A Sweet Shower for Christa

As I've mentioned before, one of my bestest friends is getting married next month, a few weeks before the Bliss nuptials. We share a very close circle of girlfriends who are in both wedding parties. The past few weeks have been a blast with bachelorette parties and bridal showers. We normally try to see each other every few months (we all live states away), but through June and July we are getting together almost every other weekend. Hurray for the "Summer of Love" (as we've affectionately begun to call it)!

I've blogged about Christa's shower invitations before. We decided to go with a cooking theme, since the bride loves to cook. We asked each guest to bring their favorite recipe to the shower for the bride. We had so much fun going through the recipes after the shower. The groom's grandmother had the best - a recipe for a great marriage!


(isn't that black and white pic of the bride cooking when she was younger too cute?)

Christa's maid of honor and mother made gorgeous centerpieces with asparagus wraps. It's hard to believe these ladies don't work with flowers for a living!




(the asparagus spears are wrapped around a coffee can that is holding the flowers)



We made menu cards that featured food-related trivia about the bride on the front. This one reads: Christa's cookbook she couldn't live without is The Joy of Cooking and Martha's Comfort Food.



Favors were cute wedding cake-shaped cookie cutters accompanied with a recipe card. We asked Christa's Mom for her favorite cookie recipe to feature on the card.



The shower was a display shower. I had never heard of this before, but it quite popular in Pennsylvania. Guests bring the gifts to the shower unwrapped. While we were enjoying cocktails in the garden at the beginning of the shower, two very talented woman were busy creating beautiful displays out of all of the gifts. Not only were the displays gorgeous, but hours of gift unwrapping didn't have to be endured by the guests. Instead, the bride went to each table and said something about each display, thanking each person for their gift.


(those little herb pots were also used as door prizes)



To go along with the cooking theme, we bridesmaids ordered Christa an apron with her new initials, as well as a recipe binder to store all those new recipes. Both are available at Williams-Sonoma and make great shower gifts!



Here's the glowing bride-to-be enjoying a strawberry fizz cocktail (so yummy)!



And here's Christa with her bridal party (minus one) practicing posing (and squinting in the sunlight). l to r: Ms. Bliss, Jenn, Christa, Alicia (Maid of Honor and Christa's friend since childhood) and Becca.

We hope you had a wonderful afternoon, Christa! We have more fun in store for your bachelorette party this weekend!

June Showers

Now that I'm back from the Stationery Show, I'm in a sea of to-do lists (of the wedding variety). But tasks aside, the fun is really beginning to start! This month we'll be taking a trip to Cape Cod with Mr. Bliss' family, I'll be attending my very own bridal shower and then I'm off to the shower of one of my bestest friends. Christa is getting married a few weeks before me in August and let me tell you, there is nothing better than sharing this crazy/wonderful time with a great friend. Our weekly phone calls minimally last an hour now as we dish about all of our details and to-dos. I am so grateful to be sharing this experience with a wonderful friend!

While we're keeping the details of Christa's shower under wraps, all of the guests have received their invitations so I can give you a peek. Since the bride loves to cook (she'd be a terrific fill-in for Giada on the Food Network should she ever choose to retire), we decided to ask each woman to bring a special recipe to share with Christa at the shower.

I found the cutest recipe cards from Etsy seller WinifredStudios.




Then I bought pretty imprintable invitations. I was on a short time frame so imprintables were perfect because I was able to print them at home and have them ready in a few days.



The two pieces paired together perfectly.



I wrapped it all up with a coordinating double-faced satin ribbon and they were ready to go.



Before I left for the stationery show, I made a quick trip to the post office and off the invites went. Now I just hope that guests remember to bring their recipe cards to the shower!