Country Chic Bridal Shower

I hosted a bridal shower for my cousin a few months ago. I designed and styled everything, keeping her colors and theme in mind. I made a simple yarn wreath with homemade burlap flowers and chalkboard signs. I constructed the garland from old music book pages and coffee filters. I made the pom poms with tissue paper and coffee filters. We dipped the mason jars in karo syrup and sanding sugar, which became one of my favorite details of the party. There was a set of alphabet stamps and a stamping pad near the mason jars for guests to stamp their initials on the tag. We served chocolate milk with paper straws on ice, a cheesecake bar with a variety of toppings, and homemade heart-shaped pie pops. They tasted like jelly-filled glazed donuts and were totally worth all of the labor they required! Mmmmm!  :)  We played a few silly games and then guests were asked pick up cards from the "advice tree" and fill them out for the bride. I organized the cards based on subject, placed them in the appropriate envelopes, and sealed them up for the bride to open as each situation arises in her marriage (i.e., wedding night advice, first fight advice, anniversary advice, etc.). More game details are included at the end of the post.

Our icebreaker game was "Guess Which Famous Woman I Am." As each guest arrived, they received a label that was taped or pinned to their back, and they were instructed to ask the other guests "yes" and "no" questions in order to figure out who they were. They were only able to ask one question per guest. This rule keeps them mingling and talking to each other. The labels included a variety of movie stars, inventors, politicians, and other famous icons. It's a good idea to wait until all of the guests arrive to start the game, or the people who arrive first win the prizes.

The first game we played was "How Well Does the Bride Know Her Groom?"  I contacted the groom ahead of time to ask him some very personal questions about himself (e.g., how old was he during his first kiss, what is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to him, what is his favorite feature of the bride, when did he know he wanted to marry her, his  mother's middle name, etc.). We placed the bride in the center of the room and asked her all of the questions about her groom. She received a piece of her favorite candy for each correct answer and had to chew a piece of gum for each incorrect answer, I have played this game at a few showers, and it is always a hit. It puts the bride on the spot instead of the guests and everyone gets a good laugh. The groom's mother can really make the game fun if she comments throughout the questions, which ours did perfectly. The bride ends up with a nauseating wad of gum in her mouth.

The other game we played was "Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Fashion Show." For this game, I prepared a bucket for each team, which included 3 rolls of TP, a thick satin ribbon, and a bundle of fake flowers. I divided up the guests into teams and told them to pick someone from their group to be the bride and dress her up for a fashion show in 2 minutes! Each team paraded their bride in front of the real bride, who picked the winner.