Happy midweek all! Today, because I am a proud mama and weddings are all around, I thought I would bring you into The Places In The Home fold by sharing with you this photo gallery from the please join us for a bridal shower we hosted for our son and his lovely fiancée when they were home for our nephew’s wedding in May. Seeing that the happy couple live in Canada, it is difficult to be live and in person for the showers and luncheons celebrating the couple. Skype and FaceTime amaze me, but pales in comparison to actually being in attendance in the moment. It didn’t take long for me to come up with the idea of throwing the couple a surprise bridal shower.
The future Mrs. is not only taken with our son, but with Fixer Upper, Waco, Chip and Joanna Gaines and Magnolia Market. What better way to surprise a Southern farmhouse chic girl at heart than with an afternoon Southern farmhouse chic-Southern charm-Southern hospitality eat, drink and we’re getting married bridal shower.
Clear glass jars brimming with fragrant magnolias captured the farmhouse feel and lent a simple yet elegant touch. When entertaining, I find it helpful to know your audience and to play to their taste. The thought is in the decorating and entertaining details, and it’s that attention to detail that brings about a rave review.
Faux flowers have their place, and in the bridal/wedding weekend celebration that place was inside an antique porcelain pitcher placed in the center of the dining room table. I’ve been known to pre plan the s*%! out of a soiree or celebration. Pre planning affords me the opportunity to find theme appropriate decor pieces and impressive dinner and drinkware at a price point that makes me very happy.
I always like that theme!
It also gives me time to shop sales and order items with plenty of shipping time to spare. A case in point is the tulip bundles found on eBay. You must allow at least three weeks for arrival when ordering from China, but the price savings makes it an appealing option. The quality is apple to apple when comparing the faux tulip bunches to the ones I see in my retail rounds.
The bride-to-be admired the tulips several times over the course of their visit which pleased me to no end. It was obvious the tulip bundles captured the essence of her preferred decorating style, and that signaled decorating success.
Crochet doilies and lace napkins dressed the table in vintage style.
Tulle is my gift wrap ribbon and bow material of choice.
Tying the knot in white wedding and something blue tones is simple in theory, beautiful in delivery.
Gifts for a newlywed kitchen filled with love.
Bride
Vintage handkerchiefs make lovely wedding and bridal gifts, and my almost daily Etsy search for just the right one for each recipient became second nature. I purchased vintage monogrammed handkerchiefs for the bride and groom-to-be, her mother, and each member of the bridal party- a to/from gift from me and Dave the Builder. I also purchased vintage monogrammed handkerchiefs for my nephew, his bride, his brother who was his best man, and for my brother- the father of the groom. Did I forget anyone?
Groom
We began the bridal shower nibble and nosh with a cheese board featuring several cheeses, fresh Louisiana strawberries, blueberries, fruit dip, mixed nuts, dried cranberries, dates and figs. The future groom loves my chicken salad so chicken salad it is. I served the chicken salad with a tropical fruit salad garnished with avocado slices, Greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey. We also dined on a true Southern favorite, buttermilk biscuits and honey ham sandwiches. I made a mayonnaise and Dijon mustard dressing to go with the sandwiches. The beverage station featured water with lemon slices, raspberry tea, almond peach tea, Riesling and Merlot wine.
For dessert, we decided to surprise the couple with a cake in true bridal shower fashion. The cake decorator and I got together and came up with an abbreviated version of the above wedding cake. The icing color was a soft shade of ivory and the cake decorator suggested a “bouquet” of roses to top it off. Dave the Builder thought the silver wedding bands added a nice touch, and the monogrammed cake topper was an on trend accent.
It’s become somewhat of a tradition to give each bride and groom in the Places In The Home family a heirloom silver sugar spoon as a wedding gift. To this we added a silver-plated wedding cake server set and the monogram wedding cake topper to complete the gift package.
The bridal shower was a big surprise and a big hit. Our son finally figured out why I kept insisting he bring an extra suitcase with him. The extra baggage fee charge is a bargain compared to what it cost to ship items from the US to Canada. I was informed the Kate Spade cutting boards were used the night they arrived back to Canada.
That’s all the thank you needed.
