The family meets la famille

The family is in the building-- or the city, in this case. Since the Repak/Aloia clan arrived on Wednesday, we've crash-toured my adoptive home of Brighton by taxi, bike, and foot. This morning, Mom, Michelle, and I splashed our way through an aqua aerobics class and then assembled a fabulous selection of wedding flowers for my mom to put together. The to-do list is suddenly looking very short! It's lights-camera-action on this wedding extravaganza!

Little samples from the pastry shop providing tomorrow's wedding cake, waiting to welcome the ladies to the Pamper Party

Things got real when the family met la famille this evening. Luckily, it all went swimmingly (no bathing suits required). We got the ladies together first, thanks to the Pamper Party I unexpectedly won after randomly answering a competition in a magazine back in January. This turned out to be a fortuitous win as it brought us ladies together in a cozy and intimate setting to break the ice. I was surprised to feel like I'd somehow squeezed in a bridal shower the day before my wedding. The only difference was that the bride handing out the gifts today!

A fabulous table filled with fascinating fascinators and other delightful goodies.

That's because we've decided to English-up our wedding by decking out the ladies of the family in fascinators, like any proper British wedding. (Don't worry, I didn't impose this. It didn't take any arm twisting to charm the ladies on both sides of the Atlantic with this idea!) Of course, since they couldn't acquire such accessories in their respective homes, I happily took on their shopping duties.

We enjoyed a couple of hours of manis, massages, and facials, while admiring each other's new fashion accessories. Even Chat (our female cat) got in on the ladies time.

The Pamper Party, a bridal shower re-imagined

Family flowed in from the local bar as the Pamper Party wrapped up, and soon our living room was abuzz with nice-to-meet-you's. The effort to get everyone to make their selection from the Kemp Thai menu before the kitchen closed was nothing short of Herculanean. But eventually, at a properly French dinner hour, everyone seated themselves around our dining tables, and we once again basked in the glory of our enormous dining room.

Soon enough, stolen glances at hour hands mounting ever higher told us it was time.

This flower girl knew it was time for bed. That, however, was no obstacle for a cat on a cuddle mission.

We "bised" our goodnights, with "see you tomorrows" slipping out the door. Now I'm tucked in bed, writing up our bilingual vows in a little card (no way we're risking messing up our lines), about to call it a night. I am just so relieved that this wedding day is nearly here.