Bachelorette Weekend

My friend Sandy gets married in less than two weeks!! Ahhh!

I am SO excited. This is my first time really being in a wedding. The last time I was in one I was 14 so I didn't do a whole lot. It is an entirely different experience actually helping to plan things.

The other bridesmaids and I started planning for this weekend (which was actually a week ago...I'm a bit behind) about a month out. A million email threads later, we had a plan.

We decided to stay in Naperville, IL, at the Hotel Arista in this really fancy suite on the top floor. The views were amazing! There were a few other bachelorette parties there that weekend, and there was also a wedding going on at the hotel.

I got to Naperville early to have lunch with a couple friends, drop some things off at the hotel, and meet Sandy and some of the other girls at a nail salon. We didn't clue Sandy in to a single thing we were doing!

I always get yelled at when I get my nails done. The nail ladies scold me for having such frail, peeling nails. Trust me, I don't like it either, but it was a genetic gift from my mom (who frequently keeps them secured under acrylics,) so those beauties are mine to keep.

Anyway, after nails we went to an Irish pub for dinner! This was actually very appropriate, considering Sandy is marrying an Irish guy. And she's Indian. They are going to make really super cute, gorgeous babies someday.

For the rest of the evening, we played games at the hotel and had food and opened gifts and then took a shuttle out to Downtown Naperville to visit some bars and play a scavenger hunt. Sandy and I were paired together, which was hilarious because neither of us is very gutsy when it comes to that kind of thing. We definitely lost. But that's okay, because it was just as much fun watching what the other girls came up with!

I think my favorite was the group of middle-aged people at the hotel who were eager to help, and a couple of the men did the "get a picture of a random guy proposing to you" picture. 

It rained, but that was okay. It actually looked really cool from the hotel room. I think the bride-to-be had a wonderful time, and it was so much fun spoiling her for a night!

Now for the photos:

Tom helped decorate the cupcakes the night before :)

Strawberry cupcakes with lime frosting

View from the hotel!

Nighttime view

Take a picture with another bachelorette party. Check! Too bad their bride was sick and had to go home. 

The group! Those are bouquets of dum dums for people to buy for a buck per lollipop. People thought we were giving them away for free. One girl even asked me if we were selling them for a good cause. They say "Suck for a Buck" on them! What cause would that even be for?! I told her they were for the bride's honeymoon fund and she was clearly not interested.

And of course, the party favors. I'm still upset I forgot to take one before we left.

On that note...Happy Monday!