A picnic bridal shower

There are several topics I need to cover before the wedding, and one of them is my wonderful bridal shower! I actually ended up having two bridal showers, but when this one took place (July), I thought it was going to be my only one. Even if it had been, I would have been completely satisfied — it was such a fun morning!

John’s two sisters and mom were the hostesses, and they did a remarkable job! The loose theme was “All You Need is Love” (perhaps an homage to our proposal video?), with heavy doses of pink, laid-back picnic style, and Parisian flair. A few of my most favorite things!

Marget sourced the invites from Minted. It was so exciting when this pretty showed up in my mailbox!

The day of the shower dawned exceptionally hot, especially for New England – about 95, with bright sun. Since we were outside, the ladies made a last-minute store run for several extra beach umbrellas, which went a long way towards keeping everyone shaded and cool!

The tables were delightful, filled with glitter-rimmed berry baskets, pink seersucker runners, gold painted mason jars (a DIY project!), and sunflowers in picnic baskets.

John’s mom is a phenomenal cook and baker, and his sisters are not far behind. The spread at the shower was delicious! We had chicken salad, egg salad with dill, croissants and baguettes, pea pesto salad, and watermelon and feta salad, and for dessert, an assortment of quick breads and mini cupcakes. YUM!

Once everyone had filled their plates and sat down to enjoy, the ladies went around the table saying something they loved about me, or sharing a memory from our lives together. Let me tell y’all — best thing ever! Since the attendees included my grandmother, my best friend from birth, the parents of my best childhood girlfriends, and many other important people in my life, the stories shared were wide-ranging and brought back memories I had almost forgotten about.

The rest of our time was taken up by two activities: a fun Emily and John trivia game, and opening this stack of goodies:

Me oh my! I’m working on a post about our registry right now, and I’ll highlight a few of my favorite gifts in an upcoming post! Needless to say, we are blessed with very generous family and friends.

Speaking of whom, here I am with John, my bridesmaids, my future brother in law, and my beautiful ribbon bouquet!

Back to the game for a minute. They titled it “Who Said It?” and it was a fun twist on the usual newlywed type game! Marget and Natalie came up with a list of questions (What was the best trip you’ve taken together? When did you know he/she was the one?), and got our answers beforehand. At the shower, guests split into teams of two, and each team was given a mustache on a stick and a pair of lips on a stick. The gals had chosen either my or John’s answer for each question, and teams had to guess which one of us said it. (They indicated their choice by holding up either the mustache or the lips!) It was harder than it sounds!

At the end of the morning, guests left with these sweet seed packet favors.

Everything was so thoughtfully planned. I had the best time, and am so thankful to John’s family for hosting, and our friends and family for braving the heat!

Thanks to a mix of attendees for sharing these photos!

P.S. The bridal shower I threw for Marget