What Happens at Bridal Showers

Now I know why so many girls love wedding planning and being engaged. It's like every day is your birthday! Everyone is constantly congratulating you and wishing you well. There are gifts up the wazoo and lots of champagne and celebrations. I've never had so much fun!

I've been especially spoiled by my bridesmaids. Sara and Tiba recently hosted a bridal shower for me, and they went all out with the decor, food, drinks, and games. Other than the general awkwardness of opening boxes of lingerie in front of Este's mom, the party was a hit and I was laughing the entire time. How much fun can 40 women have on a Saturday afternoon, you ask?

Well, for one thing, the games were insane. My favorite was the Get-the-Chili-Pepper-in-the-Bottle game. You have to admire the coordination and concentration required for this one. My aunt Nazanin (pictured here) was a contender, but Este's mom smashed the competition with her chili pepper skills, getting it in the bottle in less than 60 seconds!

Then there was the Last Chance to Kiss Este game. Newly engaged and blindfolded Tanaz Shahrzad walked up to my guy with confidence and surprised us all (mainly Sara) with her smooching prowess. Yeah...I'm going to keep an eye on that one...

With competitive tensions running high, we were all afraid to see what MC Tiba would ask of us next. Sitting in a circle, we had to pass around a teddy bear and kiss a body part on the bear. Harmless, right? BUT THEN Tiba took away the bear and said we had to kiss the person next to us on the same part we kissed the bear. And this is how it came to be. Full girl-on-girl action between Mrs. Perla and my grandma, who said she'd kiss the bear on the lips! Poor Mrs. Perla didn't know what hit her when my grandma grabbed her by the ears and pulled her into a big smackeroo. It was like a game of spin the bottle that had gone horribly wrong. And when it was over, Mrs. Perla, still dazed from what had just transpired, turned to me and had to kiss my feet! (To be nice, I smelled each one first and gave her the least stinky of the two.)

Before the shower, Este made a special request for me to look after his mom and make sure she has a good time. If only he knew...