Going to the chapel....

and you're gonna get married...

My sister, Alison, and her fiance, Brad, are going to be married on April 7th.  Very exciting time for all of us and how much fun, a wedding!!  Tim, Addy, and I are all in the wedding so we are definitely in the thick of things.  My role: matron of honor.  While it is truly an honor to be next to my sister when she takes this next big step in her life, it also comes with some responsibilities.  Lucky for me, some of them were taken care in just one day last weekend.

First up: Alison's Wedding Shower

My mom graciously let us use her house (again!) for the shower.  Maybe someday I will live in a house big enough to hold such events, but for now my mom's house is perfect.  Huge room, lots of light, and she has all sorts of party supplies just waiting to be used (such as bags of pens for games, containers for the silverware, punch bowls, etc).

The shower was a success, thanks to Megan who did the food, Shelly who did the drinks, and Mandy who did the games.

 

A wedding shower is no fun if you have a boring group of women.  No problem here!  We had a great group of women (with a couple of young men). Alison (& I) are so lucky to be surrounded with such great people.

 Mandy & Caitlin

 

Judy, Shelly, Anna (w/Ryan), and Julie

 

Aunt Sandy, Kathy, & Sarah

 

Lisa & Mom

 

Lindsay & Aunt Carol

 

Aunt Pam, Cyndy, & Renee

 Devon, Sue, DC (w/Jameson) & Megan

Alison & her bridesmaids

  Erica, Alison, & Kristen

Overall, I think everyone had a great time.  Yay, success!! 

Next event: Alison's Bachelorette Party
Alison did not want anything "crazy" for her bachelorette, so we decided wine tasting in Temecula would have all of the necessary elements (girls, drinking, food) of a bachelorette without the "crazy". We went to three wineries and had dinner afterwards.

Renee had a great idea to take pictures using a mirror.  I just don't think I executed it correctly.

 Red wine & dark chocolate...the best!

Cousins!  We have the best cousins.

 A picture with our favorite bartender (?), Casey @ Keyways

 

 Sisters!

 Whole group photo

 Beautiful end to wine tasting...on to dinner!

 Jordyn even came down from LA (where she was working) to surprise Alison

Again, another success!!  The wine was good, the food was good, and the company even better!  

Now on to the big day when we are all back together!  Congratulations Alison!  Love you!!