My darling baby sister is getting married! And over the weekend, I was thrilled to be able to throw her a bridal shower to help her get prepared for married life. This is her only bridal shower (she’s having a smallish wedding) so I definitely wanted to go all out and make her feel like the dainty little princess that she is.
I am kinda obsessed with the idea of tea parties, so it all began from there. I decided that it would be a girly affair full of simplicity and charm (just like Nornie!)
I used the invitations (thanks to Invitations By Dawn) as a starting block and jumped in from there. We held the party in our basement (and let me tell ya, getting it ready for this shindig was a story you will want to hear about later! It was a doozy!).
THE DECORATIONS:
On the tables we went with a blue & white color scheme (Norn is using navy and cream as her wedding colors so it tied in nicely with what is to come). I actually have all these old table clothes in storage so I was able to use them and a bunch of my white decor. You may notice that I used my bird cages – the tea party theme sort of meshed with the bird stuff because 1. I am the weirdo with a lot of bird stuff and 2. I wanted to make a Love Birds sign for my bedroom & thought it would work wonderfully with this shower and 3. it’s a little country feeling and full of charm. 4. I desperately wanted to say “Let’s feather her nest” because, yes, I am that cheesy 🙂
I also mixed in my good china while also using some older cheaper stuff – like the ceramic hearts dishes from Goodwill – for peanut M&M’s (Norn’s favorite candy).
One long table (actually three folding tables) actually worked out really well for the smaller group of ladies that attended. It provided an intimate area that each person could be close to the bride-to-be and gave everyone the opportunity to mingle.
The tea itself was on the table still in the labeled packages – so that people could choose their own and then just pour the hot water from the teapots themselves.
You may notice that the teapots are on small wooden cutting boards – I didn’t have enough trivets so this was my improvisation at work.
We all sat on these homemade benches. Yup – my mom and I decided to make six benches (modified plans thanks to Ana White!) for the wedding and I thought they could be the perfect spot for us ladies too. Charming to sit on? Oh yeah. Improving posture? priceless.
On the ledge beyond the table I wanted to add a little sparkle…
so I simply gathered up a bunch of votives, jars and cups and used them as candle holders.
We actually forgot to light them for the shower itself but later on I did to see what it would look like….um yeah I love it…
THE FOOD:
As for drink, I decided that some folks might not like hot tea…I mean, we do live in the South and yes, we are still having 90+ degree days down here…so I provided ginger ale (one of Nornie’s fav’s) and Pellegrino as well as the sweet tea and water.
The food was set up in the basement ‘bar/kitchen’ area. Sorry about the weird color balance in the photo…I must have momentarily forgotten how to use my camera in all the excitement 🙂
I simply used a desk and a mirror to create our buffet and threw some old paper parasols to soften up the empty space (they were actually leftovers from my wedding!).
The food was amazing. Yup totally patting myself on the back for this one. We served a fruit salad, cucumber sandwiches (which my mom said was the ‘savory’ part of our tea), simple chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, and a spinach & strawberry salad with almonds, Parmesan and raspberry walnut vinaigrette. YUM.
And do you see that runner under the food? That was actually a table cloth that I had cut up six years ago that JUST SO HAPPENED to match the invites with it’s watercolored flowers. And since the straight edges were not very feminine, I simply cut out the edges of the flowers to make a more organic looking runner.
THE DESSERT:
By far my favorite part of the shower was creating the dessert table. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted a cushy spot for Norn to sit while she opened presents and I wanted the table and display to be the Scarlett Johansen of dessert tables….uber girly.
It all began with the Love Birds sign (I’ll do a full post on this later because it has so many meanings to me)…and I draped across the top a homemade no-sew rag garland. I actually made it out of the fabric I used for my own wedding runner – so I am glad to see that it has a new life!
On either side of the sign, I used these little bird houses ($1 each at Joann’s) – aren’t the heart shaped bird holes adorable? And of course – more white ceramic birds.
Below the display was the dessert table…which was my round modern CB2 tulip table draped with a white sheet and a faint yellow lace tablecloth ($6 at a thrift store).
The birdcage was a gift from my mom a long time ago and I still love it.
We served cupcakes (aren’t they like a shower must now?), nutroll, and oreo pops.
The cupcakes were chocolate devil’s food cake with cream cheese icing. And yes, don’t look at this photo for too long or you will start to gain weight.
I did make one special cupcake that was supposed to look like a little birds nest (hello my name is katie and I can really milk a theme). It was simply topped with coconut and had two little peanut m&m’s for the eggs.
Originally I was going to make all of them this way but I chose not to because I know coconut is one of those love it or hate it kinda goodies. Lori stuck with the nutroll so in the end, I chowed this baby down and it tasted like an Mounds bar…wow.
The pops and nutroll are actually supposed to represent Nornie & Boots (the soon to be husband and wife). The nutroll is a family recipe that I got from my grandmother before she passed away and it is Norn’s favorite thing to eat. And let me tell ya, it is probably mine too so consider all eight pounds of it gone by the time you read this.
The pops are oreos with chocolate filling (Boots fav is chocolate cookies with chocolate chips so I fudged a little on this…catch that pun?!)
And yes, I stuck them in an ikea flower pot. I stuffed the bottom with craft foam and them covered the top with green M&M’s. I feel like it looks like a bouquet of flowers.
THE EVENTS:
During the eating, I read my sister a children’s book called I Bought My Love a Tabby Cat
(it’s a really cute story about a couple who is preparing to get married and at the end, the husband makes his bride fine things to wear every day)…and then read to her a little blessing that I wrote to encourage her to wear attributes of a good wife…like the lipstick of joy & the white gloves of service & the cloak of forgiveness.
We also played a little trivia game to get to know the bride & groom a little better and then we opened presents.
I say we because Norn opened her pretty packages and I got the best gift any hostess can have – sitting down for a moment to enjoy the food!
I also had some note cards available for guests to write their own prayers or blessings for the engaged couple.
Here’s the whole group – I wrangled a shot out of them (I held the food hostage until they all agreed!). And you may notice the little feather corsages…little favors that each guest got to wear as a floofy little reminder of our theme 🙂 Like I said, I can milk a theme drier than the male nipple.
Congratulations Nornie. I love you and hope you enjoyed the shower. I am so excited for you and can’t wait to borrow your new stand mixer 🙂
p.s. And as always – my mom, Little Debbie, was a HUGE help. She should be named a co-host because of all the work she put in. Literally, she spent HOURS laboring in love for this thing. Thanks mommy…love you. I also want to say that my boyfriend is a beast and finished the basement bathroom just in time for the shower. I know, I know, totally off subject…but it was so nice to be able to have a loo for the ladies that didn’t involve mile-long directions.
Stay tuned to find out how we took this basement from jacked to joyous!…and while you wait, why don’t you tell me your favorite part of the shower.
So pretty!! I love a good theme and you did a fantastic job with that!!! I love when you can use what you have on hand for a theme rather than buying those sets of things in the stores.
What a pretty shower! You did such a great job putting that together! And I agree with Sara, I love that you used what you had on hand.
What a wonderful party! I love the theme and I’m real excited to see what you guys do for the wedding! My bridal shower is this weekend and we’re having it at my mom’s house. I always like having them at home vs. a restaurant (feels so much more comfortable).
By the way, was this in the room in your basement that was all red?? Either way – I love the color on the walls!!
Girl, you know how to party- you always set up such beautiful, thoughtful and seemingly-fun parties! I’m sure your sister had a wonderful time!
I loved this shower. It turned out so beautiful. You must be so proud! I can’t wait to hear about the love birds sign! I love that and so want to put it in my house somewhere!!!
This is great, sweet, darling and with heart! Nothing like showing your love and support through a well thought out party. Thanks for sharing as I could use some new ideas for upcoming bridal showers I will be a part of!
Absolutely gorgeous! I love the theme and that you personalized the desserts to match the couple!
Your sister looks exactly like I felt at my shower- ridiculously happy, a little nervous, and a little embarrassed that all this was done just for you!
Love the shower! You did a great job with it. It also gives me great ideas for my sister-in-law’s baby shower in a few months. 🙂
What a tease! I mean, I loved hearing about the shower, but I kept thinking, “Wait- they painted the walls…” “What? They remodeled a bathroom???” How have you been hiding all these awesome projects from us? 🙂
I’m tied between the delicious desserts or the gorgeous benches as my favorites. Way to make folding tables look awesome!!
I have the same china pattern as you! So that is my favorite part. 🙂
It’s called working so hard that we didn’t have time to blog about them yet 🙂
xo – kb
What a beautiful shower! You did a wonderful job. I love the bird theme. And, as a side note, you and your sister are gorgeous!
Yeah, we’re gonna need that nutroll recipe, sister.
Katie…beyond sweet and lovely. You and your mom did such a beautiful job! I love the garland, the wall of candles, those benches! love!
And if I lived closer to you and was a thiefy type of person, I would have totally tried to steal that gorgeous blue chair. Can’t wait to hear deets on the basement…it looks perfect.
xoxo
Everything looked so sweet and lovely. But I want….the nutroll!!!! Yum!
Please post how you made those fabulous benches!
This is lovely! What creativity! Love all the bird touches and the tea theme. We used to have tea parties with my gram as a girl and this brought back lots of memories. She used to bring out her fancy tea set for the occasions. 🙂
What a wonderful sister and hostess you are. And those benches? I’m dying over here! I was totally wondering where they were from and then you told us you make them? KILLING ME! Great work!
That is just wonderful. She must have felt so loved by all you (and little Debbie) did for her. It’s beautiful, Katie! Nice work.
What a gorgeous, cute bridal shower and wow, I can’t believe that’s your basement now! It looks great!
Such a pretty shower! Just curious …how did your poem go about the attributes of a good wife? It sounds familiar somehow…
thanks!
Looks great, Katie! I love the theme and how you milked it : ) The rag garland is adorable too! You’re just so darn creative, aren’t ya?
Your setup looks amazing! I love the runner, the white-and-blue palette, and the desserts look like the best part of the meal — as they should! I love everything about this post. 😀
Katie – I love how you take every day ordinary things and turn them into beautiful party decorations! I need to take a page from you! Loved everything but I have to say the benches were AWESOME (and can’t believe you and your mom made them!) and the table settings – so cute!
Love it! I convinced my mom and best friend that afternoon tea was just the thing for mt baby shower this spring. We had so much fun making favors and food. And we went with blue and white too!
http://quarteracreadventure.blogspot.com/2011/05/showered-and-ready-to-go.html
As a quick head’s up, the male nipple isn’t as dry as you might think: http://www.slate.com/id/2295405/
I don’t usually comment, but this is simply lovely! Nice job on everything. I have to say though, the food really does it for me 😀 it looked A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Especially those scrumptious looking cupcakes 🙂 I may have to use your tea party idea down the road someday (if that’s okay with you!).
“lipstick of joy & the white gloves of service & the cloak of forgiveness. ” I love this! Did you make it up? If so, you should totally create a print of it or something- it sounds unique and adorable. I’m always looking for “wifely” advice! haha Such a beautiful shower, too!
Very cute! Looks like a it was a really nice time!
At first glance I thought there was a dish of condoms under the oreo pops! Ha!
Beautiful shower! 🙂 You have a theme for a reason–to tie everything together! You did that wonderfully! All the little touches came together to make it a cute, personal, perfect shower for your sis!
I love the benches. Gotta love a party project that keeps on giving. It also must have been nice to have a kick in the pants to go into over drive on the basement. Even if you don’t use the space for anything else, it would be awesome for get together.
So freakin’ cute. All of it! I love the rag garland. Can’t wait to see pictures of the wedding!
Since we don’t have bridal showers (or baby showers or whatsoever showers) in Germany this is really nice to see! You did a really nice job! Awesome!
And if this is really your phone number on the invitation please work some photoshop magic. There are weird people on the internet. So I’ve heard.
Yay, wedding post!
I’m up to my eyeballs in wedding these days (32 days for me) but it seems like no one else is! :p It was so nice to hear about the lovely shower you threw for Lori! My sisters threw a Mexican Fiesta for me and Jer (it was a great way to invite both men and women who can’t make it to our Outer Banks wedding next month) and we’ve been so busy doing other wedding stuff that I haven’t been able to blog about it myself. 🙁 Ah, well. All in due time!
-Emily
The china is amazing, and I like the dessert table too. Congrats to the braid!
ooo can’t wait to hear about the projects! the Nutrolls sound great. you should share the recipe!
What a sweet shower. It’s evident you put a lot of heart and thought into it. I love the love birds sign.
I’d also love to have that nut roll recipe. They look delicious!
What a wonderful shower you through for your sister! I am amazed how much you get done – you are superwoman! Great theme – thanks for letting us tag along via your pictures.
*threw* – wow, not sure where I put my brain?
OH MY GOODNESS! Love the decor and everything!!! Can we be friends so your creativity will somehow rub on me? I wish I can do it all like you do!
Katie,
You and your mom (aka Mrs. Hughes to me 🙂 did such an awesome job on Lori’s shower! Loved seeing the pics of you ladies. So sweet! Looking forward to reading about all the wedding ideas. Nothing says “let’s get some renovating done” like “we’re having a party”!
Hi Katie! What a sweet shower! I love all your creative and thoughtful ideas-I’m sure your sister loved every second of it!
Would you mind sharing what color you painted the basement walls? In some pictures it looks gray, in others it looked like it had a greenish-blueish tint. My boyfriend and I just bought a house (!!!) and I’m looking forward to painting all of the rooms nice light airy colors. I’d love it if you could share 🙂
Love your blog!!
Nut Roll? Ummm…we NEED that recipe!! Looks delish!
That is just BEYOND WORDS, Katie!! Wish you were my sister!
Love everything you did! Amazing! Please share that nut role recipe!!!
Great job Katie! Your a girl after my own heart when it comes to party planning. Im dying over the paint color in the basement though..it looks amazing 🙂
So cute!!!! I love the green on the walls – I can’t wait to see how you decorate, but love getting a glimpse of the new color with this shower! You did such a good job!
I really love the desert table with the beautiful blue chair next to it. What a perfect place to open gifts!
Will do in the upcoming basement painting post 🙂
xo – kb
Yup – it is our phone number – it’s a blog business line so it’s no secret.
xo – kb
barf!
Katie- I love a theme. More than that, I love birds. We used them extensively at our wedding (now in our home), on my blog background, in my classroom, even! As soon as I saw our wedding invitations, I knew they were meant for us. I got all sentimental reading this because my anniversary is coming up next month and now I know I MUST get my husband and I something “bird-like” for our house on our first anniversary. Your sister is so lucky to have a creative, thoughtful sister like you! It was gorgeous! Congrats to Nornie & Boots! 🙂
Katie,
Love your sense of humor….. btw…. I make a mean nutroll myself but yours looks one hundred times better…. I’ll share my recipe if you’ll share yours…… what’s the secret from keeping it from splitting open?? You could do a post dedicated just to nutroll! From one nut to another!
Mary
I forgot…my favorite part (besides the theme) is those beautiful votives and candles on the ledge. Gorgeous! 🙂
Nicely done! That banner is too cute! 🙂
Along with the love for your sister, what floors me about this post is how hard you work! Those benches are a work of art.
I also wanted to thank you for encouraging me to take better, and more, pictures of my family. Fingers crossed my Canon 550D will be delivered today. I can’t wait 🙂
Katie, love it all… it’s so pulled together from the beautiful watercolour print invitiations, to the Love Birds sign (can’t quite tell if it’s an actual jigsawed sign, or still paper.. but love!), to the ceramic birds, to the nutroll! I must go google nutroll recipes now to stop the drool. =)
What a beautiful celebration you threw!
I love the birdie theme and the blue and white! Perfect, really. Your sister is a lucky gal to have a sister like you. 🙂
Also, would you be willing to share the nut loaf recipe? Just looking at it has my mouth watering!
gorgeous job!! i wish i could have seen some blue and white hydrangea’s on the guests table..would have been perfection!! very inspiring!
How nice of you to acknowledge your mom and all the help that she gave in preparation for the shower! Even with the little tug of wars you two seem to have over some of your word choices, your mother-daughter relationship sounds very special. In the photo of the women at the shower, which woman is your mom? (Somehow the woman between you and your sister does not look Italian! By the way, is it the Italian blood link that makes you and Sherry such good friends?)
Yup that is my mom – she is a bona fide Italian (her maiden name was Santini if that helps)…I think the hat and the white hair throw people for a loop 🙂
And I definitely think it helps that both Sher and I are Italian (both in blood and in nature)…I tease her that I could never ditch her because she would break my kneecaps 🙂
xo – kb
I wish I could find some! I actually looked and apparently there is none blooming here in Loganville!
xo – kb
I wish I could but it’s a family recipe! You know – hush hush 🙂 I think there are many similar ones out there…the key is to not overcook!
xo – kb
AHHH! Congratulations! Anytime I hear of someone else getting a new camera, I literally get giddy with excitement!
xo – kb
Haha! I wish I could share it but it’s a family recipe and my grandmother might roll over in her grave if I gave it out!
xo – kb
Dirty dirty Lisa 🙂
xo – kb
p.s. those are wrapped Tusconi’s just in case you were wondering!
Yup I sure did. Actually the blessing was a lot longer but those were some of my favorites 🙂
xo – kb
Bob….are you lactating?
xo – kb
Well, some of my favorite word plays come directly from the Good Book….so I used that idea to personalize it for my little sis 🙂 And it wasn’t a poem per say…. just a blessing. I can write it down here for you if you want?
xo – kb
The basement looks amazing, Katie! Can’t wait to see the “official” reveal with before & afters!
The shower was so amazing and beautiful! But I wanted to shed a tear when you mentioned the blessing about being a good wife – that was the cherry on top…or M&M on top, if you will…
Great work! Loved the decorations (especially the Love Birds on the mantle).
Wow, the bridal shower looked amazing (and delicious)! Great job KB and we all can’t wait to see how the basement makeover went down…no pressure of course! You’re obviously a very busy lady! Best of luck for the wedding prep 🙂
Wow….gorgeous decorations. Your sister is so pretty and your mom looks just fabulous! (I always think it’s such a shame when people wear jeans and wish people would dress nice for a shower).
My favorite thing?
It is so clear to me that it is your love and affection for the bride and groom that motivated you as you were creating. That is my favorite thing. The decorations are sweet, the food looks delish, the wrist corsage favors devine, but the love? Why it almost jumps off the screen!
Can’t believe you made the benches! Love the candles on the ledge (my favorite part of the decor). Love how you tied the desserts in with the bride and groom. Love that your mom is Little Debbie (this makes me smile every time I read it).
adorable!
OMG Katie that food sounds amazing! I’m totally stealing this menu for the next time I host a shower!
Does this mean I can call you and we can be friends?
I would love to see it 🙂
Done 🙂
xo – kb
Ditto what Destiny said: Your love for your sister practically jumps off the screen! I love the bird theme + tea party theme – they go well together. And I loved the white bird houses on the tables and the dessert table next to the big comfy blue chair! And the menu! Thanks for letting us enjoy vicariously!
I thought I was the only one doing a Love Bird theme shower! I got all my supplies here http://www.rosemarycompany.com/Two_Love_Birds_Bridal_Shower_Partyware_Ensemble.html .
We went the easier route and used paper plates etc.
You know, this bird theme would also make for a cute nursery theme. Just sayin’.
Or maybe you and Sherry are such good friends because she is your sister’s twin? Who knows! I can’t believe no one else has mentioned how much they look alike!
I sure hope you will share how you made those benches!!!! Incredible!
I looked at the pictures before I read the text, and I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out which of your first floor rooms that was. I can’t believe that light-filled, beautiful space is your basement! It looks incredible.
We bought an unfinished birdhouse like that, and our toddler really enjoyed painting it. Maybe Will’s grandparents would like a painted-by-Will birdhouse for Christmas.
Katie, this is really beautiful! I love how you milked your theme!
I did have to laugh, though, because I just finished posting about my son’s 2nd b’day party and I totally milked the theme too. tee hee!
One more thing….I just read a couple of comments about the “Italian” blood running through your family’s veins, but not everyone looking like that’s their ancestry. I am part Italian, but have fair skin and reddish, curly hair. It turns out my great grandfather, a full blooded Italian was fair skinned and had red hair. Weird how those things come out from generation to generation, huh?
This is your basement!!??? Well, that’s my all time fav part of the shower. But I can’t forget the cute Love Birds sign/wall art. Can’t wait to read all about it.
love the rag garland and love birds sign. but my very favorite was recognizing the nutroll before i actually read thats what it was. LOOOOVVE me some nutroll! and I have never known anyone else to even know what it is!! also my grandma’s old family recipe that she passed on to my mom. she makes batches and batches of that stuff, but only at Christmas. still have some in the freezer on reserve 🙂
Nutroll! That’s awesome. My family makes something each Christmas called potica, and it looks to be the same thing. We end up making around thirty loaves for everyone in the family; it’s quite the arduous process but sooooo good. My suggestion for anyone that wants to tackle baking it is to make sure you make the layers really thin.
Funny huh? I definitely LOOK like my Scotch-Irish side (fair pink skin with a smattering of freckles and a small nose) but I am Italian on the inside 🙂
xo – kb
It looks really great! 🙂
This is awesome! I love all of it- the votives on the ledge look gorgeous. I’m of the”more is better” school when it comes to themes too!
random question – did you serve wine, too?
No – we served hot tea, sweet tea, pellegrino and ginger ale 🙂
xo – kb
I haven’t visited your site for awhile, and I am so glad I decided to pop in! Your sister’s bridal shower was lovely, it makes me want to throw a tea party asap. I love all of the simple touches that personalized the day, the reading of the children’s story was precious!
Sorry I’m a little late on this but just read this post! What a wonderful shower!! Everything looks so wonderful! You have a true gift Katie! I’m glad we could be a part of her special day 🙂
I’m throwing my sister-in-law to be a wedding shower next week. I just stumbled upon your blog after googling ‘love birds’ themed shower. What a GORGEOUS job you did. I love it! I was curious if you might be able to tell me what you made the ‘Love Birds’ sign out of and how.
Thanks so much!
Would you be willing to share the blessing with all of us? It souns so beautiful…just like the entire shower!!
Katie, I have studied your “Love Bird” themed bridal shower a bunch. I am putting on the same themed shower for my niece. I went to great lengths to find the book I Bought My Love a Tabby Cat to read at the shower. I was wondering if you would give me more details as to the blessings you gave your sister as far as characteristics of dressing like a good wife? I am using many of your ideas like the Love Birds sign and the garland. Thanks!
It was so long ago I can’t recall! I know I wrote it down for her and she has it 🙂
xo – kb