Bridal Shower Ideas

This past weekend we threw Betsy a bridal shower. It was so much fun! We held it at a family friend's house and rented a tent for the back yard and totally transformed the place. When we were done decorating I was shocked at how different it looked! What was once a nice backyard became an elegant and sparkly room filled with Betsy's friends and family.

I loved getting to shower Betsy with love and gifts and surprises for her wedding (only about a month to go!). When she arrived we all were lined up and threw glitter on her, a sparkly surprise. Then we proceeded with games, food, and gifts. Today I wanted to share some photos and some ideas for bridal shower games and decor as well.

We started decorating at 9 in the morning so that everything would be ready by 1pm. We grabbed some ideas from Pinterest and decided to give them a try! Some ideas worked... some not so much, but luckily Betsy chose some pretty innovative and creative ladies for her bridal party and we got the job done! 

Glitter toss!

Our table with advice cards, date night cards,
and envelopes for addresses!

The cupcake decorating station was a hit!

This was one of my favorite decorated spots inside the house. 

Love you Betsy!

Isn't that chandelier perfect??

Th Bridal Party :)

In addition to having a table with "Date Night Idea" + "Marriage Advice" cards, we played a few games. One of the games was the clothespin game. You can go here for a "how-to." We also handed out sheets with some wedding related words and had everyone fill in the blank with what they thought Betsy might say. For example wedding ______.  Betsy wrote wedding 'dress.' We had 10 of these questions and the winner got a prize from the prize table. The other game we played was the bubble gum game. This one was hilarious! 

The bubble gum game is simple. You ask the groom a list of questions ahead of time that the bride has to answer at the shower. If she gets an answer incorrect, she has to chew a piece of bubble gum. For example, "What is something that Aj would say is Betsy's pet peeve?" or "Who made the first move and when?"

We were a little unfair because we picked the biggest pieces of bubble gum ever! Betsy was a good sport though! Be sure to take pictures if you try this game at your bridal shower!

Some things to keep in mind:
+ Have a camera handy at all times! You never know what sweet, silly, or heart warming moment you could capture.
+ Not every Pinterest idea works. We wrapped balloons in tulle and it made them too heavy to float, so we secured them with clear string to the ceiling.
+ Don't panic. If something isn't going exactly how you pictured in your head, it's ok. If the bride is having a good time, that's all that matters.
+ Make sure you have food at the party, even if it's just fruit salad or pretzels and chips. Hungry guests are usually not happy guests.
+ You don't have to spend a ton of money or do something crazy extravagant. (Unless you've got money to spend and the bride loves glitz and glam!) A vase of flowers and a few photos of the bride and groom placed around the room can personalize it and brighten it up in a minute!
+ Keep the gifts and games family friendly. This isn't the bachelorette party, and I don't think Grandma wants to see the lingerie and prank gifts that her little grand baby is getting.
+ When inviting guests, remember to include where the couple is registered.