Wedding Wednesday - My Bridal Shower!
One of the things I was most excited to plan when I got engaged was my bridal shower! I have about 1,739 Pinterest boards of inspiration, other bridal showers I loved, color schemes, etc… Something I did not know about bridal showers… the bride doesn’t typically plan it! I had absolutely no idea! Traditionally, someone close to the bride such as an aunt, sister, bridesmaid, future mother in law, cousin, etc.. offers to host the bridal shower and does all the planning.
My amazing sisters/maids of honor and mom offered to host and plan my bridal shower! I was so excited because they are 3 of the most creative people I know. They plan beautiful events and parties like it is their job! They also know me the best, so they know my favorites and my style.
I am sure you have seen in my previous posts that I am a large fan of Laduree. I have always dreamt of having a bridal shower with Parisian decor elements, pastel colors and makes you feel like you’re having afternoon tea in Paris. Come the few weeks before my shower, they were telling me absolutely nothing about the shower - it was killing me! I had no idea what theme they were going for, the colors, the food - I knew absolutely nothing. Being the planner that I am, I plan everything in advance, such as my outfits, music, flowers, etc…, so this was torture to me.
Finding my dress for my bridal shower was a little difficult because I am extremely indecisive about everything. I wanted it to be perfect. One of my absolute favorite bloggers i’ve been following for quite some time is Julia Engel, aka Gal Meets Glam. Back in the Spring, she launched her Gal Meets Glam Collection, a collection of dresses that embody feminine silhouettes and patterns. When she launched the very first collection, I was immediately obsessed. They are so exquisite and every dress is flattering on every body type. She releases a new collection every month, catering to that specific month and season. After seeing every collection that came out, I knew I wanted to wear a Gal Meets Glam dress for my bridal shower. I chose the perfect dress that fit my body like a glove. See the collection here! Gal Meets Glam also has dresses exclusive to Nordstrom, so you can see those here!
My oldest sister, Kristina, had landed at John Wayne Airport and sent a mass email to our whole family the second she landed that included a GORGEOUS itinerary for the entire weekend! It had everything that I had been dreaming of… Pastel colors, peonies (my favorite flower!), Parisian pastries, champagne… I could hardly wait to see everything they had been planning.
If you have hired a hair and makeup artist for your upcoming wedding, I highly encourage doing your hair & makeup trial the day of your bridal shower! My dear friend, Stacey, that I met while working at Disneyland was my hair and makeup artist! She started her own hair and makeup business a few years ago and is absolutely KILLING IT! She is so incredibly talented! I didn’t think of anyone else to do my hair and makeup, she was the only person I had in mind. We scheduled my hair and makeup trial to be the morning of my bridal shower. I went over to her house and we had the best time catching up and laughing while she was getting me all ready.
I cut it a little close to timing for the shower, so I rushed home and put on my dress while everyone was doing the finishing touches downstairs! I saw a few things as I was running upstairs and I was already so excited to see everything. When I finished putting my dress on, I ran downstairs and I was absolutely blown away. My sisters, my mom, and Kaylyn (my bridesmaid/amazing Calligrapher) turned my dad and his partner’s house into my very own Laduree. There were peonies everywhere, macarons, french pastries, a crepe cake, champagne and the most beautiful table for lunch outside. I couldn’t help but start crying because it was everything I could have ever wanted for my bridal shower - it was me.
I quickly ran around the house to snap some photos of everything as guests started to arrive. It was so special to see so many special people in my life there to celebrate my shower. I hadn’t seen so many of these people in so long, my heart was so happy as every person came into the house.
For the first little bit, we had pink champagne cocktails as we mingled and caught up on our lives and talked about everything weddings. We all sat down for lunch and had the yummiest food! My parents had coordinated the most amazing food to be served that had something for everyone.
While everyone was eating, talking, and laughing, my sisters suddenly got up from the table to make a speech! As they both stood up in front of everyone, they started to go back and forth making little speeches. Suddenly…. I noticed some of the guests started laughing! I thought to myself, “did I miss a joke????” Then it hit me……. If you know me at all, you know that Bridesmaids is one of my favorite movies of all time. One of my favorite scenes is when Annie & Helen are at Lillian’s engagement party. As they are making their speeches, they start to compete and one-up each other after each toast, followed by them singing “Keep smiling…keep shining, knowing you can always count on me….” I was laughing so hard I was crying at this point. I couldn’t believe it took me so long to catch on to what they were doing! It was the perfect toast.
As lunch is wrapping up, I suddenly see the best surprise coming through the door…. my groom! Justin showed up to surprise me and it was the best thing to see. We went into the living room and began opening gifts!
As guests started to leave, I was so happy and I was smiling from ear to ear. It was the most perfect afternoon and I was on cloud nine. I felt like a princess, I felt like a bride. It was hard for me to accept the fact that the day was over…. but the day couldn’t have been more wonderful. It was everything I had ever wanted when picturing my bridal shower. We all went onto the outdoor terrace and ate leftovers, drank champagne, sang karaoke and reminisced about the day and how amazing it was.
I have my sisters, my bridesmaids, my mom, my dad, and my dad’s partner, Andrew, to thank for my perfect bridal shower day. They did absolutely everything to make sure it was everything I wanted and it was perfect. I wish I could re-live that day over and over, but now we have my sisters bridal shower to plan! I’m not sure how I will be able to top it, but I can’t wait to plan it!
Bridal Shower Tips -
Hire a photographer or assign one person to take photos!
My shower was so wonderful and perfect… but I do not have enough photos of it!!! I have no quality photos of my dress and I wish I had more time to walk around and take better photos of everything.
Have a sit down lunch!
It was so lovely for everyone to sit down and eat together like a family. Sometimes it is hard to balance a glass of champagne and heavy hors d'oeuvre while standing and mingling, so having a sit down meal is the perfect time to catch up and get to know those you are sitting around
All signage and calligraphy - Pirouette Paper
