Bridal Champagne Shower

Still am in awe of how beautiful my bridal shower was :)

My maid of honors, bridesmaids, and family outdid themselves!!

We had the shower at my fiancè's parents new house right on the water in Annapolis, MD - so beautiful! Their kitchen and top story was perfect for hosting the shower! So many beautiful windows overlooking their backyard and water :)

Started off with beautiful decor and MIMOSA BAR. Yes.

My maid-of-honor Julia made those signs!!
She is seriously so creative and talented :)
Love ya Julez.

We had SO much delicious food. 

Bridal Luncheon Menu: 

+ Cucumber Open-faced Sandwiches
+ Salmon and Cucumber Bites
+ Fruit Skewers
+ Veggie Tray & Hummus
+ Chicken Salad Sandwiches
+ Caprese Skewers
+ Homemade Crab Balls
+ Feta and Strawberry Salad
+ Cheddar Biscuits
+ Deviled Eggs
+ Chick-fil-a nuggets (for the win)

My mouth is watering remembering how delicious everything was.

YUM!

And somehow we managed to save room for the PERFECT desserts!

My second mother (maid-of-honor's mom) is actually studying in culinary school right now! 

How perfect, right. 

She made the wedding dress cupcakes and macaroons! 

I was literally in Pinterest heaven.

Dessert Menu:

+ Vanilla Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling

(yes they tasted as good as they sound)

+ Guava Macaroons
+ Passionfruit Macaroons
+ Blackberry & Lemon Tarts
+ White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Then we went on to games & gifts. 

My favorite game was definitely

"Who Said What"

Julia had emailed questions to Ryan and I to answer before the Shower and then the audience had to guess who said the answer to the question. 

No one got them all right! 

Partially because we had similar answers :)

Our Questions Were: 

Who made the first move?

Who takes longer to get ready? 

Who is better in the kitchen? 

Who will cry on the big day?  

I knew I was in love with you when… 

How many kids would you like? 

What are you looking forward to the most about being married? 

Who said I love you first? 

What is the first thing you noticed about the other person when you first met? 

What is your significant others best quality? 

What could you eat for the rest of your life, if only that one thing?

What is your favorite season?

What is your guilty pleasure?

So fun and so cute :)

I didn't get to see Ryan's answers beforehand!

Her answers: (Rachel)

Who made the first move? Ryan (he will say me lol)
Who takes longer to get ready? Me.. no competition
Who is better in the kitchen? Both! - Me ;)
Who will cry on the big day? Both lol
I knew I was in love with you when… Ryan sent me surprise flowers on Valentine's Day before we started dating:)
How many kids would you like? 3
What are you looking forward to the most about being married? Waking up next to him and making coffee! And date nights/days.
Who said I love you first? Ryan
What is the first thing you noticed about the other person when you first met? "Sydney and Ashlyn, you have an older brother?"
What is your significant others best quality? His pure heart
What could you eat for the rest of your life, if only that one thing? Chocolate Chip Cookies
What is your favorite season? Fall
What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate Chip Cookies

His answers: (Ryan)

Who made the first move? Technically, she did (CSI)
Who takes longer to get ready? She does, but thankfully not by much.
Who is better in the kitchen? Tough one, but I'll give her this one. She makes the most delicious meals that are not only tasty but HEALTHY! My talents are best seen outside of the kitchen on the grill / steaming my freshly scooped Maryland Blue Crab catch. Who will cry on the big day? We both will..
I knew I was in love with you when… I took her fishing on 'Ol Bay, my Grandad's 14 foot John boat and she baited her own hook, caught her fish, and unhooked and kissed it herself! Then laughed and asked when I was going to catch up!
How many kids would you like? 2-3
What are you looking forward to the most about being married? Finally being together after years of long distance. Dates on the boat, beach, parks, hiking, hot tub, picnics etc you get the point!!!
Who said I love you first? I did.
What is the first thing you noticed about the other person when you first met? That she was athletic ;) What is your significant others best quality? Down to Earth and a good heart.
What could you eat for the rest of your life, if only that one thing? Seafood.
What is your favorite season? Summer.
What is your guilty pleasure? Surfing, wakeboarding, boating, cliff jumping, skiing, spear fishing, hot tubing by boat with Rachel

May or may not have teared up reading his out loud at the end :) 

I seriously cannot wait to be married to this man.

My heart is so full - thank you everyone for showering me with so much love :)

XO

Top 5 Things To Do for an NYC Bachelorette!

So it's been about three weeks since my very own 

Bachelorette Party in NYC! 

Seriously where does the time go? 

Well.. I actually do know in this case, 

it went into sleeping and recovering for about a week. 

We went out with a bang. 

And I mean a BANG.

(and not just me, it was everyone) 

Let's leave it at that ;)

I can 1000% commit to putting this weekend in the books, and having the time of my life. 

My girlfriends are the absolute best and know how to have a good time if ya know what I mean - 

Hayyyyyy

But we are bad at brunch. lol

Here are my top 5 things "must dos" for a Bachelorette in NYC! 

1. Bottomless Mimosas for Brunch 

We searched for a reasonably priced place for Brunch on Saturday and I'm so happy we stumbled upon Southern Hospitality BBQ in Hell's Kitchen!!

Seriously soooo good! I got the sausage and cheese omelet with sweet potato fries and it was a perfect portion! 

I love when restaurants have the perfect amount. 

And bless the souls of our waiters and waitresses - 10 obnoxious girls with bottomless mimosas aka(champagne with a splash of OJ) ... we were a little rowdy and may or may not have spilled drinks 7 different times. They kept on bringing us more! 

My girls and I may be bad at brunch in general, but this place is a definitely must to try.

Thanks Southern Hospitality!

2. Walk Around Times Square/ The City

Why not! What a great city to just get out and explore :) We walked everywhere we could for some sights, smells, and calories lol. Walking is even better after a few (a lot) of mimosas ;)

3. DRAG QUEEN Show w/ Dinner

Omg. So fun. This was such a bargain too! We went to Lucky Chengs and for $50 you get a 2 hour show and a 3-course dinner! In New York City!! Seriously worth it - just the right amount of time and size of the room so you will definitely get some attention! Another bride and I there that night both got our very own lap dance.. lucky us LOL. 

Let's just say what happens at Chengs stays at Chengs!

4. Rooftop Bars

Being a big Bachelorette party with HOT MAMAS we had no issues getting into any bars. Everyone loves brides lol. My maid-of-honors took control of the bars we went to - Julia actually lives in NY so she had a friend who was a club promoter! Definitely a hook up and one of my favorite parts of the weekend was seeing the beautiful views of the city skyline at night! So breathtaking. 

5. Pole Dancing Class / Open Bar!!

Yes this is the only picture out of 500+ that will be publicly displayed. 

We went to Zack's Dance Loft and for 2 full hours, you get a dance lesson of your choice (we chose poll), open bar included with a bartender, professional photographer, and the whole studio to yourself!! This was once in a lifetime experience and soooo many laughs and memories... for the most part hahaha.  

All and all, my bachelorette party was nothing less that what it should be, going out with a BANG! We did the damn thing and did it right. Thank you so much to everyone for making this weekend one for the books and making me never want to get married again LOL. 

Much Love 

XO