summer bridal shower

i figured it's time i start posting some of the parties i have hosted in the past. unfortunately, these all took place before my blog, so the pictures are lacking a little...basically i just took everything on a whim. how i regret that now. but moving on..i will start with my sister, melissa's, bridal shower last summer. i wanted to create the perfect summer afternoon...from the bright colors, pink and orange, to having it outside late in the afternoon into the evening. it really did turn out to be the perfect summer night.

i love pink and orange together..and had so much fun coordinating it all, from lanterns and parasols, to flowers and candles

every bride needs a bride-to-be crown, right?

i love sign in tables. unfortunately, i did not take any pictures of the pages i created for people to sign in on..oh well. i love that melissa could take with her a memento of well wishes from all of her friends and family that attended. to the left i glued parasols to clothes pins and attached them to ribbon. each guest put one on upon arrival..which was a game..you couldn't say the word "wedding." any person could steal your umbrella if they caught you. the person with the most at the end of the night won a prize.




melissa's throne. i wanted a special seating area for her to open her gifts. the rocker next to her was my (the matron of honor's) seat, because i had to write down all of her gifts for her :) it's hard to tell, but the floral bags hanging from the rockers were the prizes.

beverage table. i love bottled drinks, from pink and orange sodas to match the theme, to izze drinks (my personal fave) to basic coke. and we can't leave out the tasty punch and iced tea! and naturally pink polka dot straws were used.

the favors were at each place setting...they were a variety of pink and orange flowers i made into pens and placed them in a little terra cotta pot. and i threw in heart lollipops because they were too cute not to :)

first game.

nothing says summer like lanterns..i had several different lanterns dispersed throughout the outside.

i envisioned big cupcakes decorated..no two alike. the maid of honor, emily, with a little help, tackled this!

for dinner we decided to do a pasta bar...a couple of different sauces with all of the toppings you'd like! this was served with salad and bread. i also made fruit kabobs. and we had a chocolate fountain, with all of the treats too!

each of the guests also wore big pink jewel rings. towards the end everyone twisted their rings at the same time...they all lit up, but the ring that started blinking was the winner. it really was cute.

the girls hung out into the night. it really was a fun night.