Two Fridays ago, Mom and I went to the little country club that hosts many of our church groups' activities--and wedding receptions, actually--and met with the assistant manager. It turns out her family also belongs to our church and she was a year ahead of our older brother in grade school. I asked her if she played basketball because that was the only photo of her I remember seeing her in, back when we had yearbooks. (Turns out she also did volleyball and some other sports. Wow.)
Side ramble: Yearbooks went away after a certain point, probably for monetary reasons--or that no one wanted to put one together. Or that, like in this instance which is why I remember it, many people made rude comments about that photo. She was tall and had muscle--read: not "skinny"--and was on the floor in a split in front of the rest of the team. I mean, helloooo, notice she can do a freaking split, not that you think she's got "big legs." Jerks. Can you tell I hated most of the kids in that school? Somehow I ended up dating one of the only nice ones who is still nice, 20+ years later. Lucky me.)
Anyway, here are the details we decided so far.
Room: We're not getting a huge one, as the most we expect to have at the shower would be around 30 women. But the room has pretty rose-colored walls withiwindows overlooking the club grounds (without, like, golfers wandering and shouting because I think they're farther away or on the other side or something). We're thinking probably five tables of six chairs at each. And hey, if we want, we can ask for colored linens. . . but I'm not really into a "let's tie the theme to the wedding's theme" sort of thing, so I opted to keep them white.
Food: Mom and I reviewed the menus and we chose the Brunch Buffet. Our party starts at noon so why not? Of course, the first thing I think of when I hear "brunch" is the explanation of it by Marge Simpson's bowling instructor. (If that didn't make you laugh, you might not be a brunch fan.) So basically you can get bacon/eggs/fruit/muffins/bagels or you could opt for (also have if you're super hungry) salad/chicken/pasta/veggies.
I was undecided about the cake at the time, and I'm glad I waited to confer with YS, because it turns out she has chosen to remain gluten-free after following doctor's orders for a few months. (So look forward to a post about my bakery adventures in the near future.) I'm not getting a huge cake because SO MUCH FOOD ALREADY, but still, who doesn't like the tradition of "Best Wishes" written in icing on a cake?
And finally, because it IS brunch after all, there will be mimosas. In a punch bowl. Yum.
Decorations: As I said, there's not really an official theme. . . but that said, not only am I keeping in mind the whole "American-British union" thing, but I found some fun invitations at the party store and it just clicked with me. Well, my sister likes shoes a lot, her fiance' is British so he might be royalty (aka "Prince Charming"), and there is absolutely nothing on the invitation that says "birthday"--only "Arrive in Style" above where you write in the details. And I wrote "Bridal Shower Brunch" over that lettering so the event was clear.
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| The front says "A Royal Invitation"! |
Which is what I had to do, many times over. And address the envelopes, and print out directions on fancy paper to fold and stuff in them. I'm not used to all that writing so it surprised me to discover it took me nearly all my spare time over one weekend.
Two things I will not do, as I feel etiquette has spoken strongly about them: Use preprinted labels for guests' addresses (I have silver foil return address labels for me but that's in the interest of space), and include registry information. The former I won't do because it's impersonal, and the latter is something best left to the guest to decide if she would prefer to choose a gift on her own, or if she wants to use the registry she can ask me when she calls me with her response to the invitation. No big deal. But I wouldn't want to make people think they have to buy according to the registry, because that's not right.
(That said, I snapped up all the white bath towels on the registry and am going to attempt a towel cake. Don't know what possessed me as I am not super-crafty. I figured I could decorate it with princess-y things and paper or silk flowers or sparkles or something.)
I was a little worried how the invitations would be received, but so far I have gotten positive responses. Yay! (Nothing from YS, however, in spite of the extra glitter stickers on hers. Hmmm. But she's not one to gush.)
The last decision I made is that we will not be doing games. I asked my mom if maybe she could copy and print out some cute photos of YS from years back and we'll do something with those--I know we can't hang anything on the walls but maybe something at the tables. I was thinking of stenciling something on flowerpots to hold flowers for centerpieces, but maybe Mom and I will just cruise the local craft store to get some inspiration.
Within reason, of course. We're not really "country club people" and this setting is more to make it easier to host and for guests' comfort and convenience. Sometimes showers are just overboard with DJs and huge meals and hundreds of people. That just seems for show, and it's just too overwhelming. This is more of a "just us girls" sort of gathering (as I like to think those Disney princesses do sometimes, hee!), and while it's not super cheap it's not going to be a giant affair. I did ask that people respond by August 1, and as of right now I have eight who said Yes (counting myself and the bride) and one who said No (our uncle's wonderful girlfriend who is a band leader and--surprise--has a gig at a wedding that day).
I think it will be fun. Now, I'd better practice making that towel cake. . .
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