Why Allison is an Incredible Best Friend

Happy "Day After the 4th of July"!  After making a champion comeback from that summer head cold that's been going around, my weekend was filled with family and dogs and fireworks and some cooking revelations that I cannot wait to share with you.  One is Allison's corn tortillas.  Do yourself a favor and make these.  They're easy, and packed with delicious flavor.  My future sister-in-law Nicole also whipped up some salsas that made me vow to never buy the bottled stuff again.  They are restaurant quality, and don't require much more than a whiz in the blender.  Stay tuned, they're coming later this week.  

Now speaking of vows...  You might recall that I recently got engaged.  While I promise you that I won't turn Butter + Cream into a wedding blog and annoy you with questions about the merits of peonies vs. lilies in a bouquet, I do think there will be a few gems along the way worth sharing with y'all.  My engagement party happens to be one of those gems.

When I asked Allison to be my maid of honor, one of the first questions she asked was, "When can we have a party?".  John and I are planning our Napa Valley wedding from Los Angeles, so we decided to take a weekend to drive up and check out some potential venues, and then celebrate our engagement with our local friends and family.  After finding the picture perfect location and setting a date(!), we were giddy at the thought of spending an evening celebrating with our near and dears.  There aren't many words to describe the way we felt walking up the driveway that night.  The party Allison threw for us took my breath away.

Please check out the multitude of pictures after the jump.

This festive window decoration was made up of some of our favorite photos (including photos from our engagement weekend).
Every detail was taken into account.  This adorable "John & Mary" logo was a theme that weaved throughout the decor of the party.  It was on the jars of jam that Al gave away as party favors.  Yes, of course she made the jam from scratch.


She also made John & Mary water bottles...
And John and Mary sugar cookies!  I completely lost it when I saw these.  Can you see what I'm talking about when I say that she is incredible?  I don't know anyone else on the planet who would go to this level of effort for a friend.

Her deck was beautifully decorated.  My mom made the burlap table runners, and they used flowers, votive candles, and framed pictures as centerpieces.  Of course, the view from Al's deck cannot be beat. 

Chinese lanterns in the party colors decorated another long table.

And yes, that is my dog peeing on bridesmaid Sarah's chair.  Ugh.

This is us feeling happy.

And this is Al working hard in a cute strapless dress, the hostess with the mostest.

The food was never-ending, and everything was delicious.

Baby!

Used to be a baby!

Oh baby...  This is half of a hummingbird cake.  It's only half a cake because my family quickly devoured the other half.  Those beauties on top aren't flowers.  They're pineapple!  I bet if we're really nice to Allison, she'll tell us how to make this cake.

And lastly, this is the part of the party where my dad makes a speech, and I burst into tears.  I anticipate that happening at least 175 more times this year.  I just don't have the emotional fortitude for speeches from dad. 

I can honestly say that this is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.  It is gift enough to have a friend who has known you since you were 14, through Accutane and school dances and horrible hair choices.  To get to celebrate the biggest best thing in your life with that friend almost seems too much for any one person to deserve.  To say that I'm grateful for Allison and her gifts is the understatement of the century.

A business note:  For anyone who wants to hire Allison for her maid of honor duties, she's is booked through July 16, 2011.