"You're wet." "Yes, It's Raining."

This bride-to-be has been showered!

This past weekend, a lovely group of ladies gathered at one of my favorite local bakeries to throw me a (mostly) surprise bridal shower. The only information I had was the date and the time I needed to be ready by.

Before getting into the shower, though, let me start with the day before; the day Charlotte got six inches of rain in three hours! The downpour wouldn't have been much of an issue for most as it occurred mostly mid-day, before most would be driving into town. (Luckily, Douglas didn't have to drive in that rain to get here!) However, one we knew who would be arriving Friday evening wasn't coming by car, but by train. Brideswoman Vanessa enjoys taking the train and almost never comes away from a trip without a story. This trip, she had a story. The train wasn't leaving Raleigh! Why?

Charlotte's Amtrak Station Under Water

Charlotte's Amtrak station is known to flood, but this was ridiculous. An hour or so later, her train was ready to leave Raleigh and give the trip to Charlotte a shot. By the time we showed up to pick her up, the parking lot had drained but the station building was off-limits (lights were off) and the tunnel where the riders would leave the platform from was flooded, so Vanessa got to trek across gravel to leave, with the other passengers, out of the service entrance. It took a while, but we got her! She then informed us that one of the cars in the parking lot was her conductor's. Ouch!

We finally got Vanessa back to our place and hung out for a few hours. Then, around midnight, while we were discussing some logistics for wedding stuff the girls were helping me out with, we get a knock at the door. SURPRISE!

Brideswoman Noel is at my door!!! This little lady had paid me a surprise visit once before in DC, but that was with Vanessa as a co-conspirator. This time, Vanessa was also surprised! We didn't know if Noel was going to be able to come in at all, so for her to show up was that much more awesome!

With Best Man #1, Brideswoman #1, Brideswoman #2, and Future Husband under the same roof, it was time to pack it in for a few hours of sleep. Putting my head down and wondering what the next day would hold, this image never crossed my mind: