have you ever had
one of those nights where you literally feel like there is magic in the air?
those nights where
it feels like time stands still and the world seems so safe and peaceful...?
your heart aches
to go back and relive it over and over…
well, a few weeks
ago i experienced one of those nights.
i got to host my
very first {of hopefully many} events.
let me start from
the beginning…
all of my
relatives {on my dad’s side} are scattered throughout the west coast.
a few weeks ago
everyone came to idaho for my older brother’s wedding.
we were all under
the same roof for a week- overly crowded and completely happy.
my cousin valerie
{from southern california} is getting married in august and wanted me to throw
her a bridal shower in idaho so that all of us girl cousins {her bridal party}
would be present.
so i started planning
months ago.
through all of my
preparation i’ve really grown a love for event planning.
it’s one of those
things that really gets my heart racing and something I genuinely enjoy
thinking about day and night.
since money was an
issue, however, i had to get basically EVERYTHING from thrift stores.
which is probably what i would pick to do anyway…
it definitely
makes things harder, but it gives any event a much more unique feel.
so for months my
mom and i spent our weekends thrifting.
and with that comes additional projects, of
course, like painting and sewing to make our thrifted finds even more perfect.
so here are some
pictures of the outcome and i will describe the details along the way :)
and just to warn you- it's going to be a picture
overload.
day-of prep.
oh my goodness…
i planned on
giving myself two hours to set everything up.
wrong!
the shower was
supposed to start at 7:30 and we didn’t end up starting till close to 9:00.
i only let a few
of the girls come out to help me.
i wanted it to be
a surprise for all of the rest.
the guys weren’t
allowed to attend the shower but they literally saved my life with all of the
preparation.
and I have to be
honest, it was the greatest feeling bossing around a bunch of guys :)
they were amazing.
so first lesson
learned: allow yourself extra time to get everything ready because there will
always be hiccups.
like in the
picture above, for example.
we had ironed the
tablecloth a few days before the shower and rolled it up thinking that would
prevent wrinkles.
we couldn’t have
been more mistaken.
and being the
perfectionist i am- i brought out an iron with an extension cord and ironed the
tablecloth right then and there.
oh and through all
of this- the sky was completely gray and I was having a heart attack that it
was going to rain on us!
I told all of the
girls that if it did- we’d be having a shower in the rain because I was not
even about to take it inside.
has anyone seen on
pinterest where you can fill a shallow bowl with flowers by criss-crossing tape
across the top?
i put one of my
cousins in charge of that job for our table centerpiece and it turned out beautiful.
And three hours
later the whole setup was complete….
i chose to go with
a bohemian/fairytale feel.
so our main objective
was to scour thrift shops for various candleticks and colored glass candleholders,
vases, and serveware.
i wanted
everything to be mismatched but coordinate well together overall.
it was really hard
for us to find a tablecloth to fit this size of table {above}.
the legs were
really ugly so we wanted it to reach the floor.
i had planned on
finding something lacey that would work but we couldn’t find any lace that was big
enough.
so this is
actually an old bed sheet that my mom sewed into a tablecloth.
you would never
know, right??
i wasn’t really
sure what would work as “bohemian” food so i went with a grecian meal.
we served food to
make gyros, greek pasta, and a sparkling raspberry punch.
we got all of these
chairs from thrift stores, painted them and made cushions.
{excluding the
chair on the far right- that was an old chair of my mom’s that was upholstered
with red velvet and we painted it a light lavender color}
it was the hardest
thing finding 11 blue willow plates without spending a fortune!
so these were all
bought from different thrift/antique stores and a few were even bought at a
yard sale.
i wanted
mismatched cups so we settled on a yellow hue since that is mostly what you can
find at thrift stores.
i had bread ready
on the table and garlic infused oil and vinegar in thrifted serving pourers.
also along the
table were stacks of little plates for the olive oil and vinegar that were thrifted as
well.
on top of the
cloth napkins {not thrifted} i placed a sprig of lavender and place cards that i got for $1 at michael’s.
i used a thrifted
coffee table for presents, which you can see in the background.
and i used a thrifted picture frame and painted over the picture inside with chalk paint.
i wanted to find a
cute lovey-dovey quote to write on it but i ran out of time!
i used a small pink
table from my room that matched perfectly with the other décor to display the
pencils and programs.
i made programs
with our itinerary listed and they also included a packet of games that we
would be playing.
{black pencils
from staples}
i made a photo
backdrop using a thrifted sheet and the glittered banner was made with wooden
letters from hobby lobby.
the lanterns you
can see in the background were one of the few things that weren’t thrifted.
they added the
perfect twinkling touch.
~
when we finally
started it was perfect.
i had a playlist
with priscilla ahn and nora jones playing in the background.
there was also the peaceful sound of our water feature.
the gloomy weather
couldn’t have been better.
it didn’t rain but
it covered up the sun and heat and there was a soft breeze.
i gave all of the
guys different jobs to do during the shower and we kept it completely secret from the girls.
the first was the
groom who took pictures throughout the whole thing and was our photo booth photographer.
i made various flower
and feather crowns for us to wear in the pictures and i also bought some asian fans to use as props.
{above is the
bride}
// the bridal party //
the second guy to
come out for the night was the bride’s dad.
he came out with
cucumber water for us to have with our bread and oil and vinegar.
i coached him to come
to every girl and ask “cucumber water?”
he did awesome.
after our main meal, a few more guys came out to clear our dishes so that we would have room to play
our games.
we played a lot of
scattegories and other bridal games including a “bachelorette party” mad lib which got waayyy out of hand ;)
by the time we
were done wrapping up the games it was dark out.
it was so
gorgeous, these pictures do not do it justice AT ALL!
the rest of the
guys brought out our cheesecake and toppings; they had very specific lines as well.
then we opened presents, and the
night was over.
it was perfect.
a night i will
truly cherish forever and ever-ever!