A Feminine & Vintage Bridal Shower

Hi everybody! I hope you are having a wonderful day. Today I want to share with you guys the story of the bridal shower I co-hosted over the weekend. Here's a little background first.

My best friend Hannah is getting married on October 26th to her fiance Randy, and I am so excited to be her Matron of Honor! 

So far, I have had a blast going with her to dress fittings and venue tours and I can't wait until her big day! Her friend Brittany is also in the wedding party and the two of us have had a great time planning her shower. We asked Hannah what she envisioned for her bridal shower and she told us "girly" and "pretty" so we took those ideas and ran with them! Over the course of several months we toyed with the idea of a "burlap and lace" shower, as well as a "bird themed" shower and a "vintage tea party" shower. I think what we ended up with was a combination of all those things, and I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out!

While the entire shower was a collaboration between Brittany and I, we played to our strengths- meaning Brittany was basically in charge of the food, and I was basically in charge of the decor. Don't get me wrong, Brittany definitely has an eye for design, and while not the best cook, I can bake a delicious cake, but we decided for the best results we'd leave the cooking up to her!

 

As guests walked in the front door, they were greeted by an "I Do" sign, complete with the bride and grooms initials.

 

Once inside the door, we had a sign in station. At this table guests had the opportunity to leave sweet "messages in a bottle" for the bride-to-be.  The bottles said things like "marriage advice", "recipes to try" (which, by the way, we put a recipe card inside the invitations), "who'd play Hannah & Randy in a movie" and "favorite memory with Hannah & Randy". We also had a "honeymoon fund" so guests could drop any spare change or small cash that they wanted into the pitcher. We also lit a scented candle so when you walked in you were immediately greeted by the sweet smell of lavender.

Just past the sign in table was a set of doors that lead to a home office. We used the home office as our staging area (which is code for "that room was a total wreck"). Since we didn't want the guests to be able to see what a mess we'd made, we hung fabric behind the doors to hide it all. We added black and white photos from Hannah and Randy's engagement session to each window pane, which everybody really enjoyed looking at. 

Next you walked down a short hallway that led into the living room. This is the room where the party really happened. We removed all the regular furniture and transformed the room into what Brittany's husband called a "vintage tea party type restaurant". 

 

 

 

This first table was Hannah's table so I wanted it to be extra adorable. I just love the way the hydrangeas look inside the watering can, and I think the draped jewelry and crystal candlesticks added a nice touch too. Throw in some romance novels, scrabble pieces, and mixed matched dishes and you've got one adorable table setting! (SIDE NOTE: stick the ends of your hydrangeas in some alum before you put them into your arrangement and they will stay fresh for days. Thanks Pinterest for that tip!)

 Another, larger table sat six people and featured a long and low candelabra that usually resides on my formal dining room table. Lots of laughs were heard from this table :)

This round table turned out to be one of my favorites (there were five in total). The hydrangeas and baby's breath looked so sweet, and isn't Hannah just gorgeous in this photo?! (SIDE NOTE: She's pretty gorgeous all the time).

 This table was located in the center of the room so I decided to keep the center piece low so as not to block the view of the bride's table. I filled an antique tea pot with hydrangeas and tiny pink roses, and if you look closely you'll see I draped a sparkly bracelet around the spout. Don't you just love those striped pink straws? They were made of paper rather than plastic, which just added to the vintage vibe.

 

And here is our final table. This ended up serving as the "hostesses table" because it only sat two people and was the closest to the kitchen which meant Brittany and I could get up easily to refill wine glasses (and oh dear, did we refill some wine glasses!) check on the food, refresh the ice, etc. We had some extra baby's breath so we just filled the inside of this bird cage with it and it was just the soft and feminine filler we needed. Also, you may notice that we customized the burlap table runners with the initials "H&R".

We also created a fun photo booth backdrop out of ribbon, lace and strips of burlap, and purchased lots of adorable little props to play with. Here are just a few of the adorable pictures we took!  

We also had this banner strung up high, above the festivities. 

Now, if you aren't already overwhelmed by all these pictures, lets move onto the food! 

Brittany envisioned a full dessert bar, and I think her vision truly became a reality! We served an assortment of cookies, miniature pies, macarons, yogurt parfaits, cupcakes and of course, a gorgeous cake was the "piece de resistance". Can you believe Brittany actually made that?! How gorgeous! If I hadn't watched her make it myself, I'd have thought she paid hundreds of dollars to hire a professional. The girl has some serious baking skills. The way she designed the berries on top and sprinkled powered sugar over the entire thing not only made it beautiful, but also made it even more delicious! 

In addition to desserts, we also served hors d'oeuvres. Since the shower started at 2pm, we thought most people wouldn't be expecting to be served a full meal. We had chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, an assortment of veggies with dip, deviled eggs, and cucumber sandwiches (SIDE NOTE: cucumber sandwiches should be served at every single party ever because they are totally delicious). 

On their way out the door at the end of the day, guests were invited to stop at the "love is brewing" table to pick up a burlap sack filled with fresh coffee.

It was truly a beautiful day. From the flowers to the desserts, everything was absolutely perfect. And most importantly, Hannah had a wonderful time. I should mention that everything we used to decorate the space was either items from our own homes or graciously loaned to us by family members. The few decorative items we bought were from Goodwill, the Dollar Store or garage sales. We were able to create a truly gorgeous setting to "shower" our friend without breaking the bank. I am so proud of the event we were able to create and I hope everybody who attended will cherish the memories from that day. I hope those of you who were only able to attend the party via my blog have enjoyed yourselves as well, and I hope you'll be able to take some inspiration for the next time you are hosting a party!

As always, thank you!

-Jesse