the Bridal Shower {all in the details}

Earlier this month I had my Bridal Shower and although it was fun planning it with my closest relatives glad that its over, planning a shower and wedding simultaneously is a bit stressful especially if your like me where you love little D.I.Y details. If you plan far enough in advance you'd be surprised at what you can find online, such as free template downloads like my menu cards. The key is to search blogs and lots of blogs because there are so many....
Details:
Favours-mini Claus Porto soaps (love these luxury soaps & they're a nod to my Portuguese heritage)
Personalized lipbalms from Beaucoup, a nod to my beauty blog & love of makeup.
Stamps are a D.I.Y bride-to-be's best friend, easy to use & re-usable. Just customize the ink pads to your own colour palette! I picked these up at Michael's Craft store in the $1.50 clearance bin.

the groom-to-be hard at work

Menu-one of my favourite wedding blogs is Ruffled & that is where I came across the template/idea for my menu + the idea for the IKEA double-sided picture frame which costs $.99 perfect look for my retro themed shower! Two Brunettes designed the actual template, check out their site for more inspiration. The menu graphics were the PERFECT colours as it allowed me to expand on my chosen bridal shower palette of yellow, green & minty blue.

The menu's printed at Walmart Photo Center in one hour, easy to do & colour quality vivid!

Other details like green candles purchased at IKEA, great store for wedding items.
Invites- template purchased from Apple Blossom Print, check out my post here.
And lastly flowers, I chose colours that would tie in my colour palette too! Bought retro-inspired vases at Goodwill & brought them in to a local inexpensive florist, told them what flowers I liked & colour. Sometimes its best to let the experts put the small touches together hence the florist!

Yummy bridal shower cake by Pretty Sweet Cakes by Savera, red velvet cake + chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for those that wanted to indulge a bit more. Please excuse the flower detail as it was a hot Summer day & the humidity caused the flower to "melt".

a clean, fresh streamlined look is the end result

entrance: a wire mannequin form that I dressed up with a retro kitchen tea towel & vintage ribbon to tie into an apron. Guest/picture book and shower favours, as guests arrived I took a picture which I will develop & put into the book next to their signature. 

Loved the flowers!

Hope you got inspired by my retro themed Bridal Shower!

xo

a French affair {real-weddings}

Last month I travelled all the way to Paris, France to attend the wedding of my friend D'Arcy who married her sweetheart Sebastien. It was a gorgeous wedding outside of Paris at a romantic Chateau in the country-side.

love the fish-eye effect

the bride wore a gorgeous vintage inspired custom-made gown with lace removable overlay, the gown converts into a strapless gown for dancing

the reception was held on the Chateau's grounds in a tent,

although it was a rainy day the event was beautiful & intimate

the groom loves music (used to DJ in his early 20's) hence the table names

Lace overlay is off which means one thing...PARTY

the day after all the guests were invited back for brunch! What a fabulous idea, considering that most guests were from out of town it was nice to attend the next day in a more casual affair.

love the tablecloth change on the tables for brunch

Congratulations to the lovely couple! Had an amazing time, good music, good company and delicious food all the ingredients for a fabulous wedding.