before jessica’s destination wedding, it was my pleasure to attend a bridal brunch thrown by her mother, the wedding lady. it’s no wonder susan is one of vancouver’s best wedding and event planning specialists, every component was exquisite!! we all talked wedding excitement and shared fun stories over brunch, which included butternut squash soup, summer fruit salad and quiche, as well as a delicious sorbet with fresh raspberries. the meal ended with a fresh cup of steaming hot maui coffee, the perfect hawaiian touch!
the bride spoiled her sisters and bridesmaids with gifts from jewliette jewellery . i was given a stunning pair of elsa corsi earrings that i can’t wait to wear again! the hyatt ladies really went above and beyond to throw a perfect sunday bridal brunch. i just love looking back at all the stunning details, thank you again ladies xo
planning a shower can be extremely costly and overwhelming for those of us who aren’t named martha stewart (girl has money and creativity…an event planning goldmine). without such a helpful and kowledgeable bridal party, i wouldn’t have even known where to start!
i’ve broken down what i learned about throwing a creative and special bridal shower into these 8 simple steps and tips.
there are so many options for bridal shower themes and a great place for inspiration is martha stewart’s wedding site. i have been to a kitchen themed one, and i love the idea of an afternoon tea party or parisian theme (super bridesmaids the movie, but it’s all good).
since jessica’s engagement party was hawaiian theme (where she’s having her wedding) we decided to veer away from any major idea and keep it to a colour concept instead. apple green is part of her wedding colours and we just incorporated the bright pink and some white to break it up.
with the unreliable weather in vancouver this summer, we didn’t want to risk holding the shower outdoors. thankfully, one of the bridesmaids was able to book us in at her apartment building’s party room. it’s a really nice space with lots of room, a kitchen, and plenty of tables. whether you host it at your house, a park, your backyard, a hall..wherever, you’ll need to figure out dishware as well. we were able to get enough glasses, platter, plates, cake stands, etc. together between the 4 of us but there is always the option of renting dishes. or, paper plates i guess.
once we locked in a location for the party, it was time to sort out the guest list. feel free to work with the bride on a list of guests, as there will likely be family members and friends you might not think to invite. after you’ve determined how many people will be attending, it’s time to move onto step 3 (my favourite step).
i actually worked with a great graphic designer from fonik design to make jessica’s bridal shower invites. i showed him an invitation design i liked online and he was able to recreate it for me for a great price. i got them printed and bought a pack of silver envelopes at michael’s crafts. looking back, i probably could have just emailed the invitations out (would have saved paper and been more cost effective) but sometimes it’s a nice gesture to send a piece of mail! it’s also easy enough to make your own invites online, handmaking them, or using an e-vite system.
we had 31 guests attending the shower and made the ambitious decision to cater it ourselves. each bridesmaid was responsible for two appetizers. my mom and the groom’s mom kindly offered to also pitch in two appetizers, bringing the grand total up to way more than a room full of women would eat! we had sandwiches, quinoa salad, bocconcini bites, 7 layer dip, deviled eggs, hummus and pita, cheese/cracker/meat plate, veggies and dip, mini tortilla wraps, and the wildly popular steak bites. i’d always rather have too much food than not enough!
as an afternoon event, we were sure to offer coffee and tea, as well as water and a non alcoholic punch. we also served white wine, mimosas, and champagne with edible hibiscus flowers. for dessert, jessica’s mom the wedding lady contributed a delicious and visually stunning cake. always the best from susan! i also ordered some mini cupcakes from cakelicious that were lemon flavoured and ahhmazing. my mom made some brownies and lauren brought a fruit platter. we really had too much food, but don’t worry. i polished off those mini cupcakes by myself later on, it was really no trouble at all!
also from cakelicious, we sent each guest home with a pink cake pop that we put in a little bag and tied with ribbon with a little handwritten “thank-you” note. they were a big hit!
each bridesmaid took on some of the decorations. flowers, balloons, tissue pom poms, and some handmade signs. all of which were possible with some sticker letters from michael’s, a few supplies from the dollar store, some scrapbook paper, and a bit of creativity.
many bridal showers involve games as an ice breaker, or a chance for people to get to know the bride to be a little bit better. jessica hates games so we were sure not to include anything embarrassing and remotely game-like. our only moment of silliness was making her a bridal shower ribbon bra while she opened gifts instead of a bridal shower ribbon hat. although, we did manage to put a vintage feather hat on her as well. all in good fun, it was actually really cute! we did include some blank cards (that were also purchased from michael’s on sale) for guests to write a short piece of advice to the bride and groom.
ultimately, it’s important to always keep the bride in mind when planning the shower. we were sure to include jessica’s favourite wine, chips, and peanut m&m’s. we even had a surprise special guest attend from out of town! putting up pictures of the bride and groom is a nice touch (oh right, it’s about him too :P). any thoughtful gestures will not go unnoticed, and it’s ultimately a party in honour of the bride. have fun with it!
you can see what the final bridal shower looked like here or here
hope you find some of the tips helpful, feel free to let me know if you have any advice to add. happy planning xo
we spent last weekend in sechelt, bc with adam’s mom and a bunch of his closest pals. we all stayed at this hilarious little motel by the water and had a wonderful time laughing and drinking together. of adam’s large group of childhood friends, quinn and liz are the first to tie the knot. they had a beautiful ceremony at liz’s beach front property in the afternoon. aren’t you obsessed with the colours scheme? and she obviously looked amaze too! the reception was full of laughter, tears, and tons of dancefloor action (there is no photo evidence of it on here, you can imagine why).
sechelt is a beautiful little spot, i can’t believe i’d never been to the sunshine coast before! and a relaxed wedding on the beach with your closest friends and family, does it get much better than that? we had so much fun celebrating, everything was just perfect. congrats again quinn + liz, lots of love to you both 🙂
my best friend since first grade is getting married this november and this weekend marked the beginning of the festivities. despite the actual showers outside and the power going out for the entire afternoon, bridal shower number one went fairly smoothly! everything and everyone looked great and the lunch was delicious. it was an emotional day, but ultimately so much fun. i’m throwing the next shower with the other bridesmaids, so i’ll have lots of diy decorations to share! thought i’d share a couple pictures from the afternoon, enjoy 🙂
As many of you know, my best friend Jessica is getting married this November in Hawaii. Not only am I excited to be the Maid of Honour, but I get to spend 10 days with my best friends in Maui! Wedding planning and events will become more frequent, and I can’t help but get caught up in all the wedding excitement (earmuffs Adam).
On Saturday we ventured to Frocks to take a look at bridesmaid dresses. It’s so funny how the three of us had picked out our favourite styles online, but ended up liking the exact opposite of what we’d seen on the website. We found a dress that is flattering, comfortable, lightweight, and super cute! And we’re clearly girls who know what we like, as our visit lasted all of 15 minutes (they book you a 2 hour appointment). After freshening up at Jessica’s new apartment, we headed off to celebrate with some spiked frappes and appetizers. Shopping, weddings, and drinks? Pretty much the perfect Saturday afternoon!
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I am going to be Maid of Honor for the first time next year. My best friend Jessica is getting married in Hawaii in November of 2011 and her mom is a destination wedding planner! We got tickets courtesy of Jeweliette to attend Creme de la Creme at the Four Seasons yesterday. I had a blast (and a touch of wedding fever) looking at all the amazing displays, especially the fashion show by Blush and Bisou bridal boutiques. I went with all the Hyatt girls, but we greatly missed fellow bridal party member (and bff) Vanessa who couldn’t make it 🙁
Here are just a few pictures of our day of Creme de la Creme. Lots of pretty things, front row views of their fashion show, and girly fun!
If you’re going to attend a wedding show, I highly recommend Creme de la Creme. It has the reputation of being the best wedding show for a reason!
I’ve certainly missed you friends. As I ease back into my regular schedule, I hope to ease back into a regular blogging schedule as well! One of the reasons I’ve been so preoccupied is because I was a bridesmaid for the first time in Paula and Arlen’s wedding.
Being my first bridesmaid experience, I thought I’d share with you some lessons I learned throughout this entire experience…
1) Don’t show up late to the bride’s house on the morning of the wedding…you can imagine why.
2) Even spanx will not forgive you in tight satin.
3) Pack a snack for the hours in between the ceremony and reception.
4) Do not guzzle a sour apple martini if you’ve only eaten a croissant at 8:30 am – you will be drunk. Or, if you are Asian you will be drunk.
5) You MUST bring a sewing kit for emergency repairs.
6) Don’t give the flower girl and ring bearer copious amounts of Mountain Dew. They also become drunk. Sugar drunk.
7) Have kleenex handy during speeches, some people really know how to pull at your heartstrings.
8) It’s all about the bride…and don’t you ever forget that!
9) Your father might be a little bitter if you plan your wedding day on his 60th birthday and first day of retirement
10) Try to fight for a bridesmaids dress that you can wear a bra with…a tough lesson to learn on the dance floor.
11) Even three different kinds of insoles in a pair of shoes cannot make them comfortable.
12) It is SO much fun when it’s your friends getting married!!!
Thank you so much to the Osellame’s and P & A for such an awesome weekend. Also thank you to Ramesh and Denise for doing such a fantastic job on my hair and make up!
Congratulations again Paula and Arlen…love you both xo
I sure hope you’re not sick of my travels because I have more photos from a weekend away!!! Just before we went to SF, I went to Seattle with 6 other girls for Paula’s stagette. It was my first real stagette (or bachelorette or hen party, whichever you prefer) experience.
My favourite part of the whole weekend was the shopping. Oh jeez, I’m such an addict!!!! But I left Seattle with some amazing tax free beauty products from Sephora ,as well as a cute top from Anthropologie. I actually wore the Anthro shirt tucked into a skirt in San Fran, it’s pictured here. Think of my Seattle shopping as my warm up to San Fran shopping 😉
After our Sephora makeovers…honestly miracle products! I couldn’t believe the difference.
Flowers at the Market in Seattle are so freakin cheap! This bouquet back in Vancouver would be at least $50!
Sorry mom…
The theme for the second night out was 50’s pin up. I decided to be a good girl and not buy anything new for themed outfit, so mine was item from my own closet thrown together. Unfortunately, we all kind of looked like a confused theme. That’s okay though, as long as the bride looks good, right ;)?
From a piano bar to a fire hall…
Now only one week until the big day. Eeeek so much to do!!!!
Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend so far. I’m off to get ready for dinner and drinks tonight, ciao xoxo
The last few days have been a whirlwind of emotions. When I woke up Friday morning I had a very weird feeling about the day for unexplainable reasons. It seemed from the exterior to be any other Friday night. After Adam sent me flowers I insisted I take him out to The Keg for dinner to celebrate his promotion. I also knew that The Keg was one of the only places that would fit into the cleanse diet (think vegetarian in a steakhouse!) So I raced to the gym and then raced home to get ready. I had seen Jess had called but didn’t have time to call her back because I had to pick Adam up right away. We then go to the restaurant where we make some comment about all the people on their phones and how silly our generation is bla bla bla. So when I felt my phone go off I didn’t check who was calling, not wanting to appear to be a hypocrite.
As soon as we got back to Adam’s I checked the bbm from Jessica: “I tried to call you, I’m engaged!” I literally froze and just showed the phone to Adam who freaked out and told me to call her. Of course the entire proposal was adorable and she was at The Italian Kitchen with her whole family celebrating. We scheduled an emergency meet up the next afternoon at Starbucks…
I am bursting with happiness for them, my face is practically glowing! I have never seen Jessica this happy (which is a huge statement, trust me…she’s always bubbly!) It just feels so weird….my best friend is engaged. I feel so grown up in a completely terrifying way! Anyways I’ll have to start saving money for their destination wedding which is guaranteed to be amazing because Jessica’s mom is a wedding planner.
