Becoming The Underwoods : Couples Shower

Well we had a wonderful first shower, here it is Monday afternoon and me and Ian are still talking about how loved we have felt after the gathering of family and friends this past weekend.

We started the first of our wedding festivities with a couples shower in Grand Bay, Alabama.

The Gautier Farm

Hosted by The Wixons and The Gautiers. May I first say that these 2 couples mean a whole lot to me and Ian. Words can never express how much their guidance, prayers, and friendship has meant to the two of us in courtship,engagement, and soon to be marriage. These two families are a perfect example of Godly marriages. The are special to me and Ian in so many ways. If Ian were to tell you about The Wixons and The Gautiers, he would say - they are family. He would also tell you that Lanee and Darlene are just like his 2nd mommas. They have all been neighbors for years. The neighbors that don't knock before they enter your house, the neighbors that come over often for meals unexpectedly, and the neighbors that are….. well, family.

After the first time of meeting them, they welcomed me with open arms. They welcomed me soon after losing Ian's mother, a time where it wasn't easy to accept the new normal the Lord created for them. Most of all, they make it easy to get to know the woman my mother in law was. They love me just as she would have. And they remind me continuously of how proud she would of been of the both of us. I can't say enough about the 4 in this picture, but just as Ian would say… they are family.

Everything was decorated beautifully. But while on the subject of getting to know my mother in law. I have heard for quite some time that any time there was a gathering Lynne would call Darlene and say "Now can you make Plantation Tea?", that was one of her favorites and she wanted it at every event. So I felt that it was only right to have some Plantation tea, and might I add it was delicious! So much so that I have now requested it not only at this shower but for my next two showers as well.

The food was wonderful - our guest raved about the BBQ that was prepared as well as the trimmings alongside of it. Dessert was wonderful too- A wedding dress "cupcake" cake, made by Andersons Bakery- a local favorite of those in Pascagoula.

Everything was decorated so beautifully. We loved getting to read everyones tips for dates.

Our sign in is one of my favorites as well. I have for quite sometime wanted to use cookbooks for our sign in. Why? because I wanted something that could remind us of the loved ones that shared such a wonderful season of life with us. What better way to be reminded of that throughout the years than to open up a cookbook to make a recipe and see words of encouragement, prayers, and well wishes for me and Ian. Rather than having a guest book that would soon be placed in a box in a closet after the wedding festivities, we will now have a collection of the "Celebrations of Family and Friends" cookbook, that was gifted to me and Ian by my parents. They are filled with wonderful easy recipes for newly weds as well as tips of advice for many different events you may host throughout life. Each cookbook throughout the collection has a theme - this showers cookbook was "celebrations of nature", which was quite fitting for the location. At each shower and at the wedding we have requested our guest sign these so that as years go on and we cook from them we are reminded of the love that surrounds us.

I loved going through these pictures. Mary Claire took several of us while opening gifts. You can't take the grin off my face. It obvious that I'm pretty smitten with this soon to be groom of mine,and we also really love the excitement of opening gifts. Here are just some of the ones captured below.

Ian looks excited to be getting Annie Glass too

One of my favorites- Love seeing my future name on anything,

but I can't wait to wear this one.

Also one of my favorite pictures of the night, can you tell we wanted that Waffle Maker?

This weekend was great! It served as a wonderful reminder to me and Ian of how blessed we are to be surrounded with such wonderful friends and family. The Lord is good! We are soaking up every minute of the fun and this exciting season of life. Here are just a few more of us with our family.