Welcome to my first #weddingwednesday post! I recently had the honor of being a hostess for my best friend’s bridal shower and I learned so much in the process! I don’t consider myself a southern lady, having grown up in Rhode Island and Florida, but I’ve definitely had my eyes opened to southern showers through my own and those of my friends! I’m here today to share some decor ideas for wedding/bridal showers for if you are new to things like I was. We were thrilled with how things came together with this Saturday morning brunch shower we threw, so I’ll share some photos as inspiration!

Choose the Shower Theme and Colors

There are tons of fun theme ideas for showers online, but we chose a simple brunch with touches of pale pink and blue! After choosing your theme, start to look for the items you’ll need to purchase such as plates, napkins, flowers, balloons, and shower invitations. We found these cute invitations from Vistaprint and they were perfect for a simple, feminine shower. Another idea is to stick to the colors the bride has chosen for her wedding. You may even be able to share some decor with her once the shower is over!

Welcome/Find the Home 

There are many cute ways to welcome shower guests to the shower, and one of the first ways is to help them find the house! Tie some balloons in the shower colors to a mailbox or near the front door. Make a cute sign like one of these to welcome the guests to the shower and give the frame to the bride as a gift or something they can reuse for the wedding!

Banners/Balloons

Pinterest is full of fun banner ideas for events! We chose these cute M R S balloons from Party City and they made a perfect backdrop for photos as well! Another idea is to make a pendant banner with something cute spelled out or a banner of photos of the couple. We love the idea of having the banner behind the food table so everyone can look through photos as they fix their plate.

Guest Book Signing

One of the best places for a guest book signing table is right inside the entrance of the shower location. This is a great place to have a sign with something special about the couple, like the important dates in their relationship or a cute letter board with the wedding date on it! Throw in some pens and a candle or small floral arrangement for a pretty touch.

Flowers

If you are throwing a shower on a budget like we were, you don’t have to spend a crazy amount on flowers to make it look nice! We spent $18 for two small arrangements that we put together ourselves (with a small learning curve). I picked some babies breath and some light pink flowers and we arranged them in two square vases. We learned from a seasoned hostess to never throw away extra pieces used for arrangements. She used the leftover babies breath by arranging it around the bowl of yogurt on our fruit tray!

Display Food

One of the best resources for planning a shower is a kind woman who has hosted showers in the past! They are likely to have ideas that you may not think of yourself, like arranging chicken salad in a heart and topping with strawberries. Seasoned hosts also tend to have serving dishes that are perfect for each item. We were so thankful to have a dear friend of mine as a hostess and she came with every serving piece we could imagine and every food had a perfect home. I was especially thankful for the 4 tier serving piece which fit the fruit perfectly!

Brunch Mimosa Bar

A special surprise for our beautiful bride, this mimosa bar was a huge hit with guests! We started the shower at 10 am, and popped the champagne as guests started arriving. We found these plastic stemless flutes on Amazon and I made the sign with a frame from Target. We found 3 class pitchers at Walmart to hold the fruit juices and some little ice cream bowls I  had for the fruit. Guests then made their own mimosas by pouring champagne, adding juice, and topping with frozen fruit! Perfect brunch celebration drinks!

Photos of the Couple

It is always a sweet idea to have photos of the couple on display for the shower! Like previously mentioned, a photo banner is one great way to show lots of relationship milestones. We also bought this gold frame and had an engagement photo printed which was a great decorative piece that doubled as a gift after the shower.

Dessert

The possibilities for shower desserts are endless. Cupcakes in the shape of an engagement ring. Chocolate covered strawberries. Cakes, cookies, homemade ice cream cake! I suggest asking the bride about her favorite sweets and trying to incorporate at least one thing special for her. Cookies and Rice Krispy treats are easy and always a crowd-pleaser, so we stuck to those for our brunch time shower desserts. I also made a little ombre cake which was mostly for decoration (we had plenty of food) and I sent it home with the bride.

Arranging Gifts

There is even an art to arranging gifts! We didn’t go overboard on this, but we designated a specific area in the room where we carefully placed each gift. In a home, it is nice to find a decorated area where the gifts can all fit together, but in a bigger shower location you can have a large setup of several tables with large centerpieces in the middle and gifts around the outside. Most of the time, gifts are pretty enough wrapped that you won’t need to add any extra decor.

Know that no matter how you much or little you decorate, at the end of the day the bride will feel loved and thankful. If you have the ability and funds, decor is a great way to make the shower more visually appealing, but the memories are what matter more! Let me know how your shower goes and tag me in photos @heyhaleyblog! Happy planning 🙂