianthus, white cymbidium orchids, and seeded eucalyptus.

Gorgeous. I pretty much did not want to leave my flowers at that point; I was infatuated. But alas, there were things to do and people to see, so BM L, A, and I headed back to Clearwater. Bye bye my lovelies...

On the way back to the beach house, I took BM L and A through some back roads near the water. It was a lovely scenic drive. I also wanted to point out to them where our rehearsal dinner was going to take place the following evening. When we drove through downtown Clearwater, I saw the restaurant up ahead. As we passed by, I made a comment that something looked strange...but I couldn't put my finger on it.

Little did I know what was to come...

The wedding expo...

I can't help but love it when I have an extremely productive day. That can certainly be said about my adventures yesterday!

I had the rare opportunity to be off of work on Sunday, because I really needed to take the opportunity to do some wedding-related things. It just so happened that there was a wedding expo at the St. Pete Times Forum in downtown Tampa on Sunday, so mom and I got up in the morning and headed over!

Hmm, looks deserted???

We arrived a few minutes before they opened the doors to the event...as we walked up to the building, the two of us were wondering if anyone was actually showing up to this shindig; it looked pretty deserted out there! I shrugged and said "well, at least we'll get through the entire event at a decent time!" The clock struck noon, and we were allowed to enter...

Now, this was my first official wedding expo that I attended, and there are some tips that I would highly suggest you implement in order to streamline your visit!

1 - Bring address labels!!! Honestly, this is a complete and utter lifesaver! You are going to want to sign up for every single giveaway at every single booth, and your hand will pretty much fall off from filling out your address, phone, email, etc on each form unless you have these with you. I brought along a sheet of return address labels from home, and it cut down the time it took me to fill things out significantly! I almost didn't do this...but thanks to my Aunt, who kindly suggested this method, I was saved!!! Thank you Aunt S!

2 - Be methodical!!! Yes, it is exciting and a bit haphazard when you enter the event...you smell food from caterers, hear music and see lights from DJ's...there is a ton of stimulation going on...FOCUS! Being a perfectionist, I figured out a plan of attack before we began; starting from the back row of booths, and snaking our way up and down the aisles to make sure that we did not miss anything. I didn't even refer to the guide that they gave at the door (although if you are only looking for specific vendors, I'd suggest targeting only those!). I was eager to take in the entire event, however.

3 - Sign up to win...everything!!! Ok, so I know its already a given that you'd enter to win whatever each and every booth is giving out...but seriously, it could work out well for you in the end! Many of the vendors have some great prizes...and who knows, you could be a winner! As for me...I got the most delightful call this morning from Mostly Roses, one of the florists at the event; I won $500 worth of flowers for my wedding! My trip paid off!!!!

Signing up to win a lovely prize!

It took mom and I about an hour and a half to work our way through all of the vendors, which I thought wasn't too terrible! I was able to skip over the informational speech portions of many tables, as I already have my venue, dress, food, and photographer taken care of! And, I must add, I couldn't help but feel a bit puffed up after perusing the other photographer's displays...there was nothing with as much life as Chad's photos...hooray! No buyer's remorse for me (Not that I was expecting any of course; I just love the satisfaction that was involved)!

Attempting to push my way through the crowd; it certainly wasn't deserted inside the event!!!

From the expo, mom and I headed over to the new IKEA, and I managed to find myself a schnazzy new desk to use in my new apartment in Virginia...now I need to find the proper desk accessories to organize all of my things (is it sad that this thrills me this much???)! I also picked up a new pillow that I'm loving...its a memory foam pillow; you insert it into a cover (you can pick between a microfiber one and a real goose down cover; I picked the microfiber because its 1/2 the price, and I get allergies sometimes with real feathers)...it is glorious!!!!

Ahhh, a sigh of relief after a busy and productive day! We arrived back home and put our feet up for the rest of the evening, and I sorted through the plethora of material that was collected at the event:

A sea of informational brochures!

Note: my trusty sheet of address labels in the bottom right corner!

Ah, a job well done!