My Sister's Bridal Shower

My sister is getting married in February.  Technically, I am her matron of honor.  But if you call me that, I might throw something at you.  At the very least I'll shoot you a very nasty look.  I think I'll stick with maid of honor, thank you very much!  

So, obviously, as the maid of honor, it was my duty to throw the best bridal shower ever!  I don't think I've ever been to a winter bridal shower, so I wasn't exactly sure how to start planning.  Many of the "shower-y" things I kept thinking up didn't seem appropriate for a cold day in January.

But a hot chocolate bar was perfect for a winter bridal shower!  We decided to offer two different types of hot chocolate and then some spiced cider, too.

But a plain old mug of hot chocolate isn't much fun without toppings!  Here's what you see in the pictures below:

*Rum Chata - not my personal favorite, but everyone else loves it!

*Peppermint Schapps - now you're speaking my love language...peppermint and chocolate.  YUM!

*Bailey's - no explanation needed here....absolutely divine!

*Spiced Rum - if you haven't had hot cider with some spiced rum, you are really missing out.

*Homemade whipped cream - What can I say?  My mom is a rockstar.

*Marshmallow straws - The marshmallows in the green Sixlets are topped with chocolate and crushed peppermint.  The marshmallows in the purple Sixlets are topped with caramel and sea salt.  

Another view of the hot chocolate bar...

And, winter bridal shower or not, as far as I'm concerned a bridal shower is not complete without mimosas!  We only did three different flavors because of the hot chocolate bar.  There was definitely plenty for people to drink!

For the record, my mother is amazing.  She made the quiches and all the breads.  She set up this beautiful table!  Pretty sure this shower wouldn't have been nearly as yummy had my mom not helped so much!

I made Meredith a monogram and put her new last name down the side.  I think it turned out really cute!  I also took some old wine bottles (turns out I have quite the supply of empty wine bottles in my recycle box) and spray painted them.  The gold ones turned out much prettier than the purple ones.  

I used some hot glue to put designs on the bottles before I painted them.  I think I liked them better plain, though.  Writing with hot glue is not the easiest thing in the world!

Oh my.  These were DE.LI.CIOUS.

We had fruit salad, too.  How adorable are the heart-shaped watermelon pieces?!  It's silly, I know, but they're one of my favorite parts of the whole shower!  Oh, the power of a heart-shaped cookie cutter!

For party favors, we bought some super cheap mugs ($1 a piece, people!) and some Sharpie paint pens.  Everyone got to decorate their own mug and then use it for the hot chocolate bar!  We made sure to tell everyone they needed to bake it when they got home, though, to make it permanent.  I also had a date night jar for my sister to take home.  Everyone wrote a fun date night idea on a stick and put it in the jar.  Meredith read all of the date night ideas when she was opening presents.  There were some great ideas in that little jar!

I put the directions for the mug decorating on one of the mugs!

Do you ever start a project because you want things to be perfect only to realize half way through the project that you've made a mistake?  That happens to me ALL.THE.TIME.  I like things to be perfect, so when I printed out a banner for the shower and the background looked yellow instead of brown I just couldn't leave it alone!  So I attacked it, with black Sharpie in hand.  Hours later, I finally finished fixing this dang thing and then I forgot to take a picture of it!  So, here's my crummy picture of the most time consuming, labor intensive part of the shower.  Dang banner.

I colored in each of the shapes in the background.  Then you couldn't see the numbers, so I got a gold Sharpie and outlined them.  It turned out really pretty, but probably not worth the time (and hand cramps!) required.  I'd like to say "lesson learned", but I know better than that.  So does my husband. 

We also did a video of Meredith's fiancé.  I asked him questions like, 

"What's Meredith's favorite junk food?"

"What would Meredith say is your most annoying habit?"

"When did you know she was the one?"

There was lots of laughing with some of his responses.  I'm not a fan of games at showers, but the video provides lots of together time for Meredith and her guests and lots of laughter. 

Then it was time to open presents!

After the shower, this happened.  My cousin's adorable little girl was very focused on her tablet.  I can't help but share these sweet pictures!

Now that we have all of these awesome pictures, a Shutterfly photobook will be a great way to remember the day!  I love lots of little photobooks to remember special events!  It takes very little effort by me, and I end up with a beautiful memory!  Don't tell, but I'm going to use the photobook as part of her wedding gift!

Love this picture of my mom, sister and me!  Congratulations, Meredith!