We sent the groom on a mission to distract the bride and the girls worked quickly! We had about an hour and half to pull this surprise bridal shower off and it turned out PERFECT! See how three sisters transform the porch of their childhood home into a dreamy bridal shower for their big sister.
The Dessert Table
When planning an event it's easy to get overwhelmed quickly, I highly recommend asking for help and to create a team you trust to pull it off. Lucky for me my sisters (the bridesmaids) are all creative and have a eye for design. Together we delegated tasks prior to the event to speed up the process on the day of. The groom distracted the bride by taking her our for dinner so that made our food job a little simpler. We decided to put our main focus on drinks and small bites. We created a list on the grocery store website and had one bridesmaid on shopping and food. For sweet treats we got black and white cookies, chocolate mints, fruit all from Trader Joe's and our aunt brought over her famous chocolate chip cookies!
Displays
For the food display we went for a simple look but you would never know by how beautiful it turned out. The cake plates, bowls and glasses were all elements we already had gathered from thrift stores and from around my mother's house. This added a sentimental and homey feel. To elevate the look we also added a photo of the couple and sprigs of mint we had leftover. Also, a little secret is that runner used on the dessert table is actually a piece of my dress that I had leftover from the seamstress. So sometimes keeping everything comes in handy!
Flowers
Flowers are the easiest way to quickly make a huge impact in a space. We use a mix of faux flowers from Michaels, hydrangeas from my mother's garden, bouquets of greenery from Trader Joe's and we picked a bucket of in season flowers from Rooted Farmstead. It was so fun to mix and match all of these elements and create small bouquets for the stairs leading to the porch and to use as a center piece.
Table
For the long table look we pushed two long folding tables together and used an extra long white tablecloth to cover them. The chairs are ones we found throughout our parent's house and the mismatched look was perfect for the porch party vibe.
Centerpiece
For the centerpiece we clipped off the fuller looking greenery and florals to create a whimsical and elegant focal point. The table runner was actually curtains found at Goodwill. We used different brass and glass candle holders to weave into bare spaces. The candle holders were mostly thrifted a month or two in advanced but some brass ones were found on Amazon. The candle sticks were collected from HomeGoods, Goodwill and I would also recommend looking on Amazon if you are looking for specific colors.
Gift Table
For the gift table we used two brass coffee tables from World Market but Target has similar tables in stock right now! These pieces look stunning on the porch for daily use and also have storage. These are great for stashing away those gifts so the bride didn't seem them and easily pulling them out for set up. If you want your theme to flow throughout the event, add some of the florals to the gifts. This adds an extra layer to them and makes them feel even more special.
Advice
Learning from this process I would make a few adjustments for future events. I would highly recommend getting a handheld steamer for the linens because even though they were previously ironed they always get pesky creases. Another thing would be using glass hurricane shields for the candles. The open candle stick is so beautiful but the slightest wind is going to blow them out and get wax everywhere. My last piece of advice is to take lots of pictures and have your guests take them too. It's exciting to see your guests point of view doing the event!
Candlesticks: Amazon
Candle Holder: Amazon
Flowers: Trader Joe's & Rooted Farmstead
Porch Coffe Tables: Target
Tables: Wayfair