SO I made the trip this weekend for two of my favorite ladies. One is a beautiful and hilarious blushing bride-to-be, and the other might be the cutest little pregger mama I’ve ever seen.

The showers were super cute, so I wanted to share some of the lovely little details with you all! 

First up… babies (Even though that’s not the objective here at Wedding Belles, a lot of the ideas can be applied to a BRIDAL SHOWER too! Take notes.)

Centerpieces

Case in point. My favorite floral technique – bunches of same stem flowers that look beautiful in bulk! I’ve talked about this before, but budget friendly flowers in bulk look amazing together! These mini carnations worked perfectly and were perfect for the “It’s a Boy” Shower.

They also kicked up the tables with adorable stuffed animals, and INCREDIBLE cake plates. I had to go get one of my own after the shower. Home Goods is a magical place that everyone should visit. These cake plates came with TERRIBLE kiddie-bling. That’s the only thing I can call it. Wires with ribbons, buttons, soccer balls … you get the gist. Anyway… wire kiddie-bling removed and replaced with ribbons in shades of blue, gingham and polka dots it’s perfectly wonderful! You can change the ribbons depending on the theme and color scheme of the shower, and  it’s so easy! 

I’m making up my own right now, and can’t wait to share with you all the fun details! 

The other amazing little table details were the cupcakes! They came from out of Philly and all of the cupcakes had piped in icing shaped ducks, booties and rattles. AND, there were homemade chocolate lollipops shaped like safety pins and rattles! I mean… come one. How great is that! 

Cupcakes- Booties

Ducky cupcakes

Chocolate Rattle Lollipops

You can buy chocolate lollipop molds at craft stores, and follow recipes like this one from Jacques Torres, this one for two color lollipops, or this one for marbled chocolate lollipops to make and decorate your own fabulous favors! 

Moving on… Brides! 

My friend J is getting married in May, and while her shower was very traditional, it was completely unique to her at the same time! Love it. I’m a pretty staunch hater of shower games. HOWEVER, sometimes they can serve as great ice breakers, and really hilarious moments. You have to gauge your crowd. This crowd was all about fun, so the games were mild and very entertaining.

Because J and her fiance are honeymooning in Hawaii, her shower was themed accordingly with  starfish wine stopper favors, orchid centerpieces, red velvet cupcakes and a lei for the beautiful bride!

Orchid Centerpieces

Starfish Wine Stopper Favors

The Blushing Bride

Red Velvet Cupcakes

J got a few of the questions in the Newlywed Game (see below) wrong, and her punishment was based on her own personal vice… red wine. Her quick thinking bridesmaids made up red wine jello shots instead of the hard liquor variety for her to spoon out every time she got a question wrong.

The Newlywed Game

All-in-all it was a wonderful weekend of showers- both bridal and baby! I’m so glad I could share these with you! I detailed three of the bridal shower games below.

Game #1- Bride Bingo

Print out empty grids- which you can find online- and have guests fill out the boxes with gifts they think the bride will receive- dishes, bath towels, blender etc. Then add bowls of m&m’s on the tables for people to use to mark the boxes as gifts are opened. Winners yell bingo, prize is distributed… you get the point. This keeps all of the guests engaged in the gift opening process and limits the table chatter at traditional showers. Plus it’s a great way to keep everyone involved.

Game #2- The Newlywed Game

Ask the groom a set of questions prior to the shower and have the bride guess his answers. Every time she gets a question wrong you can have her (eat a marshmallow or a piece of gum) which truthfully, is kind of gross… OR you could always make her take a red wine jello shot…(again… gauge your crowd accordingly)

Game #3- The Purse Game

Make a list, or look on up online of things that you may or may not find in your purse (comb, sunglasses, safety pin, 1986 penny etc.) Assign points to each item and have guests tally up their bags.

I had to share this with you all. My friend Lisa is getting married in the fall, and I can’t wait for her shower. Bet you never thought I’d be this excited for a shower right? Well Lisa is having my all-time favorite kind of shower… the DISPLAY SHOWER! No wrapping of gifts and more importantly no unwrapping of gifts! Just a nice fun afternoon with friends to celebrate your engagement with oversize boxes of stemless wine glasses, ice cream makers and Tupperware looking on naked from the corner.

 Fabulous.

If you remember awhile back, I told you about how display showers are my favorite kind of bridal showers. They take the “stuffiness” out of the shower and make the day about the bride rather than the gifts and the three hours it takes to open them all. It’s a tricky thing to word on an invite without offending the more old-fashioned women folk, but if you can do it right, it’s a great alternative to tradition.

Here’s how Lisa’s shower invite was worded:

” At the request of the bride, this will be a casual “display” shower.  Please bring your gifts unwrapped, so that Lisa has more time to enjoy your company.”

Wonderful.  Can’t wait!

There’s several schools of thought on this touchy little conversation piece.

As a bridesmaid, if you don’t have a serious boyfriend, and by boyfriend I don’t mean your post three Margarita phone call after a late Thursday night out with the girls, then don’t expect to get a plus one to your friends big day.

In her eyes, you have a job to do.  In theory you do have a job to do, sometimes several jobs, and having a random plus one around while you dodge into the bathroom to hold tulle over the toilet might not be the best first date.

Even ladies with significant others often find themselves abandoning their dates at weddings they are in.  A friend of mine is toying with the idea of not even bringing her long-term boyfriend to a wedding she’s in because he might end up hanging out alone at the bar all night while she attends to her duties.

Of course, situations vary and if your other half is friends with your fellow bridesmaids plus ones, they might not feel too left out.  But if they’re not and you’re sitting court-side with the bridal party, while he’s off at the “Other halves” Table you might just get to wave from across the room.

If most of the bridal party is married or coupled off, a good way to solve this problem- TELL YOUR BRIDES- is just seat everybody with their date.  Don’t make your bridal party sit at a long table at the front of the room while their husbands sit in the back near the buffet.  I did a wedding once where the bride used 2 round tables to seat the bridal party and their dates.  The bride and groom sat with the maid of honor and her husband and the best man and his girlfriend, and the rest of the bridal party surrounded them with their dates.

Personally, if you’re single and in a wedding don’t even worry about bringing a date. It’s so not worth it. Besides, if the future Mr. & Mrs., follow the rule across the board that means there could be plenty of single boys right across the aisle from you.

Are weddings really a good place to meet men? I don’t know.  I’m going to 9 this year, one of which I’m in, so I’ll let you know.

Success Stories welcome!