Bridal Showers and Counting Down

It is officially 59 days until the wedding and today, February 18th, is just 2 months away from the big day...April 18th. It's crazy to think that it is almost here! We are very ready to get married and can't wait to celebrate with everyone we care about. RSVPs are slowly trickling in online and it's fun and exciting to see all of the people that will be there!

I had the chance to celebrate this past Sunday with many friends and family at my second bridal shower! It was so fun to get lots of ladies together and to have the chance to catch up with friends I don't see all the time. My bridesmaids, Suz and Jenn, did a great job planning - thank you so much! My wonderful Aunt Gail hosted the event and her home was a beautiful place to have it.

Here are a few photos:

The personalized cookie favors that each guest got to take home...


Me wearing my "bride" tank top!

A group photo of all of the Veermans who were in attendance.

We seemed to have a color theme going... :)

Last month, I flew home to CT to attend my first bridal shower that my mom and sister threw for me (with the help of two of my other bridesmaids, Kristen and Cori). It was another great time of celebration and it was so fun to see friends who I hadn't seen in a long time (in some cases, years!) Here are a few photos from that shower:

My mom reading a heartfelt letter to me (she, Crista and I were all crying!)...

Playing a game where I had to chew a stick of gum for every question

I got incorrect about Nate (and trust me - they were obscure questions!).

The spread of delicious appetizers!


Posing with my matron of honor (Crista), my two bridesmaids (Kristen and Cori)

and one of my flower girls, Kylie!

Assembling wedding invitations the day before...

Moments of Realization

Tonight we had just finished watching one of our new favorite TV shows. I am not sure how we got on this topic but we started talking about morning routines: what time we get up, how long we take to shower, and all those sorts of things. And then we began to compare notes and talk about how our morning routines might mesh and it hit me, this overwhelming thought of "wow, we will be married in less than three months." These individual moments of joy make this time even more exciting.

two and a half months

Well we are coming close to our wedding. It is an exciting a challenging time. With this I want to make a few observations about marriage from this side.

1. Marriage is as much about a change in life situation as it is about a change in that relationship specifically.

2. It is not a question of if marriage is hard...it is when.

3. Planning a wedding is so much more work than I could have ever accomplished.

4. The closer we get to the big day, the more I realize how different we are from each other.

5. This is the most exciting adventure of my life.