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.

My friend Lisa is getting married in November of this year, and marks my 8^th and final wedding of 2008.  Because many of her friends live out of town, she opted to have both her shower and bachelorette party the same weekend, therefore cutting back on travel for her friends, and the expenses that come with traveling far distances multiple times. (Which, by the way is awesome.)

In lieu of the paparazzi of peen, feather boas and bar games, Lisa opted for a party bus field trip to the Finger Lakes vineyards with 28 of her closest friends and family.

Lisa and the girls heading to the Wineries

May I reiterate…this is such a great bachelorette party alternative. It’s so much fun, and it’s a great way for the bride and her girls to have one last hurrah before married life intervenes.  I’m told that’s when you’re not allowed to hang out with the girls anymore. (Although, I’ll go out on a limb here and say that actually hasn’t happened since 1954).

Getting a party bus is really the best way to do this.  Having a driver is absolutely worth it when you’ve tasted your way through half of Cayuga Lake.  If everyone chips in you can have quite the day trip underway.

  

 

Lisa and the girls tasting award winning Red Cat Wine at Hazlit Vineyards

Lisa and some of her friends

We kicked off the day with mimosas and a variety of food was on hand for later in the day.  We made our way through Cayuga and Seneca Lakes to four of the Finger Lakes wineries.  

Thirsty Owl Winery

Tasting at Thirsty Owl Winery

Her shower was the next day, in the afternoon, which gave everyone substantial time to recuperate from the previous days “tastings”.  Paving a modern day bridal trail, Lisa opted for the display shower, and guests brought unwrapped gifts to her outdoor shower. I will reiterate again, how I love display showers. There is no watching the opening of gifts for hours upon hours as you sit, stuck to your seat, golf clapping along to every blender, ice cream maker and serving tray that pops out of a box.

 Guests could walk in and see EXACTLY which gifts Lisa received and move along to mix and mingle with other guests.  Some of Lisa’s more “risqué” gifts were left wrapped, which was wonderful, because Lisa was still able to open some gifts, and it added an extra element to the shower. IMPORTANT: Hand guests an envelope to fill out as they’re arriving at the shower, to address to themselves.  Then tape the envelope with their gift so it doesn’t get lost among the others.  You can also leave a pile of envelopes with pens at the door with instructions on fun paper as well.  

Yay for Display Showers!

Lisa’s sister filled luggage for the honeymoon with super cute gifts like Mr. & Mrs. coozies, lingerie, flip flops and champagne. Such a cute idea! 

Decorating without wrapping!

You can still decorate your gift without wrapping paper! Here Lisa’s wine glasses, a bottle of red and white wine tied together with matching bows let the bride know that the gift goes together.  Plus it’s decorate with these FABULOUS poofs- They’re Martha’s brilliant idea, and I’ll have a whole post dedicated to all the wonderful things you can do with them soon. But you can click the link and get the directions on how to make these wonderful decorations.

The thing with display showers is you really need to fill the time with other things to keep guests engaged in the shower. Lisa’s bridal party led a few games, which kept everyone involved.  One I had never played before was writing captions for 6 randomly selected photos of the bride.  Lisa then had to judge the captions and then give the winning table a point for each picture. It yielded some pretty funny captions and we managed to embarrass the bride a bit, which lets face it…is always one of the days objectives.

Other things to keep in mind when you throw a display shower is to make sure there is music somewhere flowing, add a personal touch somewhere in shower, whether it is in the menu, the cocktails or the décor.  Make it personal, keep it simple.

Spring is here and it’s officially the kickoff of wedding season! Well, at least in my world it is. I thought I would share a few inexpensive favor ideas in planning your bridal showers. As I mentioned in an earlier post, centerpieces often double as really great favors. Potted Perennials like Daisies, Tulips and Daffodils make really beautiful table decorations and who doesn’t like to take home flowers?

Forgo the wrapped candy coated almonds and try something a little bit different. Here are a few that are great spring shower gifts for guests.

• Mini Lucky Bamboo Plants
• Personalized Seed Packets
  (These are so cute and keep with the theme of “starting something new”)
• Mini Cocktail Shakers
  (Depends on your Shower Crowd)
• Half Bottles of Dessert Wine or Champagne with Personalized labels
• Potted Perennials like Tulips or Daffodils in wedding colors
  (You can find these at any local farmers market or area discount stores like Sam’s Club, Wegman’s and Walmart)
• Monogrammed CandlesThink outside the box girls and as always, feel free to leave any other ideas!

So I have this theory about showers….They would be WAY better without the opening of gifts. Some showers I’ve attended have been better than others. The good ones have a great signature drink (like the sherbet/champagne cocktails I “tested” at the last one I was at), pretty centerpieces that often double as favors and a bride that makes haste through the gift pile.

I never liked opening gifts in front of people, even when I was little. Wayyyy to much pressure. So, I have proposed if and when I get married to all potential bridesmaids who know, that if they throw me a stuffy shower there’s a good chance I won’t show, that my guests bring unwrapped gifts.

I know it sounds a little unconventinal and the traditionalists out there are stifling “eews” back into their mouths, but it just makes more sense. Think about it.

Bring an unwrapped gift, slap a card to it and ENJOY YOURSELF. The bride can thank people as they come in and place each unwrapped gift in a pile with the cards attached so guests can see what the bride received. This way, the hours of opening gifts can be spent actually talking to the people at the shower. You invited them for a reason right?

It’s a little hard to digest at first, but I think i’s a great alternative for brides who are willing to stray from convention.

*NOTE* Bridesmaids- ASK your bride if she wants to do this first before you actually tell guests not to wrap their gifts… it could become very awkward very fast if you don’t.

This also works really well for showers with a big guest list. I know a bridesmaid who planned a shower for 200 people and politely slipped a note inside the invitation asking guests to refrain from gift wrap for the sake of everyone’s sanity. Ok, those weren’t her exact words but you get the idea. And it worked!

It would work great for a spring shower to that might take place outside in a tent, backyard, garden etc.  Set up a Bellini Bar for guests to make their own bellini’s.  Have tables set up where guests can fill out questionnaires about the bride & groom and win a prize.

Food is also very important if you do the shower this way because it takes the focal point away from the gifts. Do a Mediteranean Buffet, a Dessert Bar, a Cupcake Table, Candy bar, Brunch Buffet, Barbecue, or anything else you want! Just remember to make it personal.

Obviously some brides will still want to revel in the all about me time while they open gifts, but some brides really don’t like it.  So this is an alternative to the traditional shower and really gret for brides who are willing to stray from convention.

More time for chatting up the bride, commending the mother-in-law and playing all those ridiculously cheesy shower games. Oh you know you love them…