I'm back! Moving is quite possibly the worst thing in the world, and hopefully I won't have to do it for another two years. I refuse to do it. This place could flood five more times, and I'm staying put. Oh yeah, our apartment flooded a week after we moved in. Apparently somebody vandalized the construction site by stuffing a piece of wood inexposed pipe. And that pipe just happened to be just below my bathroom. And one day people in the apartment above me decided to take an extra long shower and that piece of wood sent their shower water and whatever sewage was stuck in that pipe right up through my toilet and shower drain. Fun times. But not nearly as fun as the party behind this post...
I got to throw my very first bridal shower last month for a friend whom I have known for over 20 years. I'm still in shock that I'm (a) old enough to have friends that are getting married and (b) old enough to have known somebody for 20+ years.
We had the shower in late September, so the obvious pun-filled theme would be "'Fall'-ing in love." But the bride-to-be loves pineapples and is honeymooning in the Caribbean, so a tropical shower was totally called for. Now I wanted to do a full-out "honeymoon shower" where people bring gifts for the honeymoon. It didn't even have to be raunchy... a new pair of sandals, a nice suitcase, sunglasses, monetary gifts that could be used toward a room upgrade or fun outings. But then we saw that the bride wanted to invite 50 people and included some grandmothers on her invite list, and we knew if we called it a honeymoon shower there would be a at least one person who would give the raunchiest item at the sex shop as a gift.
My parents have an awesome back yard and quite the collection of pineapple decor, and they graciously allowed me to hold the shower there.
(I still can't believe we got so lucky with the weather. It was GORGEOUS.)
(can you find the ring?)
I know a lot of bridal showers are filled with games, but I settled on just one: a ring hunt. I hid rings around the party, and whoever found the most by the time we opened presents got to take home one of the flower arrangements.
For drinks guests had the choice of a mimosa (with orange juice or pineapple juice) or rosé, which would be poured in their souvenir: a customized wine glass from beau-coup.
The menu is where I really got to have fun. I had a mix of homemade and store-bought food, mainly for my own party-prep sanity. We bought donuts (appropriately called OC Sand) from Fractured Prune and bought fruit salad and frozen waffles from the grocery store. I know Chef Kwame had to pack his knives & go for using frozen waffles, but they were appropriate in this case. You gotta know your audience. We also bought fresh baked quiches from a bakery. We decided to buy enough for each person to get one slice and that would just be way too overwhelming for one non-professional baker to make. As for the homemade items, a guest offered to make a salad, and I was able to make two sauces for the waffles: cinnamon-banana honey butter (recipe coming soon) and coconut syrup. I also made my favorite medianoche sliders (recipe also coming soon). They're seriously so good.
Normally, the food is the best part of any party. But in this case, my favorite idea for the shower was using my Fuji instamax to make a scrapbook for the bride. The directions for guests are easy: take a picture, write a note to the bride-to-be, and pin your picture and note together. After the party. I collected all the pictures and notes and put them into a little book for the bride. It's a great way for the bride to remember the day and the loved ones that were there with her.
(my co-hosts demonstrating)
Finally, we bought the bride a sparkly headband for her to wear and this adorable Etsy banner for her to sit under while opening presents. Since some guests didn't get around to taking a picture for the scrapbook, we passed around cards for people to write the bride a note.
Overall, I'm so happy that I got to throw my friend a shower and for all the help from my mom and friends. Thanks for everything.
& pin this post for your next bridal shower!
P.S. A slight etiquette note for shower guests: when somebody invites you into their home, don't tell the bartender that the house isn't your taste, especially in the earshot of the hostess. We don't care what you think and you only made yourself look bad. BYE NOW.
