In less than two months, my beloved sister-in-law Lindsey will be getting married! I love all the excitement, anticipation, and parties that come with engagements and weddings, there really is something magical about being able to reminisce about your own wedding season in the meantime. I was able to throw her a shower for an intimate group of family and friends, and everything came together perfectly.
In another life, I would love to have been an event planner, but for now, I will stick to bridal/baby showers and birthday celebrations. Each party has its own unique feel that helps make it memorable and enjoyable for the guests, although there is much for me to learn about being a hostess along the way. A friend posted this quote last week from Julie Pointer Adams, and I absolutely love it, "I frequently have to remind myself that hosting teaches me to let go: it's an opportunity to share what I have - even when it means things get broken or stained. These moments help me loosen up and accept the inevitable. Things don't last forever, and too much attachment to them only leaves us disappointed." I am slowly learning to be even more flexible, and cater to my audience no matter what I had envisioned or planned.
On to the fun part - the details! I was inspired by the natural beauty and peace of olive trees for this little get together. I wanted everyone to feel welcome, and free to celebrate and share the joy of this season in a tranquil and intimate setting. We clipped olive branches from my in-laws olive trees and let the food be the centerpiece in the dining room.
My favorite part of planning, attending or thinking about parties - is the food. I had so much fun putting together this menu.
For the main course I made a charcuterie board, visually inspired by Lady & Larder. Lindsey loves salami and cheese, so anything revolving around cured meats and warm brie was a huge win in my book. It was surprisingly easy to assemble and eat from. Aside from the staple foods of charcuterie, a few things I added were cinnamon sugar almonds, olives, pickles, pepperoncini's and garlic spread.
As a compliment, both visually and tastefully, I paired this with a crudité board - fresh vegetables and delicious spreads. I opted for an avocado herb ranch and hummus. Think of this as a the royal cousin to a store bought veggie platter that people will actually want to eat.
We used the sideboard as a dessert bar, that people could grab treats off of as we played games and opened gifts. We had an assortment of lemon bars, chocolate pretzels, mini cheesecakes, sugar cookies (shaped like "x" and "o"!!) and cinnamon sugar almonds.
I didn't get many pictures after the shower started, but did manage to snap one with the bride to be! It was by far the smoothest and stress free shower I have been apart of - to this day. I think the main lesson I learned from this is that less prep the day of = more fun for everyone! I hope you find some inspiration for your next event here - happy celebrating!
XO, B
On to the fun part - the details! I was inspired by the natural beauty and peace of olive trees for this little get together. I wanted everyone to feel welcome, and free to celebrate and share the joy of this season in a tranquil and intimate setting. We clipped olive branches from my in-laws olive trees and let the food be the centerpiece in the dining room.
We had 14 guests, which allowed us to sit at a long table and enjoy a more formal meal together. I love the ritual of formally sitting down, and breaking bread with one another. There were friends from various areas of the bride's life attending, so I opted to do assigned seating at the table, which worked out well. I made these place cards from water colored paper, then wrote on them with a Tombow fudenosuke brush pen. I added menu's for a more formal touch, and I think they completed the place settings nicely.
We had a small appetizer and drink bar that guests could enjoy while we waited for all the ladies to filter in. For drinks we had chilled champagne, kona cold brew, and mint lemonade. These were accompanied by warm scones paired with lemon curd, jam and whipped cream.
For the main course I made a charcuterie board, visually inspired by Lady & Larder. Lindsey loves salami and cheese, so anything revolving around cured meats and warm brie was a huge win in my book. It was surprisingly easy to assemble and eat from. Aside from the staple foods of charcuterie, a few things I added were cinnamon sugar almonds, olives, pickles, pepperoncini's and garlic spread.
To complete the menu, my mother in law made her famous artichoke dip with toasted baguettes. Thankfully we had plenty of food and lots of leftovers, which made the following days equally as delicious. This menu was really easy to manage because it involved very little prep the day of. It made setting up and arranging the shower very stress free.
I bought the rifle paper co banner hanging over the mirror a few years ago, and I love how versatile it is. The colors can be customized to go with any event. I used that "C" light I used at Ian's and my wedding reception, since Lindsey's new name still starts with C!
We used the sideboard as a dessert bar, that people could grab treats off of as we played games and opened gifts. We had an assortment of lemon bars, chocolate pretzels, mini cheesecakes, sugar cookies (shaped like "x" and "o"!!) and cinnamon sugar almonds.
I didn't get many pictures after the shower started, but did manage to snap one with the bride to be! It was by far the smoothest and stress free shower I have been apart of - to this day. I think the main lesson I learned from this is that less prep the day of = more fun for everyone! I hope you find some inspiration for your next event here - happy celebrating!
XO, B
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