Always the Bride never the Brides Maid

Okay, so I do things a little backwards. I have been a bride, but I have never been a brides maid. I am finally getting my chance though. My cousins wedding is coming up in exactly one year! Last night she asked me to be her maid of honor. Awwww, I'm touched. Really I am! I've never been asked to be a Maid of Honor before. I of course said yes. I was all a flutter last night that she asked me that I didn't give too much thought to what it's going to entail.

Don't get me wrong I'm still over the moon that she asked me and I still want to do it, but this is a lot of responsibility. I am going to be in charge of the bridal shower! Okay, so my cousin was also my maid of honor. I had a very small wedding. So my bridal shower consisted of me and her going to a bar and drinking and dancing with some guy who ummmm thought that women liked there boobs squeezed like melons. Very touchy feely. I had a great time though. She did good. It gave me a fun story for the night before I got married. We were young and my cousin was still in college. I didn't do much of the bar scene in my young life because I was 20 when I had Natalie. So that was a huge thing for me. Also helped me confirm that I found the right guy in Joe ;).

So now I'm thinking what do I do for my cousin? We're 30 years old. Well, we'll be 31. Ten years older than we were at my bridal shower. I can't just take her to a bar. Do we do the stripper thing? Should we just have a nice elegant ladies only shower with cheesy games? Hmmm, I don't think that is what my cousin wants. Okay, so she's getting married on a cruise ship. Maybe I can incorporate that whole tropical feel into her bridal shower. So many decisions to make to give her a shower to remember like she did for me.

Needless to say I'm getting a little nervous about this whole brides maid duty. I don't really know why because I love planning parties. Although, I plan kids parties. I just hope I am up to the task.

Does anyone have any great Maid of Honor or bridal shower stories to share?