Bridal Shower Checklist

One thing I didn't have that I wish I did when we were planning my bridal shower is a checklist. I...and I know I'm not the only one.... am a woman of lists. I make lists for everything and I tend to stick to them like they are the bible. I was not able to find one that I liked or that was detailed enough for our needs planning the shower. 

So I created one just for you!

Click here for the printable checklist!

Your Wedding Registry

 Creating our registry was one of the top things I looked forward to. It is like shopping without having to spend any money!

I read a bunch of stuff online to do with them and now I have come here to tell you what to listen to, and what not to listen to... according to my own experience.

1. When creating your registry, use a checklist...but only as a guideline. I had a checklist to help so I didn't forget to add things I might need but I didn't necessarily pick everything off of it. If you don't need it, don't register for it. I nixed all bedroom and bathroom linens off my list. I also didn't register for any fine china (because I would never use it). Here is a good checklist to go by.

2. Only register for things you actually need. I did not register for a bread maker. I also did not register for a deep fryer. Think about it this way: the more things you register for, the less things you will get. Don't take away from the things you need by putting things that are just nice to have. You can get them later.

3. Don't feel bad by putting expensive things on your registry. Your registry is basically a wish list. Just because it is there, doesn't mean people have to get it. A lot of times, family members will go in on a more expensive gift anyway.

4. Never mind the whole "make sure you have this many items in this price range and this many items in this price range." Keep that in mind but like I said above: if people can't find or afford what they want to give you, they will go in on an item or just give you money. Don't register for items you don't need.

5. Try to register at stores your guests actually go to. I registered at the Bay and Bed Bath and Beyond. I chose BB&B over Home Outfitters because I preferred to just do my registry online. I find being in a store overwhelming and I didn't think I would get a full selection of everything I could register for. I got 3 things off my BB&B list. Why? Because my guests never went there. They went to Home Outfitters.

There is a short little tidbit of my knowledge from my experience. I hope it helps you out in your venture with a registry :) 

Shower Activity Book

For the bridal shower, I wanted to create a little book for all the kids there. Just something small to keep them occupied. One thing I did not have though, was the time and patience to create one so I went to Google. 

After searching through many links that I was not happy with, I finally found this. 

She gives you all the instructions on how to print it so you can put it together. 

Here is how it turned out:

And here they are placed on the table:

Shower Games + FREE Customizable Templates

 When I was trying to figure out games, I wanted to do stuff that isn't that popular. You know, so people aren't bored. Mind you, I've only ever been to three bridal showers so my perception probably isn't as accurate but everybody at my shower seemed pretty into the games so I think I succeeded with that.

We had 4 games. We let everyone eat first and then started the first game. It was called Wonder Words. I bought some labels and put words or word combinations to do with weddings on each label (the amount of people who were coming). Ex: bride, wedding party, something blue, stag...etc. At the shower, a label was put on each guest's forehead. They then had to try and guess what their label said by asking guests up to 3 yes or no answer questions each. I chose to do this one first because it would get everybody up and out of their seats and mingling. 

Make sure to tell everyone to wait until all the labels are distributed before they start. This game a lot of people seemed to get into and I was really surprised at how fast the winner guessed their answer. Her first question was, "Is this what happens after the wedding?" .... smart lady! 

The second game was a version of the "He said, She said" game that I have seen around. I titled it Guess Who. I made the template on Microsoft Word and just printed a bunch. In terms of the winner, we allowed for 2 winners to eliminate any tie breakers.

Click here to view the template for Guess Who

After the second game, we opened up the dessert table. Once that was finished we started a game called What Is She Wearing. This one isn't so original but I thought it would be a fun one to pick their brain. Everybody had fun with it. I got a lot of "Oh you are wearing open toed! I knew that!" type responses to the game. I also made a template for this game to get more specific answers out of them. This one we also allowed for two winners. I still ended up having to do a tie breaker question so I just asked the two when Brandyn and I started dating.

Click here to view the template for What Is She Wearing

The last game didn't involve any guests getting a prize. It was more of a show. There was a questionnaire and Brandyn answered the questions and put them in an envelope which was given to my bridesmaids. I would say half the guests enjoyed this one. Apparently my reactions were pretty entertaining. We played this one last because it would place me already sitting down which eased the transition into gift opening.

Click here to view the Newlywed game template

For the prizes we took advantage of the deals at Bath and Body Works. They also give free cellophane wrap and ties. We got a lotion, lip gloss and small candle. For our favors, we bought candy and some cute little bags from Michael's. You can see them on the table here.

Pssst.... If you would like any of these games for a shower you are planning, give me a shout in the comments below and I will customize it specifically for you (colors, wording, etc) and send you the PDF for free!

DIY Balloon Chandelier

For the shower I made a balloon chandelier to go over the gifts. It was actually a pretty simple process. The only thing was it was time consuming to do. Before I start, here is what it looked like all set up:

Here are the supplies needed:

• 5x7 Cardstock
• Pictures
• Balloons
• Single hole punch
• Double sided tape
• Ribbon
• Scissors

I took each picture and taped it to the card stock. The reason I taped it was so that I could easily remove it and use the pictures for something else or put them in frames. 

 

I then punched a hole in the tops of each card stock.  This step is where I left it. The rest needed to be completed at the shower.

Once we got to the venue the shower was at, I started blowing up the balloons. You have two options, blow up the balloons or get helium. Either work fine. This was probably the most time consuming task. 

I apologize for not having pictures of this. Like I said, these steps were done at the venue and I was trying to get it all done fast.

Anyway, next I cut all the string to the length I wanted and then tied it through the holes in the card stock and then around the balloon tie.

Then I took double sided tape (this is why it doesn't matter what kind of air you put in the balloon) and I taped it to the ceiling. You want to tape it to the ceiling so the balloons don't end up blowing around (or falling down if you blew it up using human air). Warning on this one: you may need a lot of tape. The card stock put a bit of weight and a few of the balloons ended up falling towards the end of the shower.

So there you have it; an easy project that guests really appreciated. I got quite a few compliments on it! 

DIY Milk Vases

Instead of renting some old looking ones or traveling to a vintage one for some old ones, I decided to make some milk vases for the bridal shower centerpieces. 

If you saw in this post that I put up yesterday, they looked like this:

Do you see those spots where you can see through the vase? I will tell you about that later.

So I went to the dollar store and picked up 5 vases (one for each table). They were just clear vases and $2 each. I also bought 2 bottles of just white paint from the dollar store. I bought regular but I would highly recommend glass paint. I also got those sponge things shown in the picture but didn't end up using them.

I placed a piece of tinfoil down which kept the paint from getting anywhere and then I just squirted about half the bottle in there.

Then I tipped the vase over and started swirling the paint around making sure it was covering all the areas.

After I tipped it over and let it dry upside down. This ensured that all the paint would cover all the sides. 

This is the finished product: 

If you get clumps of paint around the rim, I just scraped off the thick parts with a knife and then used my nail to scrape off thinner parts. 

Now remember in the first picture where you saw pieces of clear vase instead of white vase? That is because I didn't use glass paint. Basically when the paint dried, some areas looked like the paint had evaporated a bit. It did it to all 5 of my vases. Also, once we had water in it, the paint started to come off. It wasn't a big deal for me because I only used these once but if you were planning for a permanent figure in your home, definitely invest in the glass paint.

Here is a budget breakdown of the project:

Glasses vases: $2x5 = $10

Paint: $1x2 = $2

Total: $12

Bridal Shower

As you may know, my bridal shower was on Saturday. I had a great time! Everything turned out so good and I am so grateful for all the presents I received from my very generous family and friends :)

We did all of the decorations ourselves so I will be sure to post about that, the games, and some tips. A lot of the decor was loaned to us from my Aunt who threw my cousin her shower last year so that was a huge help.

We also ordered all of our food from a Portuguese place. Chicken, rice and potatoes :) And we asked all my Aunt's to bring in a dish of some sort of dessert! In reality we had more food than needed but it is better to have more food than to run out! So without anymore said, here are some pictures from the shower!

The Good Stuff

What never fails to be the center of a picture at any party? 

The Cake!

Here are some cakes I'm loving for bridal showers:

I'm totally craving some cake now! Which one is your favourite?