Colorful Country Glam Bridal Shower

Last week, I shared my inspiration/ideas for my little sister’s bridal shower, so today I’m ready to show you the party itself! I want to start with the disclaimer that I am not much of a party person. I avoid them when I can (social butterfly in the houuuuse!), and could probably count on one hand the number of parties/events I’ve hosted in my life. To be completely honest, the thought of throwing Bekah a bridal shower hadn’t even occurred to me at all until one of her friends asked about throwing one together (and, sadly, this friend couldn’t even make it to the shower when it was all her idea in the first place! but at least she got the ball rolling, which is more than I ever did).

Knowing that my sister dislikes being the center of attention just as much as I do, I wanted to keep things small and intimate and cozy. I figured a casual lunch party at my house with just her family and a few close friends would be the best way to go—she’d feel special and honored and loved without being overwhelmed or embarrassed by a huge crowd or awkward party games. Just a low-key lunch with some folks who love her lots.

Despite my general dislike for hosting events, I actually had a lot of fun pulling this together, and I think everyone had a good time. I love how it all worked out, and it was fun to plan a special day to celebrate my baby sister. Prepare your eyeballs for an absolute onslaught of shower photos! (Zoom down to the end of this post for a clickable source list of all the fun party supplies!)

The tissue pom poms. THE TISSUE POM POMS! I loved them. So bright and happy and fun. We hung them with tape and wire and I love the big clustery bunch of them hanging there.

It’s always all about the food for me. Always. I served chicken salad on croissants, fruit, goldfish (toddler-ish? yes. bride’s favorite snack? also yes.), chocolate cupcakes, our favorite Chocolate White Chip Cookies, chocolate dipped heart-shaped rice krispie pops, and pink lemonade.

These beautiful invites from Wedding Paper Divas were the perfect jumping-off point for the shower. Even before I started planning the décor or food or activities, I found these invitations and LOVED the colors, the cheery feel, and the perfect mix of classic with modern and fun. I loved everything about them and used them as an inspiration when planning the colors and overall feel of the shower!

I loved using these little chalkboard easels to label the dishes. I’m sure the guests could have figured out what they were looking at on their own, but it looked sweet anyway.

I always think tables/displays/etc. look best with a little variety in height. The cake stand (borrowed from my mama) was a nice, simple way to add some height.

These  favor boxes? Absolutely my favorite part of the shower. They are so sweet and so perfectly Bekah. They’re filled with Hershey’s Cookies n Crème Kisses—one of Bekah’s favorite candies.

Don’t get me started on the cupcake stands. So. Dang. Adorable. And I loved those glittery cupcake wrappers! I thought they were absolutely darling, and such a fun way to bring in a little more glitz. My mom decorated the cupcakes—too cute, right? She did an awesome job, especially considering the lack of supplies on hand. The only frosting tips I have were too small to get that swirly look we wanted, so she had to improvise with just a plastic baggie with the corner cut off. I think they came out great.

The rice krispie pops were so fun to make too—we just made a pan of rice krispie treats (making sure to press them into the pan as tightly as we could), and once they’d hardened up a bit, used a heart-shaped cookie cutter on them. Then we dipped half of each heart in chocolate and added pink sprinkles, and inserted a lollipop stick after the chocolate had dried.

Okay, I know I said the favor boxes were my favorite part of the shower, but maybe these milk jars are tied for first. It’s a close call, and really, it feels like choosing a favorite child. They are both so special in their own way. (We also used these jars to hold the rice krispie pops and below in a party game).

Strings of paper lanterns? YES PLEASE.

Is there anything on earth more cheerful than confetti balloons? I submit that there is not.

In lieu of the typical party games (which I promise would have mortified Bekah to no end), I figured we ought to do something that didn’t put her on the spot, but would still get people chatting and laughing together. Here’s what I came up with—each guest was instructed to write down a date idea for Bekah to take home:

Another use for my precious milk jars! Everyone jotted down a handful of date ideas on popsicle sticks and tossed them in the jar. At the end of the shower, Bekah read through them all, picked a few favorites, and the winners got to take home a bag of candy as a prize. It was a fun little way to get people socializing and chatting without putting Bekah on the spot.

I also thought it would be fun to have everyone write down their best marriage advice for her. Each person was photographed holding their advice, and I’m going to print the pictures out (as well as the rest of the shower pictures) for Bekah to keep. It was so fun to see everyone’s advice to her, and it’ll be a cute way for her to remember the day and her guests at the shower, and their well wishes for her. Better than a guest book that she’ll never look at again!

Phew. Lots of pictures. Did you make it through?

It was such a fun day with friends and family, and I hope Bekah felt special and loved. And surprisingly enough, this host actually had a great time planning it out, preparing everything, and throwing it for her. Imagine that, miracles really do happen.

Party supply source list—so many gorgeous goodies! Click to visit.
Tissue Pom Poms
Confetti Balloons
Paper Lanterns
Glitter Cupcake Wrappers
Cupcake Stands
Milk Jars
Chalkboard Place Cards
Gold Polka Dot Favor Boxes
Pink Striped Paper Plates
Party Napkins
Invitations

Special thanks to my friends at Beau Coup and Wedding Paper Divas for providing supplies to throw the bridal shower! And thank you for supporting Maybe Matilda sponsors to help make posts like this possible.