The Green Apple Bridal Shower Was a Success!

Well…I know I was the hostess, but I must say – the shower was a big success!

I can’t take all the credit. I had some great ideas from the one and only party planner extraordinaire, and owner of Funsational, Heather Pieczonka, plus a ton of extra help from my fantastic husband and mother-in-law. But weeks of planning and several evenings of crafting created a shower worthy for the memory books.

Here’s how it played out:

First, guest arrived where they were ushered into the kitchen/dining nook to munch on all of the delicious goodies. What was on the menu you may ask?

• A caramel apple dipping station
• Shrimp cocktail
• A fruit platter with strawberries, black grapes, pineapple, and watermelon
• Homemade fruit dip
• A veggie platter with celery, broccoli, cucumber, green pepper, red pepper, and grape tomatoes
• Store bought veggie dip
• Guacamole Appetizer Triangles
• Party Pinwheels
• My grandma’s punch recipe (the one we used to drink during Coffee Hour at church on Sundays)
• Appletini’s (yes…with alcohol)
• Various Sodas

I also wanted to get the first game started off right away, so as the guests arrived I gave them 2 questions from “Wedding What If’s”. We simply set out 2 plastic cups – one for questions and one for answers for them to drop the questions and answers into.

Once everyone had a bit of time to grab a snack, sip on their appletini, and fill out their questions to the game, we all gathered in the living room.  I mixed up the answers and questions, and although I realized after the game I was supposed to have the guests all take a few to read, I read them all to them because I just got too excited. The game was hilarious and was a huge success. I would highly recommend it at your next bridal shower. And I’m not just saying that because I work for the company that made it. 

Next up, “How To Be a Good Wife”. I passed out the question quizzes and began reading the story. One guest commented about how it was making her angry to even hear about how wives were supposed to behave back in the 1950’s. Everyone laughed in agreement and Kate decided her soon-to-be husband may make the better housewife. I was a little worried I might get more than one winner, but only 1 person won, so it made the gift giving super simple.

We then played “Finding Mr. Wright”. I hadn’t actually read the story before reading it out to the guests, but it was so funny to see them passing the presents back and forth. They were all laughing and yelling , “Left! Right twice!” It was great fun.

Since we had already played 3 games, I left it up to the bride to decide if she wanted to play another. She said she did, which made me feel like she had enjoyed the previous games. And why wouldn’t she? They were all Funsational! I had a back up game where you get into teams of 2, pick a bride, and dress them up in toilet paper. I, luckily, got to be a bride. Oh man…those were some….I’ll say…interesting bridal gowns. Our team lost, but it was tons of laughs and fun for all of us!

After we finished up games I encouraged everyone back into the kitchen to munch on a bit more food. We made so much of it!

From there, we meandered back to the living room where Kate opened her presents. I enrolled a guest to keep track of the gifts, while I secretly filled out “What Will the Bride Say?” To wrap up the shower, I read back all of Kate’s comments I had filled in for things her and her soon-to-be hubby might say during their honeymoon night. It was a great way to wrap up the party.

I’ve hosted showers in the past, but I definitely learned a lot from hosting this one:

• Don’t stress out if you don’t have all the dishes and serving platters you need. Ask friends and family and see if you can borrow them. I borrowed dishes from 3 people for this party and it turned out fantastic!
• If you’re planning on making any decorations or favors for the shower, give yourself adequate time to do so and if you need to, enlist help.
• Make a budget and try to stay within it.
• Don’t be disappointed if not every guest you invited shows up. Sometimes a more intimate shower with close friends and family can be even more special.
• When going shopping for food for the shower, plan a grocery list out in advance so you make sure not to forget anything.
• Don’t forget those tiny last minute things like ice and maybe balloons to mark which house the party is at.
• Plan your games to reflect the personality of the bride and the guests coming. You don’t want a game that entails more “adult” humor if great grandma is going to be in attendance. Also, plan a back up game just in case the others don’t take up quite enough time.
• Once guests start arriving, don’t stress out if things don’t go exactly to plan. Just play it by ear and roll with how the guests are reacting to the events.
• Most importantly…have fun! This day is all about the bride and making her feel special – because she is!

Kate – I’d like to thank you for allowing me to host your shower and allowing us to blog all out it online! You are a fantastic friend and from all of us at Funsational, we wish you nothing but happiness for your future as you become a wife.