blue house happenings

At the end of June, I went up to Cinci for my friend Rachels bridal shower. Rachel is one of my best friends from high school and it was so fun to be a part of her wedding.
The other bridesmaids and I planned a pink and shopping themed bridal shower for her... two of her favorite things.
I was in charge of the invitations and the decorations for the shower. I love event planning and decorating, so I was super excited. We wanted the shower to the cute and fun, without spending a ton of money.
The big spend on the shower was the four Vera Bradley purses. We used these for two things - to decorate and as game prizes! I got a great deal on them from the Vera site during a one day sale and the bride loves them. We hung them on the wall during the shower, and at the end the three winners and the bride each got to keep one. It def made the game participation very competitive!
Once we had the Vera purses decided on, we wanted to tie in the shopping theme. I asked the other bridesmaids to collect their high end shopping bags and also collected a few from family members and co-workers. Then I just used an on-sale ball of pink yarn and tied them into a garland which I hung on the wall. The total cost for this project was just a few dollars and everyone loved it!
I also created some cut outs to add to the flower arrangements to help them match the theme.
The final touch was to really add some personalization. I bought a pack of small pink gift bags, and cut out the letters to her new last name and glued them on the front. Stuffed with a little tissue, they looked so cute!

Here are a few pictures from the shower showing some of the decorations:

Pink gift bag with letters cut out of scrap book paper spelling the brides new last name

Garland made with pink yarn and shopping bags

Table with tasty treats and flowers

Cut out high heel and purse shapes glued on dowel rods

Maid of Honor welcoming everyone to the shower

Playing a game during the shower

It was fun to be crafty and come up with cute and affordable decorations. The other bridesmaids did a great job with the food and games. The bride loved the shower and I had such a great time seeing old friends and making new ones!