My youngest daughter is getting married in September!!!  

Can you tell I am excited?  

There are so many beautiful events surrounding this wedding that I have started calling this the summer of Love.

I couldn’t wait to start party planning with her and her sister.

Today on the blog, I am sharing all the pretty details.

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My oldest daughter officially hosted the Bridal Shower but left the decor and actual planning to me- because well..it’s kind of my love language.

Once my daughter chose a date for the shower, we found a beautiful venue.

We picked The Downtown Market Greenhouse in Grand Rapids, MI, as the venue (it is breathtaking).

Garden Party as a shower theme came pretty easy after that.

Garden Party Bridal Shower details:

Invitations:

The invitations are from Minted (here) and helped us set the party’s tone.

We chose bright Pink, Orange, and Green as the primary color theme.

The venue:

As I mentioned, this is a gorgeous space, and we were thrilled it was available for a small gathering.

It is light-filled with plants everywhere you look!

And they made it easy by having the option to rent tables and linens directly from them.

Decor:

The Tables:

I knew that the greenhouse would need big bright pops of color to break up all the beautiful greenery.  

For the tables, I started by layering with brightly colored table runners, bright green napkins, and loads and loads of gorgeous fresh flowers (peonies, gerbera daisies, and roses, oh my!).  

We added small bud vases (here) filled with pink and orange roses pulled double duty as party favors and placeholders.

Food and Beverage

Brunch with Mimosa Bar:

Because the brides’ favorite meal is always brunch, we chose a catered brunch buffet with a menu that included all her favorites, chicken and waffles with a bourbon sauce, fresh fruit, bagels, salads, and of course, for fun, a Mimosa bar.

Make it personal:

Flower Crown for a Garden Party:

When we began planning a garden party theme, I knew I wanted to make a floral crown for my daughter.  

She has such a bohemian soul.

I also knew I wanted to stay away from a “BOHO RUSTIC” look, so I went for larger, brighter flowers.

It took a couple of stops at local floral haunts to pick out the PERFECT flowers, but in the end, it was so much fun to make and looked beautiful on her!

Ballons were an inexpensive way to bring more pops of pink and orange to the space.

More special touches:

I love a Bridal shower that includes special personalized touches.

We had a sign designed by a local graphic designer that details how the couple met and some of their favorite things.

The sign greeted guests as they arrived.

My oldest daughter made an extraordinary video for my daughter; it included her favorite music and photographs of her with all the guests attending the shower.  

It was beautiful, and honestly, there was not a dry eye in the house.

My daughter can be shy, so we had her Fiancé join her for games and the present opening.

I highly recommend it! 

It turned out to be a huge bonus for those friends and family who had not met him before.

And he enjoyed himself immensely.

Bridal Shower Activities and Games:

Since it is a well-known fact that my daughter is a huge fan of the selfie and her sister knows her well, we made sure there were photo props available and that each guest had an opportunity to have their photos taken with the Bride to be.

It turned out to be a great ice breaker while guests got settled, grabbed a beverage, and found their seats.

Games:

We played a version of the Newlywed game, which was a lot of fun.

Favors:

After a few games (making sure the prizes fit the theme), and then sent our guests on their way with favors as a remembrance of the day.  

We continued the garden party theme with cupcakes decorated with flowers and boxed in brightly colored boxes along with floral scented candles.

We provided boxes for treats as well as bags to carry home favors.

Everyone had a wonderful time, and my daughter felt very special.  

Now on to planning the wedding decor!

Thanks for popping in today, and stay tuned for that floral crown tutorial!

If you are looking for more ideas on planning a bridal shower, take a peek at this post which has some helpful suggestions.

Until next time,

-Libbie

Photo Cred goes to the ahhhmazing Holly @grauperphoto in Grand Rapids. 

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Until next time,

-Libbie