Inspiration for the day: Originally, what started off as a parody, turned into the most elegant bridal shower I’ve ever seen. You see, my friends and I, like many other women, are very big fans of the movie Bridesmaids. So, the Parisian bridal shower was a given since my engagement. From butterflies in the invitations, to giving away ‘puppies’ as favors, we did it all, and it was a blast! By adding a few authentic pieces from our trip to Paris, we gave the party a little more depth than the movie original (and minus the crazy Maid of Honor 🙂 Although, I did have to refrain my mom from buying a 5 foot chocolate fountain.
There were 3 main projects in the design. – Well, the “cafe” accents with the chevron awning were a very special project. Turning my parent’s Miami-inspired home into Paris for the afternoon was going to be interesting. My mom has an amazing imagination and she rounded up some of our crafty carpenter family members to help make her vision of the “french cafe” come inside. My wedding design theme had black and white chevron, so we decided to play on that for the shower and use a pastel palette.
We scoured fabric stores in locally and online for the best prints and we had a blast seeing them all come together. Another one of Mom’s projects was the ribbon wall. It is deceivingly heavy! Well worth the time and effort – it came out beautifully. The garden wall was definitely a big challenge. After following all the Pinterest tips we possibly could, it was still down to the wire on its completion and hung on the wall. Next time, we’re using silk flowers.
Favorite memory of the day: Seeing everyone in their most fashionable and feminine outfits! All the guests really got into the dress code and it made it even that much more fun. It’s something you don’t get a chance to do everyday! Every woman that was there that day really outdid themselves and being surrounded with so much love was the best gift anyone can ask for.
Advice for other brides to be: Hire great/reliable/awesome vendors. We had a big advantage having the shower at home so we were able to set up whenever we wanted. However, it makes a huge difference to have someone on site to facilitate rental drop offs and setup, florals, decor, and catering. Also, don’t be afraid to be creative. We did an overhaul on our house and it was something we’ve never done in over 10 years of living there and even though it was somewhere very familiar to most of the guests there, it was transformed by just thinking a little bit out of the box.
All images courtesy of Ardent Studio.
