29 January 2013

Under My Umbrella :: a Bridal Shower

I'm just going to come right out and say it: I think life celebrations are important. I think that making sure that those celebrations happen, even when you live thousands of miles away from family and friends, is really important.

All of this is to say that I recently threw a bridal shower for a dear friend who is getting married this March in her native England. It was my first bridal shower I've ever thrown, and as they aren't common in the UK, this was the first shower Vikki had ever attended. I'm not going to say it was the equivalent of a UN cultural exchange conference, but I'm not going to say it was far behind, either. 



I went with a slightly themed "Under my Umbrella" champagne and sweets shower, keeping the games to a not-too-cheesy groom/bride quiz and cheeky 'Wedding Advice' madlibs (because no one likes that 'make a wedding dress out of toilet paper' game. No one.) Amos and I stayed up late the night before fluffling tissue paper pom-poms and making balloon chains, which is a bit harder than DIY-ers on the internet would have you believe. In an effort to add some ambience to the cement balcony, I opened up umbrellas and set them outside our sliding doors, and I printed off photos of umbrella-holding couples from Pinterest to brighten up the walls... which lead me to realize my printer was out of ink, which lead to a frantic order from Amazon.jp, which lead to me trying to put ink in the printer while in my bath towel an hour before people were set to arrive and I realized I should just give. it. up. 

I made way too much food, bought way too much champagne; I somehow ended up with cream cheese in my eyelashes after making the hor d'oeuvres (not a lie). A very talented lady-friend baked a Union (!) Jack (!!) cake, of which I am still in awe and want to show off like it's my first born child.

I know what you're thinking: tissue paper pom-poms, a professional-as-shiz cake, tea sandwiches, balloons, and mimosas? This IS the stuff of bridal shower dreams.




You know those beautifully staged photos of showers on wedding blogs? You won't find those here. These are a bit fuzzy and katty-wampus. But the shower was cute, and it was heartfelt, and I think that's what matters.

Also: Carlo Rossi comes in bottle in Japan. BOOM.



Vikki and her husband are moving back to England when their assignment ends and not shipping their things. In light of this, we all gave them bottles of champagne to drink and toast during the next year. One lady gave a bottle of gin instead, "for when you're champagne'd out.' This lady may be very, very wise.


Our snacks included dill, cucumber, & salmon tea sandwiches, wasabi deviled eggs, brownie cupcakes, shortcake cookies, lemon tartlets, cheese and crackers, and veggies and dip. I'm telling you, add wasabi to your deviled eggs next time you make them. You will not be sorry.





We had quite a few women (and two of the cutest babies you've ever seen) join us, and those that were not pregnant or baby-toting joined in for after-shower drinks at the local bar, where we met up with the guys. Because the best showers are the ones that last long after the scheduled end time, right? In fact, I'm sure Martha Stewart would agree. 

3 comments:

  1. Brownie cupcakes? that makes SO MUCH SENSE!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The shower turned out super cute! Your food looks delicious, and the cake is AMAZING! You are a great host, and a great friend, too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This party looks amazing!!! and I love the image of Amos fluffing tissue paper pom-poms.

    ReplyDelete

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