Lovely Purple Bridal Shower

I was so pleased to host an intimate shower for my stepdaughter!  She recently learned that her church was gifting her and her husband with a wedding in January.  They will renew their vows with small a wedding ceremony and reception.  Now, I don’t typically do anything wedding related – but c’mon – it’s my stepdaughter!  Knowing that her step mom loves to plan and party, she gladly accepted my offer to host a shower for her.

With the wedding just six weeks away we didn’t have a lot of time to pull everything together.  Planning a wedding is hectic enough, but planning one within 3 months can be downright overwhelming.  I decided a good theme for this party would be serenity.  Purple is such a soft and peaceful color, I knew it was a great way to match that serene mood I was going for. Luckily, I found some gorgeous purple paper by Shery K to coordinate with the Iris and Lilac Color scheme for the wedding.  I also  created the signage and designs for the party using  peacock clip art images from the Glamorous Peacock set by Riefka design

We held the shower at the bride’s sister’s (my other stepdaughter) apartment and invited just close friends and family.

The food selection was kept very light and simple, hors d’oeuvres, mixed green salad with dressing, pasta with a choice of white or red sauce; I also made my famous meatballs and served soft rolls for mini meatball sliders – the bride’s favorite!  The guests also snacked on a variety of cheeses and green veggies I displayed in ‘crudites cups’ – which were really glass bud vases.

Desserts were not as light….and NEVER should be…..they should also be inviting.  I mean, chocolate cake alone really needs no help, but when desserts are deliciously displayed….no one can resist!   This cake plate originally came with a red polka dot ribbon.  To coordinate with the rest of the colors for the party I changed out the ribbon and added a purple ribbon with shimmery dots to the cake plate to add a little pizzazz!

I love finding ways to simply and easily dress up a food tray. Here I used a scallop punch to make toppers for these plain chocolate donuts!  It adds a pop of color to an otherwise ordinary platter!

After eating we had a few activities to keep things going along.  A nice way to have the bride know that all her friends and family love and support her and her marriage is by having a nice keepsake close to her during the ceremony.  I came up with an idea for a prayer ribbon.  I asked  each guest to write a blessing, prayer or heartfelt thought on a satin wide satin ribbon that the bride can  use to wrap around her bouquet.  This way our thoughts will be with her during her special moment!

It was only natural to incorporate some pampering activities into our soiree.  So, after the bride read off all the prayers,  guests were able to make their own lavender bath salt sachets.  They were able to take these home as a favor and they also got to go home with a basket full of pampering treats.

I used the papers from the Shery K purple paper pack to create the basket and the embellishments.  Making a spa basket for guests is such a nice way to say thank you for celebrating with us!  I filled each basket with eye masks, a pumice stone, exfoliating gloves and sponges and lavender scented soap.  These items were a bargain find at our local discount store and luckily they were all within the color scheme of the bride’s wedding.

Using the decorative papers by Shery K I made the basket using a template I found in a party favor book I got at the library,  here.  It was super simple and easy.  I also created a fancy wrapper for the soap using two pieces of  coordinating paper, raffia ribbon and a round tag that read, ‘Thank You’.  To dress up the plain candle I wrapped a piece of grosgrain ribbon around the it to fit and centered a scalloped punched tag to the ribbon.  You can also add adhesive gems or stamp a sentiment to the tag for added effect.

I truly wish I had more time to plan and execute the shower the way I really wanted to, but overall, the bride was happy with everything and that really is all that matters!