Rachel’s Big Night

Rachel & Harry’s wedding weekend was so jam-packed with events; if I am ever going to post about them, I need to write in little installments.  Otherwise, I feel way too overwhelmed to even beGIN to tackle everything.  :)

We couldn’t have a bachelorette party for Rachel without first sending invitations!

With her input, I chose these:

I love them–I found them on finestationery.com (LOVE that site), but then went straight to the designer’s website & actually got them for less!  (They were having a sale.)  :) 

Because I had to communicate so much extra information, I made an additional card to go with the lovely invitation.  I guess I committed a crime by copying the picture, but I wanted my card to match!!…

Yes, I made up the cheesy poem at the bottom…but Rachel loved it!  :)  So girly and fun.  Also, did you catch the r.s.v.p. email address?  Uh huh, I really did create an email address SOLELY for her party.  So much fun!!  :)  I absolutely LOVE to design/print any type of invitation or stationery…too bad I didn’t major in graphic design!!  (I never know what I’m doing–I consider it “playing around.”)

Along those lines, I really didn’t know WHAT to do for favors…and since I wanted us hostesses to be able to give something unique and special –say, in lieu of the traditional doodle* gift? :) –I decided to make stationery for all the girls.  We had to be semi-strict on the r.s.v.p.’s since we were working with a fancy-schmancy restaurant and staying in a suite at The Peabody (didn’t want someone to end up without a BED to sleep on, for example!), so I knew the names of all the girls who were coming.  Here’s a photo of the party favors, lined up on a table in the hotel suite:

The o-c in me almost made a set for myself–I hated there weren’t an even 20!!  :)

[*this is the term I learned in Australia for a certain male part…ah hem…] 

The reality of my baby sister getting married REALLY set in when I was making her set…I couldn’t put Rachel SPENCER on her cards; she wouldn’t be able to use them anymore!

As stated above in the catchy poem, :) we all met first at the restaurant.  This would be the time and the location that ALL FIVE SISTERS would be together for the first time in over twenty years…I was so excited for that (in addition to being excited for Rachel’s party) & a little nervous, too!  Sadly, we didn’t even get a photo of us five together that night…I think we were all just so focused on Rachel and the huge event that was about to happen in her life!  :)

so,…SO (I’m sure all you Little Rock persons know this, but that is the name of the restaurant) was REALLY wonderful.  I had a good feeling going into it, because my contact guy had been so great with all the planning.  I got to/had to (once again, with the Princess Bride’s input!)  :) choose a “set menu,” and there were some delicious choices!! 

Let me know if you can’t read the menu & want to know details!!  :)  I had the chicken pasta…oh.my.goodness.

INSERT: oops…I just realized ALL FIVE photos I’ve posted so far are nothing but stationery…BOH-RING!!  Lemme change that for ya!  :)

Rachel had such an interesting mix of close friends at her party–they literally came from all over the country!  (And, including Kellie, all over the WORLD!!)  :)

Here’s Sarah, enjoying her “chocolate sack” that she so graciously shared with all of us:

I’m not sure, but that arm in the bottom left might be going in for the kill!!  I wish I had a picture of the dessert before Sarah dug in–it seriously was amazing.  Literally an edible chocolate “sack,” filled with all things delicious.  yum yum.

I absolutely love this photo of Rachel; I think it captures how genuinely happy she was:

She was such a little cutie in her tiara and “bride” t-shirt.  :)

After we rooollled out of there, we were off…to The Peabody!  I had never been there before–it’s stunningly gorgeous!

The two-story suite was amazing.  It really looked like something straight out of a movie or something.  Sarah & some of the other girls had gone earlier and decorated the room a little….

Ha ha…too cute.  Things started getting a LITTLE crazy when Rachel started trying on all her gifts–over her clothes, of course.  :)  One of the girls had even given a gift for Harry–a pair of black mesh (see-through?!?!) undies…yep, Rachie put those on, too.  :)

After things died down a bit following the “Name Your Lingerie” game (hi-lar-i-ous…can’t go into the details here on that one), we had cake.  As you might remember, I was kind of up a creek with the cake responsibility.  I thought Sarah had taken care of it, but the DAY BEFORE the party–when talking with her about everything–she said she didn’t care about a cake.  I said, Sarah, it’s a SHOWER as well as a party…we’ve got to have SOMEthing!!  And she said (in a very stressed-out state), “Fine!  Then go make some cookie bars or something.  If you don’t then fine, we won’t have anything!”  It kind of reminded me of the Grandma in Napoleon Dynamite saying, “Go make yourself some dang quesa-dill-ahs.”  Too funny.  (But not at the time–I got pretty stressed pretty quickly trying to think up a shower dessert/cake for 20 people less than 24 hours before I needed it.)  Once again, ubercheesy, but I went with a “photo cake.”  The local grocer’s bakery saved the day!!  Although I think the roses were a bit much, I was really happy with the way it turned out–and Rachel liked it, which is all that mattered, really!

I think she had a wonderful time and felt very honored and special–rightfully so!

Spa Day/Rehearsal & Dinner/Wedding Day to come!!  :)