Before my wedding, I was able to send out some REALLY cute bridal shower invitations for her shower. Besides that, not much else had been planned, or organized until I got back from the honeymoon.
I've only been to three showers before (and two of them were for me!) so I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that guests really don't care for the "typical games" played at showers (co-workers, friends, and my grandma all shared that info with me). So I was determined to find fun, creative things to do that showed my future sister-in-law how wonderful she is and how happy we all are that she's about to be a part of our family.
Here's what I came up with:
1. Framed "Old Irish Blessing" quote I had all the women at the shower sign their name with a VERY fine-tipped black marker around the matting of the frame and it turned out nicely! (10x10 frame from Michaels that had a 5x5" inside for the quote)
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| Mat soft be the grass you walk on, May fair be the skies above you, May true be the joys that surround you, May dear be the hearts that love you - Old Irish Blessing |
2. "Showered with Love" activity
Each guest wrote happy quotes, love sayings, positive thoughts down on "raindrop" shaped cardstock (I provided). Then, the raindrops were attached to the inside of a cute umbrella from Target, so when she opened the umbrella (outside, of course) she was"showered with love".
3. Love Jeopardy Game
I got inspiration from this from Pinterest (exact pin is here), but I modified it a bit. Tutorial below:
Materials needed:
Solid color cardstock
Patterned cardstock
Glue stick
Personal Paper Trimmer (or scissors if you can cut straight!)
Sticky Tack
Poster Board (I liked the 3-fold Presentation Board)
Sharpie Marker
Printed Questions/Answers
Step 1: Questions and Answers
a. Send a list of questions to the groom-to-be. Tell him what the project is and why you need him to answer all of them. He may come up with more questions or suggestions for different questions. (Sample questions: What is your "how did you meet" story? When did you know she was "the one"? If you found her diary from your first date, what would it say? What is her favorite drink? What is your favorite dessert? What was the name of your first pet? What is her biggest pet peeve? If you could be a cartoon character, who would you be? What famous person does she remind you of?)
b. Format the questions into 3x5 boxes in Microsoft Word (include a border so you can cut them out easier).
c. Print on regular printer paper
d. Cut out each Question and Answer card, set aside
Step 2: Pretty Cards
a. Cut out the solid card stock into 4 x 6 cards, stack to the side
b. Cut out the patterned card stock into 3.5 x 5.5 (so it frames inside the solid cardstock nicely), stack to the side
c. Glue patterned cards onto the solid card
Step 3: Add Trivia
a. Apply a line of glue stick to the top 1/2" of the "answer" card
b. Place the "question" card on top of the "answer" card and apply pressure to attached the two together.
c. Apply glue stick to the back of the answer card and apply to the blank side of the "pretty card" (from above)
Step 4: Make Headings
a. Reverse the "pretty cards" so the bigger card is the patterned card is 4x6 and the solid card is 3.5 x 5.5 so you can use these as headings on the board
b. Write the headings (I used "Randomness" "Must be Love" "Love it or Hate it" etc.)
Step 5: Build the Board
a. Lay out the cards to see how they will fit
b. Place two dots of sticky tack on the top two corners of each card and attach cards to board
c. Write in value of each card to the left of all the cards (looked sharper than if the number was written on each card (200, 400, 600, 800, 1000)).
That's all it takes! Then at the shower, the bride-to-be says "I'll take "Must be Love" for 400!" and guests take turns pulling the card off the board, reading the question and laughing as she guesses how HE answered each question! If she gets it right, she gets to open a gift. If she gets it wrong, she still gets a gift - win win!! :)
**A follow-up note: you may need to tweek some of the questions/answers so it is in the favor of the bride, or make sure she has some hints to the correct answer. In hindsight, I wished I had some multiple choice questions because the groom answered some of the questions that threw her off!
4. Mini-Themed Shower: All food items are bite-sized. Since it's a 1pm shower, it's not a sit-down meal. Menu items include:
- Mini cupcakes
- Chocolate with chocolate frosting and a raspberry on top
- Vanilla with vanilla frosting and a strawberry on top
- Mini Mac 'n Cheese Bites
- Chicken Quesadilla Pinwheels
- Sugar Cookies with frosting
- Mini Brownie Bites
- Veggie tray
- Cheese & Crackers
- Ruffles and onion dip
- Fruit skewers
5. Themed Drinks - Grey, yellow and purple are her wedding colors. She's very laid back and I wanted the drinks to reflect this. The table cloths are grey, so having yellow plates/napkins and drinks will be a great accent.
- Lemonade (served in mason jars with each guests' name tagged with purple stamps on the outside with yellow ribbon)
- Gingerale and diet cranberry juice makes a nice, bubbly, non-alcoholic drink.
- Bought artificial white daisy potted plants from Michaels for $3 each. Glued pretty white/grey ribbon around the outside making a fun pattern.
- Purchased yellow, purple and grey balloons to throw around as decoration
- Found a cute marriage quote on a wooden board at Hobby Lobby to add to the gifts table
- Dollar Store had cute, small vases that I'm filling with clear gems, filling with water, and adding small white, purple and yellow flowers as centerpieces.
