Cleveland Bridal Shower

Me with all my gifts

Me with all of our gifts

I was nervous about my first wedding shower. A wedding shower is nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced before. I never had a party thrown for me in my honor and I never had to open up gifts in front of people. Yes, I have had birthday parties where I opened up gifts in front of people but nothing like this. I usually think too much about these type of things and make myself nervous. I was nervous about who was going to come, what I was going to get, what I was going to say, and what I was going to wear. Phil is usually the only person that can calm me down about these sorts of silly over analyzing . Phil  did have to calm me down before my Cleveland shower and he did a great job. I am lucky enough to have two wedding showers. Phil’s side of the family threw me a shower on May 11th ( yes I know this post is a little late) at Red Tail Golf Club. I had bought my dress for my first shower months prior from Kate Spade due to the art deco pattern. But of course I doubted my purchase a week prior to the shower but Phil convinced me that I looked pretty in the dress and it was perfect for my first shower. Unfortunately Ohio’s weather is very unpredictable and of course  it was cold and rainy the day of the shower and I was afraid I was going to be cold in the dress. But as my Yiayia says “sometimes you have to suffer to be beautiful” so I still wore the dress and I wasn’t cold at all. I was super excited to try my shower cake. Phil’s family knew about my love for salty caramel cake and they found a Cleveland baker that makes the elusive flavor and it was a very tasty cake.

Phil and I with our Mothers

Phil and I with our Mothers after Phil gave out the flowers

I’m not gonna lie I was very excited to open my our shower presents. I can’t handle surprises. I am such a little kid when it comes to surprise presents. I was one of those kids that would look for their Christmas presents.  So when it came to my shower presents, it is the worst case scenario for people like me, you can look at your registries and find out what you are getting before you open them. I really tried hard not to check my registries before my shower…but I just couldn’t do it. I probably checked them more than the average bride, but who cares, at least I didn’t know who they were from…right? My dad gave me flack about checking them because he said it would ruin the shower for me. My mom sort of agreed with him but then would ask me if I got anything new for the shower. Looking at my registries before my shower did not ruin it at all. I was still genuinely surprised when I opened a gift and I had a blast doing it. For the record I broke 5 bows, so that means Phil and I will have 5 children. We will see about that… Phil was nice enough  to bring me red roses and a red rose for my mom and his mom. It was a nice touch and he is a sweet guy 😉 Lastly and most importantly, I want to thank the hostesses for the event: Elpida Kosmides, Susan, Jan, Becky, and Connie Giallourakis. Also I would like to thank Phil’s mom Angie and thank everyone for coming near and far. 1 down 1 to go!

Say Yes to the Dress: Part 3- Found It!

This is how I wanted to feel in my wedding dress

This is how I wanted to feel in my wedding dress

After my 1st trip wedding dress shopping I needed a new game plan. So, I did some research on some bridal shops in northeast Ohio that didn’t have the same wedding dress designers as Catan’s. I scheduled a bridal appointment at Henri’s Could Nine, in Minerva. I had gotten some of my homecoming and prom dresses from Henri’s back in high school so I thought it wouldn’t hurt taking a look there. This trip I took my mom and my Yiayia, aka grandmother, Clara. My Yiayia is sometimes a good luck charm when it comes to shopping, I found some of my best swimsuits and other various clothing items while shopping with her. I found two dresses I liked while trying on dresses at Henri’s. One was called “Gatsby” which goes with my wedding theme and another lacy chic number. But, I didn’t feel like either of them were just the perfect dress. They just didn’t wow me. So we decided to go the bridal shop closet to my parent’s house, Abott’s Bridal in Canton. I had the best salesperson Sarah help me out. She was the nicest and most helpful salesperson I encountered while shopping for wedding dresses. If you go to Abott’s ask for her. I tried on about 20 dresses there and found this beautiful Sophia Tolli dress that I felt really pretty in. But I left the store empty handed.

Me in one of 5,000 rejected wedding dresses

Me in the Sophia Tolli

A week or two later I asked my cousin and MOH Sarah to come shopping with me at some of the east side of Cleveland bridal shops and to browse bridesmaids’ dresses. First we went to Matina’s in Beachwood. That was a huge strike out. I tried on 1 dress that I didn’t even like. Next stop was Demetrios in Legacy Village. Sarah and I picked out a lot of dresses to try on at Demetrios. I think Sarah was picking out dresses for me to try on so she can just dress me up just like she did when we were little.  I told her that I didn’t want a really poofy cupcake dress but she still made me try one just to see what I look liked. But Sarah was super helpful by telling me the positives and negatives to each dress I tried on and gave me a new perspective. I liked some of the dresses at Demetrios but I didn’t love any of them. I was frustrated and tried and was thinking that I wasn’t going to find a dress or I was going to pick the Sophia Tolli. But Sarah and I decided to go check out bridesmaid dresses at Nordstrom. I picked out 1 dress to try on and it was THE ONE. I felt gorgeous in it so after a lap around the mall thinking about the dress I went back and bought it. I had a wedding dress 🙂