Sunday, January 25, 2015

Aloha!

Aloha, friends and family!

Paul and I have booked our hotel stay for the first few days of our trip.
We've heard great things about Outrigger, and decided to do some research.

After some price, location, and amenity comparing we decided to lock it in. 
Maui Eldorado Outrigger is by far the best value near where we're getting married. 
I know Paul and I both highly recommend seeing if this is an option for those looking to save a few bucks.

It is only a short .3 of a mile from where we'll be married. There is a shopping mall practically across the street. They have a pool with a bbq for some fun in the sun. Most of the rooms also have a fully operational kitchen, so eating in is an option.

If you're interested in staying there, please let us know.
 We have a coupon code that we used for great savings!

Check out their website: Maui Eldorado Outrigger

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Bridal Tea Party!

This past month Mr. F and I spent three weeks back home in Minnesota.
We had a lot on the agenda, but the first was my bridal shower.

I've now been living in Australia for right under three years. But I don't have a tight knit group of girlfriends like I do at home. So that meant if I wanted a bridal shower it was going to have to be in Minnesota. Besides, I obviously needed my Mom and Sister's there, and that really meant it had to be back at home.

My phenomenal sister and Maid of Honor, Molly hosted my bridal shower tea party. Between her and my Mom everything was covered. I think it's always been a dream of mine to have a tea party with all the girls in my life. My bridal shower seemed like the perfect excuse to be ridiculously girly. Luckily, Molly was fully on board and happy to make my dream come true.

Molly and I decided close to a year ago that we would have my shower while Paul & I were home. This left lots of time for planning. This was also our last trip home before the big day. The wedding is still ten months out. But this was my only chance to have a shower with all my nearest and dearest. I wasn't going to miss that opportunity. Molly started scouring pinterest for ideas. She took to local thrift shops for most of the tea cups, and other fancy tableware. One of my oldest friends, Nicole made me a fabulous tutu to wear. Because I'm a control freak (and I wanted to help) I found vintage invitations on Etsy and had them delivered to Molly's house to send out. Word of warning: vintage invitations while adorable and unique are about half the size of typical mail these days. A bunch of the invites were mailed back to Molly, because they were too small to mail.

The shower was set to commence one day after our flight. This meant if I wanted to help at all we had one day to do so. Thank goodness Molly and my Mom did 99.9% of the work. I was exhausted from jet lag, and too excited to be home to be of any real help! I was honestly stunned by how well she knows me, and what I would like. We haven't lived in the same house since I was 12. But my sister knows me like the back of her hand. I feel beyond grateful and lucky to have such an amazing woman to call my sister!

We crammed about 30 women and children into the upstairs of my Dad's house.
He removed every piece of furniture to make room for all the oestrogen.

 There were over 30 tea cups and saucers, tule a plenty, balloons, and probably ten antique tablecloths. My Mom made close to 100 mini quiches! Molly put together three fun games. My brothers girlfriend, Hanna brought vintage hats and gloves for photos, and my friend Justine chipped in picking up the cake. Paul and Dad were on valet duty in the driveway. So everyone was first greeted by their smiling faces. I'm blown away by the amount of love and support I have around me. It's a beautiful thing.

Without further delay, here are some photos from the best bridal shower I've ever been to.

Dad and Paul came upstairs to check everything out before the girls arrived.














All these photos below (with the exception of a few) came courtesy of my amazing friend and talented photographer, Julie. Thanks again, Julie. You're my favorite.
























This makes me smile every time!























You can view more of Julie's incredible work here.

The aftermath.

Next blog will lightly go over the bachelorette party ;)