Engagement Party... Florence Edition

Over the holidays, Mom and Dad decided to throw an engagement party welcoming B to town and our family which was so fantastic of them. The day after Christmas, the family (including Grandma) piled in a viewing of Marley and Me, then we got working on the party. Mom's a champ--she can pull together a party in an hour's notice and not break a sweat. She assures me there's more planning than I see, it's just that she's up at 6am and, despite what I might think, things do happen before 10am. I'm still on the fence.

So Saturday, B and I Dad headed out to play golf while the ladies picked up some wedding gifts then grabbed lunch at a local cafe. Turns out the gift place also sells invitations, so we talked the sweet owner out of her massive Crane book and took it home to pour over the tiny details out of earshot. B got home and, after he looked, I told him my pick. Turns out, we blindly picked the same invite and font. Fabulous. We stopped just before getting totally overwhelmed. B put it best, "You can pick out type shading??"

We scooted out before the party to enjoy a glass of wine at the country club where the reception will be held so we could hear the band we're going to hire. It was perfect. We sat on the back porch in the darkness with Christmas lights sparkling around us as we sipped wine and peeked in on a wedding, starting with the first dance and going through the opening of the dance floor. Sure, you could twist that paragraph and read it as us being peeping toms or spies, but I prefer the romantic version.

We got home in time to get ready for the party and soon guests began arriving. B and I hung at the door for about an hour, greeting everyone as they came in. It turned out to be super fun, especially because it let me say, "Have you met my fiance, B?" about 100 times over.

I got to introduce him to old family friends, my friends' parents, and even use him to solicit a few names that I'd forgotten. He's pretty fabulous. We got to sample all Mom's Birmingham bakery goodies as well as tons of bite-sized appetizers, punch, and eggnog with just a hint of brandy. I think one of my favorite parts was seeing friends reconnecting, plus watching a Alex and Lily hold court during the party. A classic Lily line? Going up to her Nana and saying, "I'm hungry, and Mommy won't feed me," which got her a cheese sandwich and a muffled outcry from her Mom, who cried out, "That's not true! She has chocolate on her face right now!" So proud of my niece. Sneaky little thing.

As the night wore on, the guests began to thin and we spent some time with my good friends that had come to celebrate with us. "Over at 9" turned into "Over at 10" turned into "Leave sometime around 11," which was hilarious and fabulous all at once.

When everyone left, B and I collapsed on the couch. The agreement was that we weren't going to clean up that night, but before we knew it, Mom was breezing (I kid you not, she was effortlessly breezing) through the living room with industrial-sized trash bags stuffed with bottles, food, plates, and boxes. It was killing B. Mom would come through like she was carrying pillows (up since 6am, mind you) and say something like, "Did you realize we drank 16 bottles of sparkling cider?" She'd give the bag a little shake to make it jingle then off she'd be to the trash outside. Repeat with food containers, "Oh no," she said with the bag held above her head, "these are just the boxes, no big deal." She's seriously my Super Woman.

B and I soon headed off to sleep. The next night, in Atlanta, we had a repeat performance with his family friends!