Boston Bridal Shower

So, I have been totally putting off sharing any sort of visual documentation of the mini-bridal shower we threw for J last month, but I may now be enough removed to share with you at least the inspiration behind the day. I'm actually a little disappointed- in my dismay over the way some things turned out, I neglected to take decent pictures of the few things that went swell. Oh well, lesson learned: never, ever, under any circumstances, host or hold a bridal shower in any humid-prone area, in the summer months, without AC. I swear to you that my crepe paper decorations were so soft with moisture I could have used them as a blanket...maybe, armed with this knowledge, I could have done a better job and fashioned my decor out of something sturdier, but alas, it was not to be so. And we were all so g.damn HOT the days leading up to it and the morning of, that everything kinda got thrown together and I put on my "whatever, let's do this" face and just had a good time with our wonderful (and forgiving) company and bride.

But, just because I couldn't execute it well, doesn't mean you can't utilize my research! I want to share with you the inspiration we had gathered for our funfetti-themed bridal shower.

You've already seen the invitations here, which set the tone for the color scheme, decor, and dessert. I considered making another batch of this funfetti yogurt dip, which I find DELICIOUS, but it doesn't look too appetizing and I didn't want our guests to be scared off. Instead, we utilized sprinkles (and of course funfetti cake) for other, more appealing desserts. Sweetapolita inspired us with sprinkle bark, the simplest but prettiest dessert we could find:

How lovely, right? We continued with the theme by rolling ice cream sandwiches in sprinkles, which were cute and yummy (but melted pretty quick in the Boston heat). We used rectangular sandwiches and cut them in half to be square.

Can't you picture modifying any of these amazing popcorn recipes at Chickabug to suit our theme? Colorful sprinkles and milk chocolate would be just the thing. 

For games, I thought this idea at Orange Beautiful was adorable and low-pressure for our bride-to-be. We ended up playing a similar (but younger) version at the bachelorette...details to come!

We've all seen plenty of mimosa bars on Pinterest and blogs, but I found this one at Mint Love Social Club to be particularly well done.

We also did a make-your-own salad bar. I was smitten with salad combinations like watermelon, tomato and feta, apple pecan gorgonzola, and strawberry, avocado, bacon and blue cheese, but just in case that wasn't everyone's style, we put all the ingredients out and let guests mix their own.

We had a spread of pastries and bagels, but needed to add some protein. We were going to make Martha Stewart's bacon, egg and toast cups, but didn't want to double up on the carbs. Instead, we left the toast out and made mini-quiches. 

As the decor all melted, and I have no interest in reliving it, I'm only sharing food. Eat up!