The SECRET Bridal Weekend!

Ok, so I have been waiting to get my hands on some pictures before I wrote this post. Over Memorial Day weekend my soon to be sister in law graduated from college (so proud of you Alex!) and K and I made the hike up to VA to celebrate and be with the family. We left Friday after work, and were going to drive through the night. Unfortunately we were too tired to make it all the way to northern VA. So we got a hotel room in Ashland, VA (outside Richmond) where we were going to have to be for the graduation ceremony the next day anyway. If you are ever looking for a hotel in Ashland I can tell you where NOT to stay. The Super 8 was interesting to say the least! BUT it was a place to sleep, which is what we wanted to do. After a quick inspection of the bedding and mattress we climbed in. K didn't sleep well, I PTFO. The next day we had some realizations: 1. We didn't have an iron 2. I forgot a hair brush and blow dryer. K is OCD about ironing. I have never met a man that is so particular about having wrinkle free clothing. So after calming him down, I make the suggestion to talk to the desk. He comes back with the news that for a $10 deposit we can have an iron and ironing board. I just laugh and laugh and hand over $10. Who knew that irons were such a hot commodity?! So next I had to solve my hair dilemma. My mom will laugh at this but my Mingo brush came in handy. Two years ago we went to Arkansas to move my grandma out of her home and while packing I found this useful brush/mirror combo and took it. AND IT SAVED MY LIFE! I just had to put up with the whimpy wall mounted blow dryer.

See Mom! The Mingo brush came in handy!

I didn't see this until we were packing up to leave! No iron, but they supply a built in bottle opener. Good to know where the Super 8's priorities are!

So after getting ready and getting the the deposit back on our iron it was off to graduation! The campus was beautiful and the commencement speaker was awesome (actually a professor from Virginia Tech!)

Me and the graduate! (see my hair looks pretty good!)

The whole group!

So after graduation we headed up to our final destination, my parents house. But my mom and I weren't there too long because we had scheduled an early dinner to go over wedding plans! We headed out to Ozzie's in Farifax. I was thinking about everything I needed to go over for the wedding. We were walking back to the table and I saw my friends and then my future mother in law. SURPRISE! It's your bridal shower!

My girlfriends!!!

The AWESOME cake!

Super fun presents

My mom and mother in law!

Ozzie's in Fairfax is YUMMY!

Wine, presents and cake = best bridal shower ever! And truly a surprise!! It was so great to be with everyone. But the surprises weren't over. My lovely friends kidnapped me for the evening for a bachelorette party!

In order to protect innocent people from loads of embarrassment, I will only share one picture with you. Yes that is me, yes I am dressed as one of those ridiculous brides to be and yes I loved every minute of it. I think I am having a one woman dance party at this point in the evening. There was beer pong, cheese fries and giant marshmallows! Awesome night with some of my best friends in the world! I had so much fun! I didn't have any bridesmaids or a maid of honor (my wedding was very small) so I didn't expect to have a shower or bachelorette. So I was surprised when I got one and I couldn't have asked for more! Such a fun trip to VA!