Happily Ever After Wedding Shower
A happily ever after wedding shower. My best friend decided to tie the knot with her beau of 10+ years at the Fort Worth County Courthouse last fall and I couldn’t be happier for them! They’re pretty low-key, so throwing a big wedding was never on the docket. However, I insisted on throwing a party to celebrate their nuptials.
In the spirit of celebration, I decided to throw Carla & Taylor a “Happily Ever After” wedding shower with my girlfriends, Reese and Ashley! We wanted to keep things as no-frills as a wedding shower could possibly allow while still incorporating some classic wedding traditions. The bride wore white, we decorated with candles and florals, gave a toast with champagne, and had the couple of honor cut the cake.
We also had guests bring a couple of bottles of wine for a blind wine tasting event (we set up a voting system that was come-and-go so everyone could mingle and taste at their leisure).
…and if you recognize some of the gals in these photos…you probably saw them in my Portugal Travel Guide!
- decor -
White hydrangeas. We snagged these babies from Trader Joes and turned three small bouquets into one larger flower arrangement for the main table and two smaller bloom vases for additional decor).
Votives. We ordered a LOT of the small glass votives and placed them all over the house! Since the party was at night, it made everything glow.
Courthouse Sketch. I found an artist on Etsy to make a sketch of the courthouse where Carla and Taylor got married. And it was GORGEOUS! I would highly recommend the artist if you’re looking to sketch something sentimental.
Polaroid Guest Book. Guestbooks don’t have to be expensive! I ordered a Moleskin sketchbook off of Amazon and packed my Polaroid camera for guests to take pictures.
Balloon Arch. Reese is a master party planner, so she taught us how to put together a balloon arch. It was the major eye catcher of the night (other than the bride, of course).
- food -
We advised guests we would have heavy appetizers and dessert at the party! Leaning into the couple’s Texas roots we did a “Taste of Texas” selection of foods (mini tacos, taquitos, queso dip, chips & salsa). and a giant charcuterie board (which took up the entire kitchen island). We purchased the majority of our foods from Costco and Trader Joe’s.
- entertainment -
Blind Wine Tasting. We went with the theme love the “wine” you’re with for this game! We hosted ~25 guests, so it was too large of a crowd to have everyone stand around the table and taste. We placed wine bottles in mini burlap sacks (with cute little heart tags!), numbered them, and had guests vote on their favorite RED wine and favorite WHITE wines. They were free to taste throughout the night! Winners were awarded a high-five.
Cake Cutting. My girlfriend, Ashley, is quite the chef so she whipped up a gorgeous cake for the bride and groom to cut!
Our guests stayed late (which is always a sign of a fun party!) and the bride & groom enjoyed being able to celebrate a big life milestone in a more intimate gathering. And they lived happily ever after!!
