Expert Tips on How to Host a Luxurious Bridal Shower

I didn’t know that I had a knack for styling an event until I had planned and put together my own wedding a year and a half ago. If you missed those posts, you can check them out here. I planned everything from the invitations to the decorations with input from my husband on the food, venue and suits for his groomsmen. We got a ton of compliments and to this day, our guests were still raving about our wedding.

Although I enjoy styling an event and have considered adding it to my services, I know that my natural skills are not enough to be a professional in this industry so I sought some help from a local expert and put the tips into practice by styling my own luxurious bridal shower party in our backyard.

Putting together and styling an event is not a task for the faint of heart for sure. A lot of times, we go to an event, admire the details, and enjoy the experience, but we don’t see the actual amount of work put into it. There is a lot involved and can get pretty overwhelming. I know that for a fact from planning our wedding.

Thankfully, I sought expert tips this time and I will be sharing them with you here.

Also, whenever you plan an event, there is a lot of  driving involved: meeting up with vendors, going to the store to buy stuff, and picking up items such as floral arrangements, cake, cupcakes, macarons, etc. I can’t even count how many times I’ve driven around town while I was putting this bridal shower together.

In times like this, you need a dependable transportation that can get some of the job done for you while you’re on the go and that’s exactly what Buick  Regal TourX did for me. The ability to send and receive text messages and make phone calls hands-free with its Apple Car Play was very convenient for me, especially when I needed to make a quick decision so the vendor can proceed with the order. I didn’t have to pull over or wait till I get to my destination to reply to text messages or make phone calls. Plugging my phone to the car and using the Apple Car Play technology, it alerts me with a sound, tells me exactly who the message came from and reads the message to me, or tells me who is calling. To me, this is not just a convenience feature but also a safety feature that prevents me from getting my attention off the road.

Another feature I liked was the QuietTuning.  Buick QuietTuning™ technology utilizes triple door sealing, acoustic laminated windshield and front side glass, and specific suspension tuning to quiet outside noise which makes my driving around town a lot less stressful. I can relax and listen to my favorite podcasts while stuck in Houston traffic.

And with all the bulky decors and flower arrangements that I’ve had to pick up, Buick Regal TourX’s spacious interior and trunk came in really handy. I was able to pack everything in the car.

Not only does Buick Regal TourX features became very helpful in the planning process but its luxurious look and feel inspired my luxurious bridal shower even more. We’ve gotten asked a few times about the car and if it’s already available in dealerships. They sure are!

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Now on to the tips on styling a luxurious bridal shower. It is wedding season and if you’re a Maid of Honor or one of the bridesmaids that was tasked to help the Maid of Honor in planning and styling your friend’s bridal shower, follow these expert tips and wow your bride friend and guests! By the way, if you’re interested in finding out the vendors for this shower, you can scroll all the way down this page.

1. 1. Set the theme or color scheme.
      Styling an event requires creativity and a lot of times, you can stir up your imagination by setting a theme or a color scheme.
      
      There are a few ways to go about this:
      a. Ask the bride if she prefers a particular theme that matches her wedding theme.
      b. If she doesn’t have any particular theme in mind (i.e. mermaid, floral, fairy tale, etc.), ask if she prefers a particular color scheme then. She might want to use the same color scheme as the wedding and that is perfectly fine too.
      c. Once you have that established, put together a Pinterest board and pin inspirations from other pinners. There’s literally hundreds of thousands of photos on Pinterest that can trigger your imagination and get your creative juice flowing. You’re going to need this Pinterest board when showing your ideas to vendors or co-collaborators/co-bridesmaids. For this particular bridal shower I styled and hosted, I chose a Kate Spade-ish style as far as the color goes. I’ve always loved Kate Spade’s fun and colorful vibe so I picked red and fuchsia with light pink and white as my neutrals and gold to pop them up.
   2. Set the budget and list priorities.
      Any wedding-related event can get costly and little things here and there add up pretty fast. Before you know it, you had already spent thousands of dollars, so it is important to set a budget and how much money you’re working with. That is usually one of the major things that an expert event planner will ask so that he or she knows how much she can work with. You would also have to list your priorities for the event. Which one would you spend the most money on? Flowers? Food? Drinks? Sweets? Set your priorities for the event and allocate your budget based on this.
   3. Establish the date and send the invites out with plenty of time.
      If you’re wondering why establishing the date and sending out the invites come in third only is because you would want your invitation to match the theme of the bridal shower , whether it’s a physical or a digital invitation. Etsy is highly recommended for both digital and physical bridal shower invitations. Minted is whom we used for our wedding invitations and I also recommend them for physical invitations. The cost of the invitations must also fall within the budget you have set.
   4. Set the location.
      A venue for a bridal shower can get pretty expensive. Unless it’s a shower with hundreds of guests, most bridal showers take place in a home, a backyard or by the pool – depending on the season and weather of course. There’s nothing tacky about doing a backyard bridal shower. In fact, if you go on Pinterest, you will see a ton of backyard bridal shower party ideas. (Continued below…)
      
   5. It’s all about the décor.
      When I was planning our wedding, there were three major things I had in mind: venue, flowers and décor. We went to five different venues and the last one was “the one.” The venue was a plantation home and it was already gorgeous in and of itself. However, I knew that flowers will make a WHOLE lot of difference. I knew that it will set the atmosphere and sure enough, it did. So putting together this particular bridal shower, I knew that I had to have flowers and not just any flowers. I need an expert florist for this. For our wedding, I had contracted one of our local Kroger’s floral department and the master expert florist Jeff Bass didn’t disappoint. I went back to Jeff and had him put together the flowers for this bridal shower. Remember the Pinterest board? All I did was show him some ideas from my Bridal Shower Ideas Pinterest board and he took it from there.The result? A stunning and luxurious backyard bridal shower set-up! I’m going to tell you now that without these flowers, this whole set-up wouldn’t feel as grand. The tall flower arrangements and the pedestal flower arrangements beautifully graced the table.  It was such an Instagram-worthy tablescape. (Continued below…)
      

      

      

      

      
      

   6. The little details.
      Setting the atmosphere doesn’t just end in flowers though. It’s adding the nice little touches here and there such as the way you have the napkin folded, the personalized place cards, the charger plates, the gold chiavarri chairs (rented from Elle Event Rentals), the table linens, and so on. A table set-up normally includes a charger plate, silverware, napkins and drink ware. A lot of times, it’s more cost-effective to purchase them than rent them. Another advantage of this is that you’d be able to re-use them for another event. Amazon has wonderful selection of acrylic charger plates at affordable prices. Since this particular bridal shower was Kate Spade-inspired, I decided to make bow napkins which was fairly easy to do. I purchased these fuchsia linen napkins and faux rhinestone napkin rings from Amazon for the bow napkins. I also contracted a local calligrapher, Calligraphy by Patricia, to write the place cards. Calligraphy adds a really luxurious touch to the details.
      
      
      
      
   7. Love is sweet.
      Desserts table is always a HIT in any kind of event but it’s especially big at weddings and bridal showers.
      Here’s what you can add to your “Sweets” table:
      a. Bridal shower cake
      b. Macarons
      c. Cupcakes
      d. Cake pops
      e. Donuts
      f. Kisses chocolates
      g. Cookies
      
      
      
      Some opt out of a cake and just make a tier out of cupcakes and macarons because it’s more cost-effective and it’s absolutely okay as well. If you need to improvise because of cost issues, it is perfectly fine. By the way if you’re a Houstonian, I’m pretty sure you’re already familiar with Sweet. They have the most delicious macarons and can provide tiers at a really affordable price. They also make cakes now as well.
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   8. Drink and be merry.
      Be sure to allot a budget for drinks. It’s always good to have a selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. A mimosa bar is particularly popular these days. If you’re not familiar with a mimosa bar, it is simply a concoction of champagne or other sparkly drinks, juices, and fruit toppings. Another popular drink options are rosé and moscato. Other drink ideas: Fruit-infused water, punch
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   9. Keep the food simple.
      There’s usually a lot of things going on in an event like this. People talking and mingling. Then there’s also games involved. So the key is to keep the food simple. Finger foods are usually preferred. Guests can always come back to it again after playing games, talking, and mingling. Special thanks to my hubby Master Chef AndréCaine for preparing the food for this styled bridal shower!
      
      
      
      
   10. Hire a professional photographer.
       Just like a wedding, a bridal shower only happens once in a bride’s life. Unless of course, she’s got several group of friends that would like to throw her a shower at different times. Otherwise, it’s once in a lifetime. In this day and age of camera phones, a photographer is probably the least of your priorities when throwing a shower. But don’t. There is a lot of things going on in an event like this and a dedicated professional photographer can capture a lot of things that guests usually can’t. You put a lot of work on this to make it memorable for the bride, you might as well have someone capture all those moments! For this styled shoot, we hired our wedding photographer @photog_p who did a great job capturing the details and the moments of this event. Don’t forget to rent a photobooth or put together one!
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
   11. Optional: Put a Flower Bar
       If you have an extra budget, add a flower bar. Just like the desserts table, a flower bar is also a huge hit at bridal showers. It’s feminine and can serve as bridal shower favors for your guests.

Special thanks to my friends: Patricia, Sung, Julie, Patsy, Valerie, Jalynn, Wendy of Wendy Traylor, and Jillian of Cup of Charisma

Vendors: Chair and Table Rentals: Elle Event Rentals | Flowers: Kroger on Buffalo Speedway (look for Jeff Bass)| Photographer: Prashant M. | Macarons: Sweets Houston | Cake and Cupcakes: Cake Dreams Bakery | Tablescape/Décors: Napkins, Napkin Ring Holder, Gold Sequin Table Runner, Gold Candelabras, Love is Sweet Sign, Similar Gold Bucket, Set of 3 Gold Cake Risers| Photobooth: Gold Sequin Backdrop, Backdrop Stand
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Disclaimer: I’ve teamed up with GM Buick to bring you this post.  The opinions expressed herein are mine and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of GM Buick. Thank you for supporting LynneGabriel.com sponsors. They make my blog possible!