So it’s been 1 week since my best friend has been showered, bridal-ized and ready for her wedding day… but it’s also been a few months in planning for that wonderful afternoon!
I mentioned before how excited I am to see my best friend marry the man she loves and take on the next journey of her life with a constant companion by her side. Well, we (bridesmaids) couldn’t let her start that incredible journey without anything short of a fancy shin-dig, right? =D Right! So on to the party…..

Theme: ” A Few of [Deb's] Favorite Things “
We realized how well-rounded and eclectic our bride-to-be is, and we wanted to encompass all of what made her “her” without limiting ourselves to just a “tea party” or a “jewelry party” .. etc. Soo… we took it all and smashed it together and added in a dash of purple wedding color and .. voila..!! =D

The food was probably the most eclectic round-up you’ll ever see, but … it tasted gooooood. =D Our bride loves hot teas, red meat, asian dim sum dishes like potstickers and lo bak go (chinese turnip cake) and these particular sugar cookies that taste like cake with a whole load of icing, so who were we to deny her, her favorite things to eat? Have your cake and eat it too! I credit our Top Chef Rachel Moy for creating our menu!

• DIY-Decor-Budget Idea: Paint-swatch place cards! Head to your nearest Home Depot and take a few (of these freebie) paint swatch cards! Paint comes in all sorts of colors so you can easily find a color or two that matches your decor. Use them as name place cards, or food dish labels, or anything else you need to indicate! For these place cards, I also used a die-cutter to round out the edges and a silver paint marker for the text. And… voila! It costs you only the gas it takes to drive to Home Depot!

As a group, us ladies helped to usher our bride-to-be into marriage not just by showering her with gifts, but also by our words of wisdom, encouragement (and some just plain out hilarious comedic suggestions) on potential marital problems. A great alternative to the bridal shower scrapbook activity, you can garner some great knowledge from a group of women and create a personal and useful memento.

But a highlight of the afternoon, I must say, was the most awesome Bridal Toilet Paper Dresses, done Project Runway Style! Sketch-Present-Incorporate a Special Element (Handmade Jewelry by the Bride)-and then Runway Model! Designers – you truly impressed us and far exceeded all of our expectations! WOW.

Prizes for the games (nail polish & speciality blooming teas!)

We finished off the summer afternoon with .. no, not cake…. but an Ice Cream Bar! For our bride who’s not too crazy about cake, we offered instead 5 different ice cream flavors, chocolate syrup and strawberries and toppings of Nerds candy and chocolate chips and fruit loops and sprinkles… OH MY! You scream for ice cream, and we all scream for ice cream!!!

Congratulations Deb! We (+4 more missing bridesmaids) are so excited for you….!! And last but not least…. Thank you for coming!