Nashville Wife

Lifestyle Blog | Recipes | Home Decor | Money Saving | DIY Wedding Planning

Bridal Showers

Valentine’s Day Bridal Shower

by 36 Comments

Valentine's Day bridal shower

Anne just threw another themed bridal shower! When she mentioned several months ago that she had been chosen as the maid of honor for her husband’s sister’s wedding and needed to throw a shower in February, I suggested she do a Valentine’s Day theme. So technically I came up with the initial idea, but Anne ran with it and made it into something truly lovely. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this wedding shower because I’m still trying to limit germ exposure for myself and Mr. H Jr, but everything looked so beautiful that I wanted to share photos. Happy Valentine’s Day! Visit my Bridal Showers and Party Planning pages for more ideas.

First, the decor…

Valentine's Day bridal shower

Valentine's Day bridal shower

Valentine's Day bridal shower

Valentine's Day bridal showerThe food looked delicious…

Valentine's Day bridal shower

Speaking of chocolate fondue, when Mr. Handsome and I were dating, he made a Valentine’s Day meal of steak and chocolate fondue. The steak was perfect, but the chocolate tasted a little burnt. He insisted that it was a fancy type of chocolate that has a different taste to it. I knew better but since he went to so much trouble, I decided not to say anything. He told me the truth a few weeks later, and we had a good laugh….

Read More

Let Love Grow Bridal Shower

by 22 Comments

Mr. Handsome’s second oldest sister, Catherine, is married! Mr. Handsome is the oldest of seven, and in the past four years, four of them have tied the knot. I’m looking forward to sharing wedding pictures, but first, I have one batch of bridal shower snapshots to share.Catherine had four showers–our family, her family-friends, her college friends, and his family. (In the words of my father-in-law, she must have been very messy to require that many!)

The first two photos are from the shower with our side of the family, put on by my father-in-law’s sister-in-law and niece.

Everything was decorated in blue and yellow, as those are the bride’s absolute favorite colors. The event took place at a community center because Mr. Handsome has a ton of female relatives, and about half of them are children. It was a fun-filled day! My mom and my brother’s wife also came.

The shower for family-friends was hosted by myself, my mother-in-law, and my other sisters-in-law. The theme was Let Love Grow, and the party was supposed to be outdoors under a tent, but the rain forced us to move the festivities inside.

This chalkboard sign is my masterpiece. Writing neatly with chalk is harder than it looks, y’all!

With all the wedding showers we have done, we have learned to always have guests address an envelop to themselves, as it makes writing thank you notes so much easier.

This sign has gotten a lot of mileage since Mr. Handsome made it for our wedding. (The letters are individually nailed onto the plywood with tiny nails, and the nail heads stick out to give it a more rustic look.)

Guests were encouraged to write a memory and a personal note (advice and wishes for the new Mr. and Mrs.) on pieces of paper.

We had fun choosing garden themed prizes.

We also bought plants to give out as party favors.

My creative mother-in-law was responsible for the clever food table. She made homemade veggie pizza and called it a “vegetable garden.” She also baked shortbread in silicone cupcake holders for guests to cover with fruit (“build your own fruit garden”).

For games, we did a crossword puzzle competition that featured questions about the bride and groom, and we broke up into teams to decorate ribbon and tissue paper bouquets for the rehearsal dinner. Catherine chose her favorite (bottom left). Guess everyone knew her pretty well because they all used blue and yellow items!

Music Themed Bridal Shower

by 23 Comments

I just came across these photos and realized I hadn’t yet shared them with you. A few weeks before Mr. Handsome’s youngest brother married Sarah during a beautiful December ceremony on the East Coast, his grandmother threw a wedding shower for Sarah.The shower was music themed, as Sarah is a professional, classically trained musician. Everything was very beautifully done! I wasn’t able to attend because Mr. Handsome had to work that weekend, so we couldn’t make the seven-hour drive, but my in-laws sent me photos.

The game they played was created by Mr. Handsome’s grandmother. Guests had to finish the story using music related words. In case you want to try it, I posted the answers as a comment below.

Music for the Shower
The ______ to a perfect day is to have everybody in _______.
As you arrive at your wedding, may you ________ into the
church on _________ with your family there to __________ you. Rumor has it that
you will be wearing __________ on your feet with __________ on your toes. Your
wedding planner will greet you and __________ in with ideas from her _________.
Your wedding planner will remind the groom to ____ _____ and
not to fall to ______. It is difficult to have a wedding if the groom is
__________. Also, be sure your groom knows you want the best man to be a
__________.
The ________ of the ceremony is usually a member of the
church ___________.
When you place your _______ on your finger, it is a
_________ that you are no longer going through life _________.
Some couples ______ _____ as they leave the ceremony.
A good choice for the meal for your reception is ______
________. Make every effort to keep the groom away from the _______. As you
look at your gift table you will notice that many people have taken time to
_______ their gifts.
It is always risky to have the best man __________ a toast.
If it is too long, have your maid of honor ready to _______ in.
As you leave for your life together, it is our wish that you
will have ________ happiness and ________ stress.

Fall-Themed Bridal Shower Pics

by 13 Comments

Earlier this week, I shared two of the games we played at the wedding shower we threw for my future sister-in-law (purse raid and the shoe game). About twenty ladies attended, and we enjoyed chatting and laughing together.The theme of the shower was “fall in love.” (It was fall themed, which I’m sure you figured out.) Scroll down to see pictures:

Order of events chalkboard

The “We Do Forever” sign we had left over from my DIY outdoor wedding reception–letters are attached to the board using nails

A closeup of the pumpkin (49 Days Until She Says ‘I Do’)

Bridal shower word search

Guess how many chocolate kisses (winner takes them all home…there were 69)

Random cute chalkboard

Snack table (cobbler bar with your choice of toppings…blueberries sauce, baked cinnamon apple slices, and chocolate sauce) and other munchies

We also held a pumpkin decorating contest. We split up into groups of three or four and decorated a pumpkin to look like a bride. The groom-to-be chose his favorite (the one on the left). My group’s is two from the right, but our face isn’t the greatest. LOL.

Bridal Shower Game: Shoe Q&A

by 16 Comments

What did y’all think of the purse raid game that I posted yesterday (click here to read)? The ladies I played this game with a couple years ago were extremely competitive and had huge purses stocked with all kinds of random “necessities.” (That experience inspired me to add more items to my own purse.)

This time, the women had much smaller purses. The majority of the points (150) were earned by Mr. Handsome’s grandmother (Gram) and oldest sister (Anne).

In addition to the Purse Raid game, we also held a bridal pumpkin decorating contest (photo coming soon). When the groom-to-be arrived at the end of the shower, I led him and his bride in the Couples Q&A Shoe Game. Surprisingly, their responses were identical for all but three of the questions!

Here are the rules:

Shoe Game for Couples

Have the bride and groom sit in chairs so they are facing opposite directions. Ask both of them to remove their shoes and exchange one of their shoes with the other person, so each of them is holding their shoe in one hand and the other person’s shoe in the other hand.

Gather the guests around, and call out these questions. The bride and groom will each come up with their own responses and will use the shoes to answer. (Example: If the bride thinks she is the pickier eater, she holds up her shoe. If she thinks her man is the pickier eater, she holds up his shoe.)

-Who is the pickier eater?

-Who chose the honeymoon location?

-Who is afraid of heights?

-Who is the morning person?

-Who is a night owl?

-Who is more likely to leave clothes all over the bedroom floor?

-Who is a better secret keeper?

-Who is more likely to burn the house down while cooking?

-Who is more of a dog person?

-Who spends a longer amount of time getting ready for an evening out?

-Who is more likely to overspend while shopping?

-Who loves the outdoors?

-Who has the craziest family?

-Who is the party animal?

-Who is more likely to get a speeding ticket?

-Who is more likely to fall asleep in front of the TV?

-Who is a more trustworthy driver?

-Who will manage the finances/spending?

-Who is the daredevil?

-Who is more likely to lose something?

-Who is more stubborn?

-Who will mow the lawn?

-Who has better organizational skills?

Bridal Shower Game: Purse Raid

by 19 Comments

Last weekend, my mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and I threw a bridal shower for the soon-to-be wife of Mr. Handsome’s youngest brother, Joseph. I led the guests in a game of Purse Raid, which was a blast. It’s perfect for wedding showers, baby showers, or any other type of female get-together. Here’s how you play:

Have guests take a seat holding their purses. As the host calls out each item on the list, the first lady to hold up that item receives the number of points allotted. Have guests keep track of their points, and hand out prizes to the first, second, and third place winners. (For prizes, I purchased three specialty Hershey’s bars (symphony bar, cookies and cream bar, and special dark with almonds).

2 Points
Cell Phone
Credit Card
Keys
Lipstick, lip gloss, or chap stick
Writing Utensil
Driver’s License
Breath Mints, Gum, or Candy
$1 Bill

4 Points
Library Card
Receipt
Tissue
Comb or Brush
Sunglasses
Store Loyalty Card
Checkbook
Mirror
Gift Card
Dental Floss
Toothbrush
Picture of Your Mother or Mother-In-Law
Tape Measure
Penny or Nickel

6 Points
Nail File or Clippers
Business Card
Notebook or Notepad
Medicine
Hair Accessories
Piece of Mail
Datebook or Day Planner (not a cell phone)
Picture of the Bride
Coupon
Hand Sanitizer
Band-Aid
Deodorant
Perfume
Hand Lotion

8 Points
Child’s toy or book
$50 in cash
5 Credit Cards
Hairspray
mp3 player (not a cell phone)
Calculator (not a cell phone)
Needle and Thread
Playing Cards
Food Item
Reading Glasses
Water Bottle

10 Points
Mace or Pepper Spray
Passport
$100 in cash
Curling Iron
Postage Stamp
Umbrella

Adventure-Themed Wedding Shower

by 36 Comments

Over Labor Day weekend, Mr. Handsome and I (along with his parents and three youngest sisters) attended an adventure-themed wedding shower for my brother and his fiance. My mom and the maid of honor spent many hours planning this family event.

For lunch, guests feasted on a smorgasbord of Middle Eastern food (pita bread, humus, baba ghanoush, beef schawarma, saffron chicken, salad, and rice. It was different, but it turned out to be delicious!

My mom and me…

Gift table…
Suitcase card box…
Table decorations…
Food table…
Dessert table…

Mr. Handsome decided to add a little bit of comic relief to the party. Outside the room where it was held, he created this display…

Pinterest-Perfect Wedding Shower

by 9 Comments

Back in May, I was blessed to have three wedding showers, thrown by my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, a friend from church, and Mr. Handsome’s aunts. The first one was very much a “Pinterest-Perfect” Shower. My oldest sister-in-law, Anne, headed up the decorating, and she and the other girls did a fabulous job.The theme was “Love is Brewing.” This mantle decoration is made of brown paper and string.

Anne and her sisters wrote cute sayings on bulletin boards covered with chalkboard paper. This one says: “Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue; 44 Days ‘Til They Say ‘I Do.'”

And this one shows the progression of our dating courtship.

Anne created a crossword puzzle with facts about Mr. Handsome and me and handed out prizes to the people who could fill in the most answers.

Guests were served refreshments and cheese cake. (My mother-in-law even provided special snacks for our gluten free guests.) The sign in this picture says “Have Tea with the Bride-to-Be.”

On one of the walls in the living room, my in-laws hung pictures of us from our childhoods. They also had a station where guests could address an envelope to themselves (genius idea!), which made thank you notes a whole lot easier.

Then, of course, there were gifts. My mom folded all the wrapping paper and tissue paper so I could start off with a good supply as a new wife.