It's that time of year again... WEDDING SEASON! This year, Husband and I have four weddings to go to -two of which we are both in AND only six days apart. A lot of work goes into planning a wedding - and it's not all fairy-tale fun. I have to say, part of me is glad it is all over. Now I get to sit back with a glass of champagne and enjoy the festivities without worrying about a thing!
This summer we are lucky enough to be a part of Dan and Kari's wedding. Kari is one of my closest friends, we met in college and have been inseparable ever since. Aaaand she just so happens to be marrying my cousin which is super exciting! Dan's sister (also my cousin, obviously) and I decided to team up to throw Kari the BEST BRIDAL SHOWER EVER!
The Invitation
Like I did with Sarah's shower, I wanted to design the invitations myself. I scoured Pinterest and Etsy for ideas and came up with about six designs. Here were the top four contenders:
And this little fella won the heart of the bride:
The colors for the wedding are black and red so clearly that was my inspiration. And it was carried on throughout the rest of the afternoon shower!
The Menu
Having had so much success with Sarah's baby shower menu, I decided to go with an almost identical meal. We had about the same number of RSVP's (around 30) however, the demographic was skewed. This time it was my family and college friends in attendance.... which means a helluva lot more champagne was needed. We served:
- caprese skewers
- brie and crackers
- veggie tray
- fruit tray
- salad
- cucumber sandwiches
- meat and cheese platter
On this guest list we have two aunts who are gluten free, one friend who is lactose intolerant and two vegetarian cousins. This meal worked well for everyone's needs.
Like I said, with this group we were going to need a lot of champagne. But we also had a few who don't drink so we served a non-alcoholic champagne (recipe found here). Here's a couple pictures of the mimosa bar:
Games
No bridal shower is complete without games and we came up with three: Toilet Paper Bride, Purse Bingo, and Couple Trivia:
Toilet Paper Bride
Toilet paper bride is a simple enough game. Have your guests split into groups of 5 and have each group select a model. The groups then have a set amount of time to create a wedding dress out of toilet paper. When time runs out each group gives a 1 minute "presentation" of their creation, the bride-to-be judges. Here were the results for us:
Purse Bingo
As always, I got my kicks from designing these printouts to match the invitations. The game is pretty strait forward. Create or buy bingo cards with everyday items found in a purse. Have all the guests retrieve their purses and get ready to play. Here's the catch: When you call out the item, it MUST be on their card AND in their purse to cross the item off their score sheet.
Couple's Trivia
Again, a very simple concept: write out a list of questions about the bride and groom and ask their answers ahead of time. Then pass out a sheet for each guest to discover how much they know the happy couple.
Prizes
The prizes at Sarah's shower were so popular, we went with potted herb plants again. And we gussied them up with some peat moss, ribbon, and a sort of monogram/crest found here.
Decor
In addition to a wrapped present, we wanted to have a little fun with our gift to the bride so we went to several stores and found monogrammed items. We then placed those items around the house and told her anything with an "M" on it she could take home. We were able to find chalkboard wine glasses, wine-stoppers hand towels, coasters, and paper napkins.
And last but not least we printed a banner to add to the over all look (link here).
