Helloooo!

How pretty is this green and gold bridal shower??

This weekend I got to host a bridal shower for one of my best friends! We’ve been friends since kindergarten and she is one of the most sincere and genuine people I know. My mom and I wanted her shower to have a beautiful garden party feel, even though we were hosting it inside!

Over the years I’ve gotten to host a handful of bridal events (showers + bachelorette parties) for the girls in my life. I love doing it and have learned a few things along the way.

This bridal shower was unique in that we hosted it in a large, rather plain room with no windows (so more pressure to create a magical space). And it had a fairly large guest list.

Here are a few of my recommendations for throwing a bridal shower:

Must Do:

• Choose appropriate china/flatware. Renting china from your local party rental place is really not that expensive. Depending on the look and feel you’re going for, having formal china adds SO much charm to your event space! If you have over 12 guests, I HIGHLY recommend renting china (if you’re going for a more formal vibe).

• Decorate your space. If you’re hosting inside a large room (community center, church, event hall) you’re going to need some serious color to make the room pop. Make sure your tablecloths and napkins are colorful! It’s likely they will be the first thing your guests see. I also recommend renting them.

•  Make the event feel special. Okay so how many of you have seen the DIY photo booth pins on pinterest? A beautiful photo back drop is always a good idea. I took Michael to home depot and together we cut a bunch of pvc pipe and constructed a 7ft photo backdrop!
  
  A few tips of advice on this — get the 1 inch wide pvc pipe. Spray paint it gold. And do not use a bedsheet as the backdrop (it will for real look super homemade). A much easier way is to purchase (or use your own) window curtain and string it on. It will hang perfectly! We then went to the dollar store and bought greenery and pinned it at the top and cut it to create an arch effect. We had the bride sit in front of the photo backdrop to open all her gifts and it looked really beautiful.

• The little details are everything. For this shower my mom and I made a a homemade fruited mint tea.
  
  

Major Money Savers:

◊ Make all the food yourself (or enlist some friends to help!). It’s no secret that store bought food can be expensive, but it really will hijack your party planning budget. We bought mini-cupcakes from a local bakery and ironically hardly anyone ate them!! I think people are so used to getting store-bought goodies at events that it’s really a treat to eat homemade food.

◊ You do not have to have alcohol! This shower was at a church in the afternoon so mimosa’s were not required. Instead, we opted for a delicious homemade fruited mint tea. After guests were greeted, they were offered a glass while they mingled and waited for the shower to begin. I don’t know why, but mingling is always a lot more fun when you have something fun to sip on!

◊ Utilize items you already have. Hosting events can get kind of pricey, so definitely do not overlook decorative items you already have! This can be a beautiful bird cage, candle holders, vases, tablecloths, bows, ribbon…you get the idea.

◊ If you’re renting china, be strategic. There’s no need to rent a full flatware set if you aren’t serving any food that will need a knife. A poly tablecloth with a beautiful color will have just as much impact as a premium ($$$) tablecloth.

◊ If you’d like to host the shower outside of your home, be careful your money doesn’t get eaten up in room rental fees! Check with your church and see if you can use their facility for a donation. Community centers also have decent pricing.

I looooove hearing about events you all have hosted! Any bloggers out there-if you have party planning posts please share them with me in the comments!

Xx, K

Rentals // Cupcakes // Favors