Showering the Bride

There are few things in life as memorable as a wedding or bringing a child into a family. I had the privilege to host my niece’s bridal shower this past weekend and wanted to share how we decided on a theme and carried it through from the invitations to the decor and especially into the food. In other words, we took our theme seriously!

Theme: Champagne Glitter Brunch
Wedding Colors: Lavender & Silver
Wedding Date: March 28
Shower Date: February 22
Shower Guests: approximately 25
Supporting Vendors: Party Time Plus, Allegra Printing, La Chatelaine Chocolaterie, Alex Nguyen (aquariusds) on Etsy, WeDoHoney on Etsy, Staples Office Supply and Rae Rae’s Bakery

With a little inspiration from a Google search, selecting a shower theme was really pretty easy. The bride to be has always been in love with glitter, shiny crystal things, pretty in pink things. It’s a celebratory time so you have to have Champagne, and brunch offers a fun menu that doesn’t require a lot of last minute cooking. A short planning session over lunch helped us divide up the tasks, and it didn’t hurt to have the bride’s mother be an owner in a party rental business. She provided the extra tables, white chairs and table linens, along with an easel for the welcome sign, water goblets, flatware and a few other minor supplies.

Finding complimentary designs on Etsy was easy for the invitations (WeDoHoney) and the welcome sign (aquariusds). Both vendors were super easy to work with and provided the digital files within 2 business days, willing to make any personal adjustments I requested. My local Allegra print shop printed the invitations and envelopes with about a one week of lead time, and they were mailed to guests about a month in advance. Our local Staples store printed the poster on 36×48″ paper, and then mounted it on foam core. Staples was about 40% cheaper than the FedEx Office shop and printed within 24 hours. Now the bride has a pretty count down poster for the remaining weeks until the wedding!

A few design touches to enhance the decor included lavender, glittered tulle atop the table runners, champagne bottles, vases dipped in chunky glitter and filled with white and lavender fresh flowers, stemless champagne flutes dipped in chunky glitter with a lavender sugared rim. The party favors (chocolate & champagne) were set at each place setting to also decorate the tables. You may note from the photographs the baked goods all had a touch of silver or gold edible glitter, and the food labels were printed on sparkle light silver cardstock, with corners sprayed with glue and lavender glitter tucked inside wine cork holders.

The Menu:
Four Cheese Egg Bake
Turkey Hash
Apple Cinnamon Baked French Toast
Raspberry Baked French Toast
White Chocolate Cranberry Scones
Blueberry Sour Cream Scones
Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Mini Cakes
Glazed Donut Holes
Maple Glazed Donuts
Fresh Fruit & Lemony Fruit Dip
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Mimosa’s (cranberry, grapefruit, orange & pineapple)
Don’t drink champagne? Vodka is available for a “Screwdriver” instead
Coffee & Water

Blueberry Sour Cream Scones

Courtesy of Sweet & Simple Kitchen

Check out this recipe

Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Mini Bundt Cakes

Courtesy of the Preppy Kitchen

Check out this recipe

Four Cheese Egg Bake

Courtesy of Taste of Home magazine

Check out this recipe

White Chocolate Cranberry Scones

Courtesy of Chew Out Loud

Check out this recipe

Party Favors:
Specialty chocolates, wrapped in clear cellophane bags and tied with lavender ribbon: Lemon Lavender White Chocolate & Sea Salt Caramel with Hibiscus Dark Chocolate
Glittered mini Champagne bottles with celebratory label attached

If you’re planning an event with a similar theme, keep in mind our menu is a bit robust because we intentionally provided gluten free (since our bride is gluten free) and the typical “gluten filled” options. Without dietary restrictions, the baked goods could easily be cut in half. In addition, we opted to forego the traditional shower cake by offering a variety of sweet brunch treats. If interested, you will find many of the recipes for the menu items by searching the blog.

Whether you replicate our shower, or simply use it as inspiration, we hope your event is also seamless and a memorable day for your guest of honor and special guests. We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day!

Blessings,
Tina