My best friend's bridal shower

My best friend, Ashley, is getting married in about 5 weeks (EEEEK!  I'm so excited!)  This past Sunday I, along with a TON of help from her two sisters, her mom and various other friends and family members, hosted her Italian Bridal Shower.

It was SO fun!  Here are some of the details from the event.

The theme


Ashley and Matt are planning to travel to Italy in the spring of 2013 for their honeymoon - so amazingly romantic and also a perfect shower theme!  Guests were given a hint of the theme through the invitation I sent through Paperless Post, which is a really great website for sending electronic invites/save-the-dates/announcements or whatever!

When the guests arrived our theme was pretty much right in their face as they walked down the driveway.  

Décor


The party was hosted in her mom's backyard around the pool, and I wanted things to feel fresh.  As you can see from the invitation, the event was somewhat of a wine shower (a great idea in my opinion - especially if the bride and groom are already set-up in their home).  From there, we found inspiration for the décor.

Once the guests made their way to the backyard they were greeted with our guest book table.  Complete with a gingham tablecloth.

I potted basil in Italian pasta sauce/tomato cans and we also used wine bottles as flower vases with simple stems from the grocery store.

Ashley's mom had the most beautiful hydrangeas bush in her yard.  I couldn't help but make a bouquet...and then take it home with me.

Food and Drinks

We set up a drink station inside Sue's closed in sun porch.  We served:

• Ice cold lemon water
• Red and white wine
• and maybe my favourite part of the whole shower...an Italian Soda bar!  

Deciding what to serve at an Italian Bridal Lunch was a lot of fun, since you can't really go wrong with Italian food!  We went with:

• Pizza
• Caesar Salad
• Caprese Skewers
• Veggies and Dip
• Meat Balls
• Pasta Salad
• Stuffed Mushrooms
• Olives
• Cheese
• Meats

Dessert was an amazing Red Velvet gluten free cake from The Cake Shop.  We served it with fruit and dessert squares.  Ashley's sister also made chocolate dipped biscotti which she created to look like the Italian flag which went perfectly with coffee.  

Games and such

I think I speak for most women when I say I am not a huge fan of shower games.  Including 1 or 2 little activities is cute, but a strict schedule of forced embarrassment is just bad.

We went with 2 games which were set up on a table by the pool.  If you wanted to participate you were more than welcome, but if you preferred to simply drink your wine instead, that was ok too.  

The games we chose were: 

1) Celebrity Hubby: each guest wrote down the name of a celebrity who they thought would be a good match for Ashley (if she wasn't marrying Matt of course!).  It was fun to see who people wrote down and why they thought he would be a good fit!  Ashley read the responses out loud and chose her favourite - it was pretty cute.  And yes, those are pictures of hunky Italian men.  And they were spread around the house as décor also - even in the bathroom!

2) Use your Senses: 3 different types of herbs and 3 different types of pastas were set up for guests to check out.  The goal was to guess the name of each!  This proved to be more difficult than anticipated.

Winners for both games won a basil plant!

We also set up a door prize.  Shanon had the most brilliant idea for guests to enter the door prize by writing their name and address on an envelope.  This envelope would then be used for Ashley to send out her thank-you cards.  We made sure to purchase her lovely cards and stamps so that she was all set.

Favours

We decided to give our guests Jordan Almonds as favours since they are a traditional Italian wedding favour.  We tied 5 Jordan Almonds together in tulle and attached a cute poem

Five sugared almonds for each guest to eat

To remind us that life is both bitter and sweet

Five wishes for the soon to be husband and wife

Health, wealth, happiness, children and a long life!

Extras

I love the idea of using chalk boards or frames to insert instructions/notes/messages to guests at parties.  I purchased some black and gold frames for 1 dollar at Dollarama and used them for different areas/activities at the shower.  This way I didn't have to announce instructions for the games or door prize - guests could simply make their way over and figure it out themselves.

Some scenes from the day

that's the MOB in the middle - doesn't she look so happy!?

It turns out planning a bridal shower is a lot of work!  But totally worth it when I see how happy Ashley was!

Etsy love

I have been loving Etsy lately.

Probably because I've been scouring the internet for all things wedding, home décor and baby (still have a few baby showers to go!)  Etsy has a lot to offer, so I thought I would put together a collection of my favourite stores and items!  FYI, all of the Etsy stores I'm profiling have 100% positive customer feedback and very good reviews.

Festive Home Decor

Here, you will find a fun assortment of throw pillow covers in an array of beautiful and bright fabrics.  Michelle, the chief owner, prides herself on hunting down only the best of fabrics to create her pillow covers, and her attention to detail shows.  She sells quirky designs well suited for a nursery along with more modern and elegant options which would look great in a bedroom.  I plan on purchasing some of her covers once we move into the condo and figure out colour pallets.

Articipe

Erin, the shop owner, is a very creative gal with a love for typography.  When she recently came across other passions of gardening, cooking and canning, Articipe was born.  The deal is, you send her your favourite recipe and the colour scheme you are looking for and she will create a personalized and very charming piece of recipe art (articipe) just for you.

I think this is a fabulous mother's day gift.

If the wall art isn't your thing, you will definitely love these adorable get well cards.  *must be delivered with homemade chicken noodle soup*

Unitedthread

I think Michelle's nature inspired water colour art is just beautiful and I found it very difficult deciding which pieces to upload here.  You can check out her featured profile here, where she says that in 10 years she would like to be painting, hopefully in a studio detached from her own home, write a children's book, hike the Patagonia and own a greenhouse filled with lemon and olive trees.  Don't you just want to be her best friend?

Obviously I couldn't say no to "Bee Hive".

I think we need the stacked whales somewhere in our new place.  Derek looooves whales!

Cultivar

Artist and owner of Cultivar, Katie, is truly talented!  So talented, that she is no longer able to accept orders because she's so busy!  She creates bouquets, hair pieces and other embellishments to make your wedding just that much more beautiful.  The material she uses to create these pieces are all second hand and include lace, vintage fabricl, broaches and other jewels.  Best of all, they are completely customizable to your wedding colours.

Thankfully I discovered Katie's work months ago and was able to put my name on a waiting list, as I am hoping to walk down the isle carrying one of her beautiful bouquets.  I love the idea of being able to keep this as a wedding memory for ever!

I have been researching bridesmaid clutches on Etsy, as an option for my girls to carry instead of flowers.  I 

David and Chiyo

David and Chiyo, a Vancouver based shop, creates beautiful clutches which can be used for bridesmaids.  I like the Bridesmaids Set below since each clutch is a little bit different.  I think a gold/silver combination would tie in very nicely to all the girls' dresses and the style of our wedding.  

It's nice because they will provide 30% off your order if you purchase 5 or more purses.  Just think of the fun gifts I could fill them up with!

Emma Gordon London

This London, UK based shop offers the same services as David and Chiyo with a slightly different style.

I know this is probably a very personal taste, but I think carrying a nice clutch is pretty cute!

Do you guys have any favourite Etsy shops I should know about?  I love the feature that allows you to shop in your own city or at least closer to home.  I definitely try and do this as much as possible to support my local artist community.  Maybe I'll have to write another post specifically for those peeps!

One of my favourite parts about online shopping is receiving a package in the mail.  Isn't that the BEST ever!?!?

Happy shopping!

Introducing the fraser café's Table 40! (and our NYE wedding décor)

Since we've booked our venue at the fraser café's Table 40, we have been lucky enough to visit the space a couple times to show our friends and family.  I get more and more excited each time I visit and can't stop thinking about décor, our wedding party's attire, photo opportunities, what the weather is going to be like, and of course my dress (AND SHOES!!!)

I have found that using the Olioboard website to create vision boards has helped me put my ideas together and see how things will look side-by-side.  I have basically been collecting all of my ideas on Pinterest and have now transferred some of my favourites over to inspiration boards.

For the basic décor - we won't need to do too much.  The space is already styled and decorated quite nicely.  

Think:

• Concrete floors, dark charcoal walls, exposed ventilation and industrial type lighting. 
• Some of the ventilation and pipes are painted an orange-y/red which I'm warming up to as an accent colour.  
• All of the doors (bathrooms and coat room) are old and rustic and there are even some antique shutters hanging on the wall which I love.  
• The tables, along with the bar, are made of solid maple.  The edges are irregular shapes, there are holes in some places on the top and you can see the knots of the wood.  With the amazing glaze over top of the wood, it looks absolutely beautiful.  If my description is off, you can check out the pictures below.

Some pictures were taken on the evening we first met with Steve Capyk, Event Coordinator at Table 40, some after a Sunday brunch with our family, along with a few I stole from their facebook page.

View of the bar from the entrance.  It is an open kitchen style, so it's neat to see the food being prepared behind the bar.

View of the entrance from the bar.  I'm imagining that Derek and I will be married in front of the orange-y/red screen.  I would like to flank it with some tall branches strung with white lights in vases.

The wing back chairs and love seat which are currently in the front entrance.  I'm thinking about bringing them into the space to create a lounge area and adorning them with some sparkly pillows.

I love the bar, stools and all the exposed piping.

One of the two tvs which are in each corner of the room.  We are thinking of playing some of our favourite romance movies on silent throughout the evening.  You've Got Mail anyone???

One of the rustic doors which leads to the coat room.

Table 40 set up and ready for an event.  Some tables will be moved to the side to accommodate hor d'oeuvres/dessert stations as well as a place to sit and eat for those who wish to rest their legs.  The others will be moved out. 

My goal is to incorporate some New Year's Eve sparkle, vintage flair and a hint of tartan while still keeping with the industrial/rustic vibe of the space.  Here is my vision board for the décor.

• Ever green wreaths on the front door of the restaurant, along with 2 small Christmas tree/shrubs strung with white lights flanking the door way.  I would also love a red carpet leading from the side walk up the steps to the front doors and some type of welcome sign.
• Candle holders made of mason jars, covered with vintage doilies, with some tartan or sparkle accents tied around the top.
• A cluster of clocks on one of the tables (guest book or favour table maybe) - to represent the NYE count down.
• There are a couple wing back chairs and a love seat at Table 40 which I plan on dressing up with some fun and sparkly accent pillows in gold, silver and black.  Maybe even toss in a faux-fur throw to keep things cozy?
• Tall branches, strung with mini white lights in vases placed in a few corners of the room as well a smaller version on a table.  I love the picture of the branch in the vase of pine cones.
• For the dessert and appetizer table - the use of old wooden crates to add varied heights along with some burlap accents to keep with the rustic feel.
• I also plan on including photos of Derek and I in the space.  I'm thinking just a few nicely framed photos on some of the tables and bar area.

Another way I would like include the NYE sparkle is through my bridesmaids!  I am not sure if I have mentioned it before, but they will not be wearing matching bridesmaids dresses.  In order to keep things unified, the girls will all be wearing knee length dresses, but in various colours/metallics including: black, gray, silver, gold, and champagne.  This is what I'm envisioning.  

I am planning for my attire to have a vintage feel so to pull us all together I'm thinking some chunky vintage jewellery for the bridesmaids.  And I don't mind if there are duplicate dress colours (I have a feeling black may be popular), just as long as there is some variety.  I love mixing metallics, so I can't wait to see who ends up in fabulous gold and silver dresses.  All of my girls are stunningly beautiful and I imagine them looking smashing, in sexy and fun cocktail dresses ready to attend a formal New Year's Eve wedding party.    

I'm in the process of creating some inspiration boards for my own attire - one being solely assigned to my footwear!  I can't wait to go dress shopping and I think I may be even more exciting for the shoe shopping that will follow!  Derek and I just booked a trip to New York City in June, so I may save the shoe shopping for then.

I believe Carrie Bradshaw may have actually started the whole non-matching bridesmaid trend in the first Sex and the City movie.  Too bad that wedding was a bust - they all looked so amazing!

Picture from Storkie.com.  There is a whole article about the non-matching bridesmaid dress trend.

What are your thoughts on non-matching bridesmaid dresses?  I think they have definitely grown in popularity.  Each of my bridesmaids has such a unique personality and style, so I think it will be fun to see that shine through in the dress they choose which will be sure to compliment their body type and make them feel their best.  And do you like mixing metallics like gold and silver?  I just can't wait to see everything come together.