Apple pie, bubble gum and wedding shower fun

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Every year, it seems that I add more and more weddings to my calendar. So far this year, I have six. I had to play Tetris with the save-the-dates and invites just to get them to fit on my fridge.

One of those weddings, one that is fast approaching, is between the Palm Coast Observer’s very own Account Manager Kaitlin Murray and Cody Kennedy.

The celebrate Kait and Cody’s upcoming “I dos,” Kait’s bridesmaids planned a wedding shower. But this wasn't going to be your typical girls-in-dresses, sipping champagne and playing how-do-you-know-the-bride. For this shower, the men were going to have to play, too. They call it a wedding shower instead of a bridal shower and the hip, in-the-know, party planning people call it a “Jack and Jill” shower.

I was asked to help prepare for the shower, and by help prepare, I mean making three batches of pie crust, while giving out instructions to Jaci, Maureen and Sarah for their individual responsibilities for the pie making. By the end of the night, we had 30 mini apple pies, complete with lattice top crust. (The tops took forever!)

But that was just the prep. The real fun was at the party the next day.

For years, I have been watching my friends answer questions about their soon-to-be husbands and suffering some sort of consequence if they got the answer wrong. But since Cody would be joining Kaitlin at this shower, it was time for him to suffer, too. Jaci and Sarah set it up, we all wrote questions and submitted them to the cup: It was time to play the “Not Yet Newlywed Game.”

The consequence: a giant, multiflavored bag of Double Bubble.

For every wrong answer, the couple would be given another piece of gum. The game began, and five questions in, there was yet to be a correct answer. The gum wads were growing and, from the look on Kait’s face, the sour didn't mix well with the bubble gum flavor. By the end of the game, half the bag of gum was gone, and the couple could hardly talk without slobbery juices escaping and dripping down their chins.

It was all fun and games, and although the couple didn't know things like what each other’s Greek jerseys said in college, those aren't the things that make a marriage. I am so happy for my friends and excited to celebrate them again in May, when they finally say “I do.” Congrats Kait and Cody!