Let me start off by saying, I love parties. I love to plan events and themes and hosting. Don’t get me wrong, it stresses me out a couple of days before the event, but I still love them. I really wish that I had an unlimited budget so that I could host events all of the time (or at least once a month).
Anyway, I have a friend that is getting married in February in Jamaica at a Sandals Resort. She is not having any bride’s maids or a maid of honor, so I offered to throw her a shower since I couldn’t go to her wedding (I could have probably gone, but $5,000 for a 4 day trip for two seemed a bit much). I really wanted to go, but I have been spoiled by the Lifestyle’s Holiday Vacation Club so I am not willing to pay $500 a person per day to stay in a mediocre establishment.
Since my friend is getting married on the beach, I decided that we would have a beach-themed bridal shower. I would have done accents of turquoise, but her favorite color is purple. I searched Pinterest in my spare time at work and came up with a plan.
Invitations
First, and probably most important, you have to send out the invitations, (If you don’t send these out, no one will come and then what is the point?) Invitations should be sent out between 6 and 8 weeks before the shower date. I aimed for the 8 week point since it was just after the holidays and I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to plan ahead. I created my own invitations using my Cricut and the Try the Knot cartridge. The invitations were the only thing that I didn’t use a beach theme on.
Food
Second, I planned our menu. The shower was held at 1:00 pm, so I did not want to supply a full meal. I thought it might be fun to have a mimosa bar. I chose 3 different juices, Cranberry, Orange, and Pineapple. If you do not like these choices, I would go with different colors; it just looks prettier and adds a little variety. I also served water (always a good idea for parties) and a punch that I call “bridal punch” it is just grape Kool-Aide and 7-Up. Up next on the menu, we have BBQ Meatballs, a Veggie Tray, Spicy Pepper Pinwheels, and Ham and Swiss Cheese Sandwiches. Most importantly, we had cupcakes vanilla cupcakes topped with white chocolate “seashells” that I used melted candy melts and put it into seashell molds.
Decorations
Decorations were next on my list. I am lucky that my sister lives at the beach. Over Christmas, I asked her to bring me a couple of bottles of sand so that I could put it in some of my random vases and bowls. I topped each sand pile with a purple flower and a couple of shells and a starfish. It was incredibly easy (and cheap) and turned out to be very elegant. For the bridal table, I added fishing net and some acrylic gems.
Games
Finally, every bridal shower needs to have a couple of games. One of my favorite games from my own bridal showers was a take on the newlywed game. Before the shower, I came up with about 10 different questions and asked the Groom-To-Be. Below are a few of the questions that I asked:
1. What is your favorite meal that she makes?
2. Who hogs the bed covers?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. What is your favorite restaurant?
5. If she could send you to a Body Repair Shop, what on you would she have fixed?
6. Where was your first date?
7. What was the best vacation you’ve ever taken together?
8. What is the strangest gift she has ever bought for you?
9. What is your favorite place to go on a date with she?
10. What is your ideal number of kids?
We also played Bridal Bingo, where everyone creates their own card with items she thinks the bride will unwrap. I learned that this is much easier with a large group of women. Smaller groups may or may not return a winner.
The last game we played was a version of Would You Rather. Each guest answers as if the Bride and Groom are answering. It starts “Would They Rather…” then they are presented with two options. Below are the choices:
…go on a cruise or go camping?
…rather have Italian or Chinese for dinner?
…live in the city or in the country?
…go on a date to a movie or a concert?
…have a beach wedding or a church wedding?
…go backpacking in Europe or drive across the US?
…have a big family or no kids at all?
…go out or stay home?
…live in an apartment or a house?
…have a cat or a dog as a pet?
Guest Book
In lieu of a guest book, I opted for a more unorthodox approach. This was a take on a message in a bottle. I had the guests write their best marriage advice for the couple, then roll it up and tie it with a string. The couple will then open the advice on their first anniversary. I hope they have some great advice and also have some funny stories, too.
Let me know what you think of the party. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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