After a rather slow morning thanks to a late night on the boat on Friday night, my girlfriends and I showered and rallied and headed to Michaela’s bridal shower in the city.
Michaela’s aunts hosted the shower and it was beautiful. Lots of fresh flowers, delicious sangria, savory tapas and perfectly sweet dessert! I’m so glad they planned the shower on the same day as her bachelorette party so that those of us who flew in for the bachelorette party could attend.
I grew up right across the street from Michaela and know her family well, so it was so fun to see her parents, younger brother and sister, Maggie, at the shower.
Maggie is so much fun and did an amazing job decorating for Michaela’s bachelorette party which you will see below!
Michaela and several members of her family are gluten free, so most of the food served at her shower was gluten free. We snacked on curried chicken salad, short ribs, apple quinoa salad, thinly sliced meat and cheese, a fantastic warm marinara goat cheese dish, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes and bacon-wrapped dates that I must recreate at home. They were the perfect combination of salty and sweet.
The bridesmaids:
Before the shower was over, Michaela opened her gifts and we played a game where we matched up famous couples.
Carrie, Leah and I teamed up for the trivia game and missed a few couples like Dagwood and Blondie. (For those of you who are in the dark about this couple like we were, Dagwood and Blondie were cartoon characters from a comic strip that eventually became a movie in 1938. Some bridal shower trivia for ya!)
After the game was over, we enjoyed orange swirl sherbet for dessert before driving back to Leah’s apartment to do a quick change and head back out for Michaela’s bachelorette party!
Michaela’s Bachelorette Party
Michaela’s bachelorette party began at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Her sister (and maid of honor) did the best job decorating for the party!
Fresh flowers from the farmer’s market!
The night began with a taco bar dinner and margaritas!
Michaela, her sister, cousins and one of her bridesmaids are all big-time Chicago Blackhawks fans and since they’re currently playing the Boston Bruins for the Stanley Cup, the hockey game found its way on the TV after dinner.
Michaela seemed to love her homemade Blackhawks bachelorette party veil!
It was perfect for her!
She is going to be such a beautiful bride!
Those of us who did’t care about hockey at all had a good time turning the game into a drinking game!
Jello shots, anyone!?
The Jello shots were also an integral part of the Question Book Game which we brought back to try to stump Michaela! She did really well, so lots of Jello shots were passed around the group!
Michaela’s bachelorette party also included a lingerie shower.
Unfortunately the power went off three times while she was opening presents, but we did our best to light candles and continue the fun.
Eventually we made it out to a local bar to finish the night!
Have you ever seen giant Jenga?
The bar had life-size Jenga set up and it was a lot of fun!
This weekend went by waaay too fast and I am already counting down the days until Michaela and Kyle’s wedding in August! Six weeks!!!
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Were you by chance at a bar called Crossroads when you played Jenga? I live in the city and was at that bar to watch the Hawks game, but left right after it ended! I might have just missed you!
Watching the blackhawks is what I hope to do someday at my bachelorette party… haha (but I’m not really kidding)
Ahhh the jello shots! And giant jenga? How fun! Glad you enjoyed the weekend!!
LOVE giant Jenga! Love it when bars have games…late night games, even if they’re board games can be hilarious! That orange sherbet sorbet sounds divine!!
looks like a blast 🙂
Loved that you were in Chicago! Perhaps at Streeters to play Jenga? I live in Chicago but was actually in SF at the same time as you last week. Felt like I was following you around, would have loved to actually say hi 😉
So fun!!! I love bachelorette parties, bridal showers, and all the fun festivities leading up to good friends’ big day!!
I am loving the blue dresses! I think that that royal blue color looks great on everyone!
I have seen people play giant Jenga at bars before. It looks super fun, but it is always SO loud when the blocks fall!
I love the idea of having the bridal shower and bachelorette party on the same day – especially for guests that have to travel a long way! And that veil is so cute!!! My sister is a huge hockey girl so I’ll have to remember this idea for some day in the future 🙂
Looks like a lot of fun! That party setting looks so elegant 🙂
Giant Jenga?!! That looks like so much fun! Oh my, I hope to play one day!
Where did you get the dress you wore to the bridal shower?? It is so cute! Looks like such a fun weekend!!
The life size Jenga would definitely be the hit of the party! Haha! This looks like SO much fun and I love all of the dresses in this entire post! And jello shots are little bundles of joy until about 30 minute later when you realize you ate way too many! lol
I love giant Jenga! I’ve also played it before in a bar and loved it.
Looks like you had such a great time, that sangria looked amazing!
I LOVE your dress! So adorable, where is it from?
It looks like a great weekend. I love the veil/hat you made for the bride! I like when there is a personal touch like that.
Michaela looks like she is in terrific shape.
Julie, you have A LOT of friends cause it seems like you go on a lot of bachelorette parties each year 🙂 Ryan go on bachelor parties? Curious how you and your hubby met. I’m always wondering how/where people find each other.
Fun! The foods sounds so amazing and the Sangria looks delicious! The decorations for the party are gorgeous!
The giant Jenga is so cool! I’ve never seen one that big before.
All of the bridal showers and bachelorette parties you go to seem so elegant! 🙂
So fun! I know that exact bar with the human jenga! I was just there a few weeks ago! 🙂
I saw this and thought of your blog! I love your recipes!
http://whatshouldwecallme.tumblr.com/post/53723309406/when-someone-complains-about-too-much-peanut-butter
That’s so funny that no one knew who Dagwood and Blondie are! Doesn’t anyone read the comics anymore? It’s my Sunday tradition to read Blondie among others.
Looks like so much fun! I love Chicago!
That sangria looks amazing! Also, the fact that your friend is wearing a Blackhawks hat is amazing and makes me want to be best friends with her haha!
We made a giant jenga for a family Olympics bbq we had. So much fun but it took awhile!
Looks you had a great weekend. I don’t think I’ve seen a picture of you like that, (the one where your scratching your head?) Ha, pretty funny. I’ve been wanting to play “Jenga” giant version. Looks fun.
Love all the beauty dresses (and necklaces)! Makes me super excited for wedding season 🙂
I have really been liking your hair lately! The curls are lovely and voluminous! And giant jenga sounds like tons of fun! Makes me think of giant chess in Harry potter 🙂
the food is very nice , i want to eat them all
The shower looked so nice! I love those chalkboard glasses. Too cute! 🙂 Sounds like such a fun time celebrating!
Yayy Chicago! Such a fun city. I’m slightly partial though. 🙂
sounds like fun!! I love bridal showers 🙂 And I’m dying to visit Chicago one day!
Warm marinara goat cheese!! That sounds incredible.
Sounds like such a fun weekend! If you liked the dates wrapped in bacon, try this: stuff pitted dates with goat cheese and wrap with prosciutto. Brown the wrapped dates in a frying pan, then place in a baking dish. Cover with marinara sauce and bake at 350 until the sauce is warm. This is always a hit whenever I make it!
LOVE the picture of you winking with your hand in your hair…its adorable and shows off a more goofy side of you 🙂
We have those big jenga blocks in our town at a few bars!! They are so fun, but hurt if it lands on a finger as the crash down!
Oh my goodness your dress for the bridal shower was BEAUTIFUL!!! Where did you get it? I am in love lol.
Looks like such a great time!! And I love your dress as well!!
A bar right down the street from my apartment has life-size Jenga AND Connect Four!!! It’s awesome.
I LOVE your dress!! Looks like so much fun!
Definitely book marking these game ideas for my friend’s shower and bachelorette party next month! So much to get done – can use all the help I can get =)
I’m obsessed with your tie dye dress…I have to have it. Where’s it from??