Party time

I've talked about some of the plans for NY Bride's pre-wedding parties before. She lives in NY and most of her friends live here in LA. Unfortunately, most of the LA peeps will not be going to the actual wedding this upcoming June. With that in mind we wanted to really go all out for her bridal shower and bachelorette party. Plus, our dear friend has been having some bumps along the way with her wedding planning, as well as family trouble, so we wanted to make this as special as possible.

This was a really great plan when we thought all the bridesmaids would be able to pitch in to make it happen. As you can guess, this is not what happened. Let's just say that the MOH and I did a lot of work for these parties. A lot. We had an idea that it might happen that way so we were prepared for it, but it still would have been nice for everyone to pitch in. The bride to be was happy the whole day through so it was worth it in the end.

I've already shown you the invitations here. The shower was held at Chado Tea Room in Pasadena. I am a huge fan of this place and their staff. We got great service for the lowest price of all the tea houses we visited or called. They raised their prices since we booked back in December, but they are still a really great option for a function.

Table set-up in pink and green (the bride's favorite colors) and a too dark pick of the menu card I made. I removed the red flowers from the tables before the guests arrived. They took up too much space and didn't go with the colors. Yes, I'm crazy like that.

Bride to be and MOH

Presents

Game winners. First game we called In The Bag and you scavenger hunt what's in your purse. She had all but one item. The second game we called Does She Know? and in this game we ask her questions about her groom. The guests have to guess whether or not she'd get the answers right. We had two winners for that game.

After the bridal shower was our next destination...the strip tease dance class. A hand full of the girls attending the bachelorette party signed up to take this class with NY Bride. We set up this part of the day because we knew that NY Bride has been dying to take the class since she's caught wind of it a couple years ago. She even joked that we should do amateur night and make some extra cash for her bachelorette party. This was right up her stripper alley. ;)

We got her a white outfit to wear during the class while the rest of us donned pink shirts designed by Mrs. Shorty Cake (thanks again!). They were in these bags waiting as everyone arrived to MOH's house. As you can see we carried the colors of pink and green through to the bachelorette party but in brighter shades.

We started off with a warm up session and then moved on to pole tricks and a lap dance routine. It was so much fun! More fun than I expected it to be. It was a great work out too...I was sore for a couple days after. If you're considering doing something like this, I give it a huge thumbs up. It was something different and fun and we had a blast without feeling slutty or embarrassed. Too bad our group pic didn't come out nice. That had the potential to a good one.

Once the class was over we headed to MOH's house to prepare for the final part of the day/night. We were having dinner together and then heading out to a local club for some drinking and dancing. We had a great time and NY Bride was happy the whole night through.

The favors--pink and green wine charm sets made by MOH, another bridesmaid, and yours truly. Also the pink and green martini glasses--apple and watermelon martinis were served complete with colored/flavored sugar.

Cake from Leda's Bake Shop. White chocolate cake, strawberry cream filling, and chocolate butter cream frosting. So damned good.

Group shot after dinner.

The centerpiece turned into a giant martini.

The limo is here! Heading out in a Hummer stretch.

In front of the club in Long Beach and inside having fun. I have a lot more pictures, but I'll spare you all of them.

This was a long post wasn't it? Well, it was a long day so I guess it's fitting. ;) I hope the wedding is as much fun as this day was. I'm sure it will be but I'll have a lot less work to do.