Don't Be Late for the Bridal Shower

      We have always wanted the best for our children and my daughter has found what is best for her, she married her soul mate on May 13th.

We are so happy for them and wanted to celebrate, so I had a Bridal Shower for her. My husband, sis and friends helped me organize it.  It was an Alice in Wonderland tea party.

     I prepared and sent out the invite. It is so easy with email. I was able to create an event on Facebook, which everyone used to RVSP. My daughter had been living with her fiancé for a while and his weekend hobby is working at Personal Edge and my daughter had worked at Stokes, so you can imagine the items and kitchen gadgets they have accumulated.  That being said, everyone was asking what to get as a gift so I suggested on the invite to bring something for a honeymoon. 

     Lucky for us, there is a community room in our building, which we can rent. We did just that. The day of the shower my Hunny went and bought a bouquet of flowers for our little girl and some balloons.

     We had decorated with the Alice theme. We had teacups for everyone and lots of goodies, which had, eat me and drink me on them.  The food and tea were a hit but the favorite was the Long Island Iced Tea.

We had fun preparing the games 

and the keepsakes.  We played, how well the Bride knows her groom, Bridal Family Feud and other games. Everyone had fun! 

 

     I invited 25 of her closet friends and friends of the family to help celebrate this happy occassion.I was probably as nervous as the Birde because I knew my speech and balance were so affected.  Only a couple of my daughter's friends knew of my condition and I am always concerned that people will think I am drinking, especially when there is alcohol at the event.

 Inside I was very shaky not wanting to stumble or stutter. More pictures can be seen of this special occasion. Jess' Bridal Shower  My daughter got some beautiful gifts for her shower. I was so happy for her that everyone made it and helped make the shower so memorable. 

     I wanted to give our daughter a toast and had practiced quite a few times at home. During these rehearsals I would practice in front of the mirror and try to speak loudly and clearly. A big problem with MSA is voice projection. My brain thinks I am shouting when in actuality I am speaking very low.  My throat even feels strained when talking. Also because the tongue is a muscle it gets tired and therefore looses strength in volume and audibility. 

    It came time for my toast and my biggest fear became a reality. I could feel the tears coming and I tried to laugh it off. Which is another symptom of the MSA, uncontrollable laughing or crying. Thankfully I have the laughing but on this day it was a little of both, so there I was trying to make a toast to my daughter while laughing and crying. I thought I could be strong enough to hold it in but could I not. I think you can't help it and the mind starts to wander. I got it together and toasted my Fille and her future husband and I was so happy to be able to celebrate with them. 

     We have gathered today to help celebrate Jessica and Allen's  wedding, I want you to know how wonderful and proud  it is for me to see my little girl all grown up.

Watching you get ready for one of the biggest days of your life is so special and I will never forget it.  I am so glad you found Allen, the man of your dreams and I can't wait to see you to join him in marriage.

To my beautiful daughter, Jessica!