another surprise.

show of hands: how many of you read my recap of my sister-in-law's surprise bridal shower and how it took us 3 months to plan and about 3 million lies to keep it a secret and you said to yourself, "self, i am NEVER throwing anyone a bridal shower EVER cuz thats a LOT of effort!" don't be shy, and don't worry about the strange looks you're now getting from your co-workers or your dog as you sit in front of the computer with your hand in the air. this post is for you.

this is my Jazzercise friend Ashley. she's getting married in 16 days. and since the group of ladies that we work out with twice a week is so sweet and wonderful, they put together a little surprise mini-shower for her.  

there were no fancy invitations or complicated debate about what date would work best for everyone. there was one email that was sent out about a week in advance to all the ladies, (except Ashley of course) and then a reminder email a week later to make sure we all remembered to bring a little gift.

the decorations and food were nothing extra-special, and it wasnt anything like some of the craziness that's on Pinterest, but a pink table cloth and some cupcakes with iced tea were all we needed to suffficiently jazz up the place. (no pun intended)

the deception was kept to a minimum. we didn't have to come up with a reason for her to be at the school at a certain time, because she always comes to Jazzercise. i dont think anyone had to lie at all. and she was still beyond surprised when she turned around after the cool-down song and realized that there was a party waiting for her.

i promised Ashley that i wouldnt post any pictures that i took that made her look bad, so i hope i did ok with that (because even though i have a new camera i still have my same old knack for taking pictures at just the wrong moment) but i wanted to make sure that i shared this little bit of my life with you for two reasons:1) to prove that throwing a surprise shower doesn't have to consume your life for months in order to be awesome, and 2) to just tell you how very much i love all the women i Jazzercise with, without having to post any sweaty pictures of myself...

so there you have it. a fantastic bridal shower with all the surprises and love and laughter and fun, but without the gargantuan amount of effort. i expect to see this repinned like a million times by tomorrow, so just go ahead and get on that.