I have the honor of standing by Nancy’s side as one of her bridesmaids when she gets married next month. She and her fiance’ are both medical students and have been living in Philadelphia, where her husband-to-be’s aunt threw her a bridal shower last month. Since she grew up in Pittsburgh (we’re friends since freshmen year of highschool), I offered to throw a shower for her in Pittsburgh this past weekend for all of the guests who couldn’t make it to Philly.
My mother was awesome and agreed to host the shower at my parents’ house (since I’m still kitchenless - feel free to harass my husband to get my cabinets installed), and we went with a tea party theme – I know Nancy always liked drinking tea, and I thought it was a perfect outdoor, girly theme for a bridal shower in May. I envisioned tea sandwiches (cucumber, chicken salad), delicate pastries, and fruit.
Remember when Adam and I went to his cousins’ Polish wedding on our honeymoon? Matthew is a chef who worked in a high end restaurant and made most of the food for his own wedding. He and his wife are here visiting for the summer, and we “hired” him to help us make some fancy treats for the shower. His artistic touch really put the food over the top – and made our dishes pale in comparison.
First, the food my mother and I prepared:
Iced tea & lemonade (my mom also made all of the centerpieces)
Pita wedges, hummus, roasted red pepper
Chicken salad with grapes on croissants
Cucumber sandwiches
Tomato, basil & mozzarella skewers
Matthew’s food:
Herbed brie baked in puffed pastry
Homemade pastry cups with fresh blueberry and raspberry creme
Savory pastry cups with herbs and vegetables
Homemade creme puffs with fruit whipped cream and fresh caramel drizzle
The most impressive part (in my opinion) was the gorgeous fruit spread:
Completed with the bride’s name carved in to a watermelon! He says this only takes him about an hour to do! Check out the one he made for his own wedding in this recap post.
The favors included tea satchels, tea cups & plates, toast grabbers (made by a guest’s husband) and my aunt Jackie’s famous sugar cookies.
She also made them as favors for my shower – they’re ALWAYS a hit. Aren’t they adorable? More importantly, they taste amazing.
The happy bride-to-be and my mother, the amazing hostess.
It was the perfect day!
Do you like themed parties? What does your perfect bridal shower look like?
Sounds like so much fun! Those appetizers look amazing, and that fruit spread is gorgeous!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope recently posted..Photo A Day May–Week 2
everything looks lovely
Holy crap, Claire! You can throw me a party for anything ANYtime lol. Seriously, please tell me she loved it because it looked like such an amazing shower! You guys went over and above x2!! I haven’t been to a themed party like that in a while, but would love it!
char eats GREENS recently posted..tuesday thrills
Thanks Char – 99% of it was my mother’s doing!
Oh my gosh that does look picture perfect. I would LOVE a shower like that. Mine were all so basic and nothing fancy. Now I see posts from blogs or things pinned on Pinterest and it makes me want to get married to Peter again just for all the cool ideas. Haha!
Tina @ Best Body Fitness recently posted..Pure Indulgence
I agree, Pinterest makes me want to have my wedding all over again!
everything looks incredible! i still can’t believe that watermelon only took him an house. that would take me days… and probably multiple melons.
This looks so adorable and so thoughtful! I’m starting to think about themes for my bridal shower and I got nothing…I may have to come to you for ideas
Laurie @ Love, Laugh, Laurie recently posted..We Have a Venue!
what a great day! your friend is so lucky to have a great party planner like you!
teabagginit recently posted..Two truths in life
This entire shower is Pinterest-worthy! You and your mom pulled out the stops; the centerpieces and food are beautiful! And the watermelon that Matthew carved is absolutely incredible. Maybe he will be so kind to offer us all a tutorial sometime?
xoxo <3
What a wonderful thing to do for the bride. You are a great bridesmaid. The food looks incredible. So much variety! And I just love that carved watermelon. Your cousin is so clever. xx
Hotly Spiced recently posted..Charlie and Celia
oh i think this is the perfect bridal shower… an afternoon tea party, HELLO! i love themed parties and I’d say my favorites are afternoon tea parties with girlfriends. Love gossiping and food.
Honey What’s Cooking recently posted..World’s BEST Spaghetti with RAO’s Homemade Marinara!
What a beautiful party! You are such a good friend to do all that for Nancy
And, of course, I’d like to taste one of everything on that menu!
Thanks, Melissa. <3