My Best Friend's Bridal Shower: Part 1

Wedding Paper Divas


Two weekends ago, I helped throw a bridal shower for one of my very best friends, Kathryn!  And I can't tell you how much fun I had planning this event for her.  The day was beautiful...our bride-to-be was positively glowing! 

And since bridal shower season is (technically) upon us, I thought I'd share with you some of the details of the day!

~ You're Invited ~

to a very Lilly shower

We knew we wanted to plan a day for Kathryn that was bright and girly, so we decided to throw her a Lilly Pulitzer themed shower!  What is more fun than a signature pink and green Lilly pattern?!  I can't think of much!  And our bride-to-be happens to have a closet full of Lilly...so we knew it'd be right up her alley!

Our first order of business was getting out the invitations.  We found the invitation above on Wedding Paper Divas, a great site for all wedding related stationery - from engagement to bachelorette, bridal showers, thank yous, and wedding invitation suites.  

(Lilly actually has its own line of paper goods btw - you can check some of them out here)

We included two additional cards in the invitation envelope.  One with instructions for filling out a recipe card...

Enclosed for you is a recipe card.
To fill it in, shouldn’t be hard!

Kathryn might like to try your favorite cake,
or that special dish you’re always asked to make!

Remember our girl eats gluten-free

So make some substitutes, if need be!

Bring this card on the special date,

And we’ll make her a beautiful cookbook keepsake!

We had the recipe recipe card made by ThePinkCoconut (on Etsy), who designed the card with Kathryn's new monogrammed initials and provided a PDF that we printed and cut with a paper cutter!

And another with directions for the wishing well:

Wishing wells are nice and fine,

But let's shower this bride with a bottle of wine!

Ever the hostess, ready to fill you up,

Now it’s our turn to put some pinot in her cup.

Perhaps for their anniversary or on their wedding night,

Or to have a glass after their first married fight!

Be creative and write up a little a reason,

Why you chose the wine you did to toast to Kathryn’s wedding season

~ The Decor ~

Next, we started scouring websites for everything Lilly...!  We found the most adorable matching napkins, plates, cups and decorations in the pattern Floaters and I kid you not when I say we bought everything the pattern came in!!

Plates





Napkins




My favorite decor items were this amazing lantern....

  



 ...and these incredible pom poms!! 
 

~ The Favors ~

For the favors, we filled these adorable tumblers with candy!

Tumblers



 

~ Some Little Surprises ~

We even bought Kathryn a princess crown to wear while opening her presents!  To keep the attention on her, of course!

But ultimately, the adorable flower girl...in Lilly of course...stole the show!

We also made Kathryn a recipe binder to put all the cards she received using Lilly wrapping paper!  Here she is opening up her book...

Since this was the first of two bridal showers - thats right, Kathryn has one more shower to look forward to in March (!!) - I'll have have to wait until after then to reveal the other little surprises we have up our sleeves...


Anyways, have you planned a shower recently?  What was your theme or inspiration?  I'd love to hear about all the little touches - they make everything special!

And, don't forget to check back tomorrow Part 2 when I'll talk menu, signature cocktails and games!

(Photos via Preppy Princess)