A "Wild" Bridal Shower

This last weekend, one of my very best friends married a wonderful southern gentleman.  And a little over a month ago, we threw her a shower.  They only got engaged right before Christmas, and with a 3 month engagement, it didn't give us long to pull together a shower in celebration.

But.... I've planned a shower or two in my day, and I wasn't concerned.

 

The Theme: "Let's Bring Out Lindsey's Wild Side"

 

Note: Thanks to Beth Wilson for photographing the festivities.  

It's been a tradition within our college friend group to throw a "personal shower" for each other, as opposed to a traditional bridal shower.  So that's what we did! With her love for giraffes in mind, we threw her a simple shower with a hint of wild animal.  

For refreshments, we served the bride's favorite trail mix, chocolate covered strawberries, veggies and dip, popcorn, and cake.  Atop the cake (which was incredibly delicious thanks to my talented friend Kara!), I used my Silhouette Cameo to make a "wild" statement that echoed the theme.  Lemonade to drink.  Leopard print straws, of course!

The yellow, tan, and teal color theme came from the bride's love of teal and giraffes. 

The Activities:
One of my most favorite things at showers is to go around the circle and share how you know the bride and one thing you appreciate about her.  This was one of the most meaningful moments of the shower that I received as a bride and I wanted to give that to Lindsey.

Pass the tissues please!

To lighten the mood and bring out our guest's "wild side", we played a silly game of ring toss.  It's a bit of a different take on ring toss.



I made these little giraffe party hats and, with a partner, you had to throw a number of ropes around the neck of the giraffe.



The hats were a hit.  :-) 

We also always play a "newlywed" type game where the bride has to guess how the groom answered a series of questions.

At my own shower, I remember being so disappointing in how poorly I did guessing Michael's answers.
I thought:
"Do I even know this guy?!" I did.  
"What if we get married and I realize we're all wrong for each other?!" We're not.
"What even is his favorite season?!" It's spring.

We also prayed together, which is another of my favorite tradition of these showers (I have a lot of favorites....a.k.a. showers are my favorite).  We prayed for the bride, the groom, and their marriage.  We prayed for their wedding, their newlywed phase, and their future.  We prayed they would grow, and forgive, and continue to seek the Lord through it all.

And of course, at the end of the shower, Michael brought the baby so he could be passed around and loved on! And also of course, we had to make him wear the hat! :-)

 Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Wilson! We are so happy that the Lord has brought your lives together!