Bridal Event #2 now complete. This would be Juliane's bridal shower held in Oakville on Sunday. It was a Tea party, with two themes, the main one being Hats (silly or pretty), the other being gifts beginning with the letter 'T'. Okay, I'm down with hats. I have a lot of them. Of course, I'd wanted a propellor beanie, so I left my hats in the Petes, but could I find one? No. I walked from Avenue Road and Bloor (yes, the ROM) to Yonge Street. There I left Cheryl, with whom I'd been walking, and headed south, hitting every souvenir and joke shop on the strip. I found cowboy hats, leather hats, baseball caps, crazy wigs, fez (what's the plural of fez, anyway?), antenna hairbands, dewrags, and tophats, but no beanies.

So, by this point I'd reached Queen Street and there were forty or more people waiting for the streetcar. With no transit in sight, I headed east on Queen. I figured, I'll just walk until a streetcar catches up to me. Then, after about ten minutes, I start thinking about taking a taxi, but I have seven dollars in my purse, which isn't going to be enough. My plan became: walk until I find a bank machine, withdraw some money and then catch a cab. I continued walking and found only three ABMs - two inside locked stores, one out of order. One streetcar passed me by at Parliament, but was so crammed full of the people who'd been waiting half-an-hour or more, there was no more room. By the time I reached the Humane Society, my feet were crying out in pain, I was soaked through with sweat, and the seven dollars I had would be sufficient to take a taxi the rest of the way.

So, back to the shower. Or rather, back to the hats. I returned to my plan B, which was to make one. A tinfoil hat. Or aluminum, or whatever. You know, to protect me from the alien thought rays and mind control devices. I can't just wear any old tinfoil hat, mind you, no, mine must be fancy. I cut up an old cereal box, made the headband, affixed two cross pieces in the shape of a dome to rise over my head, built up the shape a bit with some painters' tape (I couldn't find anything else), and covered the whole thing with tinfoil, gathering it into 'pleats' around the headband. I secured it with a lovely band of green painters' tape and taped a curly ribbon dingle to the top. At the party, I discovered it was very hot, but since I was there early, I took the time to poke some holes in the crown as vents. I am a dork, but a practical one.

Now, onto the shower. It ... well. Hm. I really don't like bridal showers - they've lost their meaning in the face of consumerism and one-upmanship, but I love Juliane and her mother, too, so really, this is the only reason I felt compelled to attend. It was held at the house of a friend of the family, who had a dear, sweet, fifteen-year-old (fox?) terrier. The hostesses were very nice, fun, interesting ladies, and the house was very nice (if a bit precious) with a beautifully landscaped garden. Unfortunately, because it was a "Tea", there was more than an element of Trisha Romance done in pinks. That said, it was beautifully put on and the food and drink were top notch.

Unfortunately, I don't handle feigned pretenses very well, and I particularly dislike being written off by ladies who don't know me OR my field of study just because I chose to attend the practical programme of Museum Mgt and Curatorship at Fleming, rather than the Museum Studies programme at UofT. I can say that Juliane, her mother and grandmother, as well as the two other bridesmaids (there are five in total) were good company and lots of fun. And, I got the cool job of decorating the Ribbon Hat, which involved selecting the choicest of the package trimmings and stapling them to a cheap broad-brimmed straw hat. I did a marvellous job of it, I might add. Now, what were the presents? Well, remember that the second was things that begin with the letter "T". I have never seen so many Teas, Tea sets, Trays, and Towels. Honestly.

So, you want to know the history of the bridal shower? No, you probably don't, but suffice it to say, the version we know and love/hate is only slightly younger than the introduction of white wedding gowns. Here you go. Read on and be edified.

It is rumored the Bridal Shower began during the 1800s in Holland. There a young, wealthy maiden fell in love with a poor miller. Her father, unhappy with her choice, refused to pay her dowry, believing it would thwart the marriage. The maiden's friends decided to "shower" her with many gifts to use for her dowry. She was able to use these bridal shower gifts to set up housekeeping after she married the poor miller. In present day, this bridal shower tradition continues as friends and family gather to shower the soon to be bride with wedding gifts to begin her married life. (Source)

A beautiful tradition grew from the townspeople's generosity and continued for decades. Over time, the old-fashioned dowry a young woman typically received from her family to set up her home grew into a bridal shower given by her "family of friends." Gift giving, as we know it today, was not common until the late 19th century. In fact, early bridal showers were focused on strengthening the bride's friendship with her peers, offering moral support, and helping her plan for her marriage. These traditions are often forgotten at modern bridal showers, where gift giving tends to take center stage. Today, it isn't uncommon for a bride to have more than one shower before her wedding. (Source)

In other news, unrelated to weddings, but still on the theme of parties, my mother will be hosting the annual Peterborough Symphony Orchestra end-of-season garden party. I plan to ask, very nicely, if anyone has seen my beloved and extremely important (to me) malachite and gold ring that was stol- er, went missing at the last PSO party she hosted back in March. And, also, the forecasters are predicting a day of rain for the event. Huh. We'll see.