As a welcome break from blogging about my own place, I am thrilled to finally tell you about an event that’s been a long time in the making: Kristen’s Kitchen Shower.
This time, I had the pleasure of hosting with my mom–the best-ever co-PPOL, cook, and flower-arranger. Whoever said bridal showers were built to be boring never planned one with us! To that end, we decided that a Saturday evening shower filled with cocktails and cupcakes would be totally apropos. 
Since the shower was in the evening, we lit the steps with some inexpensive paper lanterns to help guide guests to the correct address, as well as light their way up the stairs. From that point, our attendees were greeted at the door with a big “V,” a nod to the bride-to-be’s new last name.
The kitchen bar was equipped with plenty of wine and glasses, each bedecked with cute little tags we purchased from Etsy.com. (More on those in an upcoming post!) My mom picked up the “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry” sign at HomeGoods for $5.99, which was hung above the bar alongside utensils bought from one of Kristen’s registries.
At the bride’s request, we displayed the gifts (which guests brought unwrapped) on a table, making sure to keep a careful list of who-brought-what. The display shower enabled our bride-to-be to maximize time spent enjoying wine and good company…and minimize hours of present-0pening!
One of our presents for the bride was adorable apron stitched with her new monogram…and matched to her kitchen decor and the Villeroy and Boch place settings she registered for!
No kitchen shower would be complete without great food. We kept it simple with yummy appetizer-style finger foods, whipped up by my mom and sisters in our family kitchen. We purchased some brightly-colored fabrics from JoAnn’s to help jazz up the table, and completed the ‘scape with some springy floral arrangements, assembled at home with store-bought flowers and inexpensive mason-jar “vases.” We carried the candlelight throughout the house, placing pretty tin votives among the flowers. Candles also adorned the mantle, where a slideshow of the couple rolled throughout the evening.
To cap off the fun and festive evening, our guests left with a little bag of goodies–a roller-shaped recipe card holder, complete with a half-dozen cards containing recipes for each of the foods served throughout the party.
We hope Kristen had as much fun being showered as we did planning her shower!
PS: Stay tuned for a second post with lots of details-on-the-details from this great event…
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