The Best (and Only) Bridal Shower Ever

Recently, I did two things for the first time: 1.) attended a bridal shower and 2.) co-hosted a bridal shower. Yes, the bridal shower I helped to throw was the only one I've ever been to! I was kind of nervous about how it was all going to come together, since I was total novice at the whole concept of showers, but I think it turned out beautifully. I want to share the fruits of our labor, so hopefully maybe some other newbie bridesmaids could get some ideas!

The shower was for Bridesmaid Erica (whose FRIGGIN AMAZING wedding has now come and gone!). MOH Kelly thought of a great theme: cherry blossoms. Erica loooooves cherry blossoms, because they represent both Washington DC (her hometown), and Japan (a place that is very significant to her, both personally and professionally). The theme and the forces of nature intersected perfectly that weekend, by the way, because the shower coincided with the first weekend that the cherry blossoms in DC were in full bloom!

MOH Kelly worked her butt off for months gathering decor items, and when it was all set up, voila! We had ourselves a cohesive, Asian-influenced, lavender-pink-and-silver-colored, cherry-blossom-themed event!

We set up a table for favors (fortune cookies and chopsticks with a cherry blossom print), which were packaged up in cute little take-out style boxes.



The gift table:



We also had a little raffle, with cherry-blossom-themed votives and scented candles as prizes.



We stuck with the Asian influence in planning the menu for the shower. We fancied up the start of the buffet line with some more decorations:



and then guests got to the good stuff. A cheese tray...


Brie, chevre, and Gouda. Drooooool.

Chicken potstickers, veggie eggrolls, panko-breaded shrimp (which you can barely see in the background), edamame....



...and we also set out bowls of wasabi snack mix and honey-sesame cashews around the room.

I'd never been to a bridal shower before, but even I knew that we had to have cute little desserts and champagne.


Chocolate mousse cups and cake pops. COULD YOU JUST DIE!

The cake pops deserve their own photo, they were so precious. MOH Kelly and her roommate baked them all, using the Bakerella recipe. Then we arranged them in little bouquets in the takeout boxes. These were EXTREMELY popular with the guests, because in addition to being adorable, they are SCRUMPTIOUS.



And here we all are with the fabulous bride herself!


We grabbed a quick photo op in between rounds of chicken-potsticker-eating.

Somehow I got assigned to create the ribbon bouquet as Erica opened her gifts. I think it's pretty safe to say that choosing me for this position was a tactical error.


WTF is that thing???


A close-up of my "handiwork."

I had a really great time getting to know Erica's other bridesmaids as we put her shower together, especially since the only one I really knew before her wedding planning started was MOH Kelly (as she, Erica, and I are all proud Pitt alums!). It was also so nice to have the chance to throw a party to show our love and appreciation of Erica, whose amazingness as a friend I could never do justice to in one little paragraph. As I wrote to her in the card from all her bridesmaids, in the eight glorious years of our friendship, being mutual bridesmaids is definitely a high point.


LOVE YOU GIRL! And sorry I made you such a jacked-up ribbon bouquet.

How did your first experience as a bridal shower co-hostess turn out?