This weekend, my sister-in-law and I hosted a bridal shower for our nephew’s fiance, the very sweet Ashley. Since the party was so close to Valentine’s Day, and Ashley likes a little vintage flair, we went with a hearts and doilies bridal shower theme. This was very much a hand-made party and one you could easily recreate.
I think it’s safe to say that this cake was the hit of the party. It’s another one of my Target bakery specials. The ladies there created a three tier chocolate cake with raspberry filling and ruffled buttercream icing. I created the doily topper with hearts; it’s attached to a paper straw.
BRIDAL SHOWER DoilY Decorations
Doilies were our unifying decorating theme. The beauty of doilies is that a pack of 50 is about $7, so you can do a lot with a little. They are great for bridal or baby showers, tea parties or Easter brunches. Our invitations were designed by Sunnyside Print and Party Shop, who also created “Advice to the Newlyweds” cards and thank you tags.
In the front hall of the clubhouse, we set up a table with the invitation and name tags, since the bride and groom’s extended families and friends were meeting for the first time.
These doilies umbrellas were a simple craft I completed with one of my seven-year olds. (See the tutorial here.) They are attached with Glue Dots to my Halloween canvas, just repainted pink.
These wooden letters are covered in scrapbooking paper. This was a quick Mod Podge project.
I created two very large doily wreaths for the front doors of the clubhouse, but that day was rainy, so instead we used them on the French doors leading into the dining room. (See the wreath tutorial here.)
For the dining room chandelier, I made six doily poms from 10″ doilies. (See the doily pom tutorial here.) These are easy to make. I left them flat for easy transportation, then fluffed them on-site.
BRIDAL SHOWER Food
We hosted the party in my other sister-in-law’s subdivision clubhouse. It was a great space with a dining room, so we set up that table buffet style.
We served three types of finger sandwiches (chicken salad, strawberry cream cheese and ham), strawberries, yogurt-covered pretzels, as well as cheese straws, mints and nuts (because you can’t host a shower in the South without these staples). Sweets included our cake and frosted brownies.
Our punch was my favorite standby from Showers by Beverly Clark.
BRIDAL SHOWER Activities
We hosted about 30 guests, so we didn’t play shower games or we would still be there. Ashley had loads of gifts to open, which we put on the center coffee table.
Each guest filled out “Advice to the Newlyweds” cards, including my girls — I wish I’d seen their advice!
Our favors were tins of mini heart cookies from Sugar & Flour. I wish I had a photo just of the cookies to share with you; they were white, red and shades of pink — each just 1″ and so cute!
And here’s Ashley with her bow bouquet, ready for the rehearsal. Can’t wait for the wedding!
Vendor Credits
- Party styling and photography: Double the Fun Parties
- Invitations, advice cards and thank you tags: Sunnyside Print and Party Shop
- Cake: Target
- Mini heart cookies: Sugar & Flour
Beautiful, Jennifer!