It’s the next day and I feel inspired to share! Another successful bridal shower has been planned and executed and now the day after I reflect on another great job. Yes I am giving myself a pat on the back but I also want to thank my mom and dad for their patience and financial support to make these parties possible.
Anna Brooks and Scott’s wedding is black and white. AB wanted a pop of color and loved the idea of peacocks but decided against it due to the elegance and simplicity of a black and white January wedding. That said I knew that the shower would be peacocks. AB was ecstatic with the idea so the planning began. The planning of the shower was less than two months. Plans were drawn, things were purchased and the ideas went from paper to reality in a matter of weeks…
The first decision of planning a bridal shower should be the venue. We knew that we wanted to have the shower at our neighborhood civic building because it's spacious. This picture is after we moved the furniture and hid most of the dated 70's furniture and stuffed an ugly faded couch in the men's bathroom.
The next part of planning a bridal shower is the invitation. Since we were crunched for time I didn't know if I could hand make peacock invitations. I decided to order online at vistaprint.com. This is what we ended with. They were fairly priced, shipped fast and served their purpose.
Now it's the behind the scenes. The setting up and then finally the actual event.
The Entrance- Welcome!
Food - The main course!
Just a few shots of the food table set up. I actually didn't get any of the food. However the food was delicious and was meant to be a light dinner because the shower was at 4:30. The food was half catered by Publix (The Martin's of SC) and half bought and created by my mom purchased from Publix. We used only crystal ware that we had at our house. The food consisted of 2 choices of wraps, chicken fingers with dipping sauces, crackers and cheese, cookies and 2 bite brownies and an assortment of fruit. The two square purple vases were filled with feathers purchased from Tuesday Morning for $2 each! The green vase was purchased from my FAVORITE store in Salem, Virginia- "Buy the Season" An antique/consignment decor warehouse. I scored it for $4! http://www.buytheseason.com/. The flowers are mums and iris's from Publix flower shop. My mom is so good at creating bouquets it's not worth going to a florist and it's cheaper.
The Drinks!
The drinks were great! We had sparkling water, pink lemonade, four kinds of wine and a signature cocktail! The wines were a Cabernet sauvignon, pinot grigio, white Zinfandel and chardonnay.We wanted a variety but the clear favorite was the pinot grigio. The chardonnay was bought for Anna Brooks because it's the fabulously cute "Middle Sister" wine. She is the middle sister and these wines are adorable. Check them out... http://www.middlesisterwines.com/tHe_WiNes/. The signature cocktail was a find in a Woman's Day magazine we had a trial run of them and the blue ingredient was gross. So we decided to switch it up. The Pea-cocktail was a white vodka cranberry with blue food coloring. The rim was created by dipping in light corn syrup, then blue decorating sugar and an orange peel. The sign is of course my signature crafting.
Decor and Stuff!
Bride chair! Bride sticker and purple bow from Michael's.
End table decor. Votives from Michael's and frame from Target.
End table decor 2. Peacock frame from Pier1.
Action Table- Guestbook, door prize, prizes and games.
Prizes!
$1 prizes best places to buy: dollar stores, Michael's/AC Moore, Wal-Mart, Pier1, Target
A door prize is always a great thing to have at a party. I like to do the drawing right before the bride opens presents so that the bride is the last to open a gift. The slips are flashcards that you can buy in packs from teacher supply stores. The iron box is an awesome box that was at our house that was given to my mom by her mom. The peacock my mom found at a consignment shop!
At my sisters shower she had a guestbook that was part of a scrapbook it was a gift from her husbands aunt- I think from Hallmark. I created the idea in a scrapbook as well. I scored this bird scrapbook at AC Moore. The guests filled their thoughts, wishes or advice for successful marriage in the book. I think it's a lovely way of savoring the moment for the bride-to-be to have forever.
The Games!
We played two games at the shower: Hot Potato and Bridal Bingo.
Hot Potato was a new find on ehow.com
The game consisted of a prize wrapped lots and lots of times and when the music stopped the person holding it unwrapped a layer. The game continues until the present is unwrapped! You'll want to make sure that the present is easy to wrap over and over again.
The winner! The prize: A Peacock Tampon Case- so cute from Palmetto Moon.
Opening Gifts & Bridal Bingo
The gift table. The gift table was filled with gifts as guests arrived. The frame is from AC Moore and this fabulous peacock is from "Buy the Season" I adore this thing! It's wrought iron and quite beautiful because he's built to last he was $35.00 but worth it!
The next game is Bridal Bingo. You can google it and find different ones- I took the internet's ideas and made my own. What I like to do is stalk the registry up until the event and the night before go to print-bingo.com and create my own. You can create up to 25 for free if you do 4 per page printing. I add things that may or may not be at the shower but I think 100% won so when buying prizes buy 5 over the amount that rsvp'd. Bridal Bingo is meant to be fun and get everyone involved when the bride opens presents because it can be a lengthy part of the shower. You can do this at baby showers too! Another one I like is bringing blank cards and letting your guest fill what they think is in each one.
One thing I do know is bridal bingo is fun!
Presents, Presents, Presents!
AB and her mom admiring her Kate Spade toasting flutes!
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16332437
AB couldn't wait- she wore it the entire time!
That's a wrap! The shower was awesome. I hope you loved the peacock theme and remember you can contact me for hire!!
aholcomb5@gmail.com
This is on the kitchen table- it's what's left of yesterday! So pretty!
Everyday Cow Creamer- So cute!
What's it going to be?! - AB received lots of fabulous gifts!
Parting is such sweet sorrow!
Favors & Departing S'mores!
AB loves S'mores- who doesn't? We indulged and brought out our inner girl scout as we roasted marshmallows! Jars look familiar? Ashley's wedding candy buffet!
The favor- A handmade peacock feather hair clip. I made them and everyone loved them- so glad! They're super trendy now and sell similar ones at Dillard's :)
That's a wrap! The shower was awesome. I hope you loved the peacock theme and remember you can contact me for hire!!
aholcomb5@gmail.com
This is on the kitchen table- it's what's left of yesterday! So pretty!
Thank You AB!
The perfect hostess gift- so me!
Thanks for reading this lllooooooooooonnngg blog!
Amanda - for hire!!
Good to know about this themed bridal shower party. I am in search of wonderful wedding venues for arranging my sister-in-law’s wedding and searching online. Have come across few fabulous venues and hope to arrange a grand event.
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