Green Bridal Shower

Here are a few pictures from reader Nikki, who threw a "green bridal shower" or her co-worker, Kristin. Her solutions were not only eco-friendly but also super-sweet. At the end of the party the bride was able to take home some very personal gifts- and I'm sure she'll treasure them for years to come, as they're from dear friends.

Here are some ways we tried to make sure our event was eco-friendly:
Rather than use paper invitations, we used a cute bridal shower template from evite.com. On the evite, we introduced the "green theme" and asked guests to "think digital, recyclable, reusable, and organic".

We served a light lunch consisting of an assortment of salads, bread, chips, dip, and fruit. Wherever possible, we made sure to buy organic and local. For dessert, guests had sorbet served in real orange and grapefruit cups. We used recycled napkins and all other tableware was re-usable.

After lunch, we had a great time painting terracotta pots and planting Kristin's favorite plants in them. We knew that she loves gardening and working in her backyard so this was a fun activity for guests to do together and it also provided the bride with lovely gifts to take home.

In addition to the potted plants, we all pitched in and got Kristin a gift card to her favorite cooking store. As an added touch, the gift card was enclosed in a recycled, plantable greeting card, which had basil and chives seeds inside.

We found this article to be helpful during our planning: eHow

Many, many thanks to Nikki for sharing!

Three French Hens

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I bet you didn't know that a bachelorette party is known as a "hen party" or a "hen night" in the UK and Australia. Though bacheloette parties are somewhat new (and often today equate with wild michief), dinners and parties thrown in honor of the bride-to-be have been tradition for centuries.

Great "Hen Parties" are often weekend excursions or day trips. Consider a day at a spa. There's something very bonding about seaweed wraps and group mud baths. Or wine tasting-notice how giant the bride-to-be's glass is in the photo. Even if you have more than three hens at your party, and even if none of them are French, start planning with your maids as to what type of hen party is going to have you the most relaxed for your wedding day!

Photos courtesy of: Gaylord Hotel, Tour Trent College, and Hilmerson Photography.

Bowling Alley Bachelorette Party

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I met ladies from Lucky Strike Lanes today and they had such a fabulous idea. Parties and weddings at Lucky Strike Lanes! (If you're new to Lucky Strike Lanes- they're no ordinary bowling alley. Glam, fun, gourmet food- in other words- Hollywood style bowling fun! Even Kristin Cavallari loves it!)

Bowling Alley weddings are fabulous, but for the less adventurous I love the idea of a Bachelor or Bachelorette party! Even a co-ed bowling party would be great. Imagine you and your guests (wedding or party) dressed up having a great time together. The memories will be priceless.

Photos from top right: Lucky Strikes photo by Judi Bumstead, Bowling Bride, Kristin Cavallari, Lucky Strikes Lanes.

Bachelorette Party

Have you ever been in charge of a Bachelorette party? These are some things I learned from the last bachelorette party I hosted. First, I asked the bride what she wanted and what her comfort levels were. She said she wanted lots of fun and some innocent thrills.

One idea for the adventurous type is tell all your guests to dress up- no, not cute club clothes but to a theme, like women of the Amazon, or French Maids, or James Bond Girls. For my party I created a scavenger hunt for my friend. First we went to a club, and I brought Mardi Gras necklaces in bulk. For every item completed on the list she got another necklace, in addition to her boa and tiara. Some of them were similar to:

Get a shoulder message from a cute guy.

Ask the oldest guy at the place for a dance.

Take a picture of you kissing a bald man's head.

Have the bride in a white shirt and collect phone numbers from guys with a sharpie.

They were thrilling but harmless and added entertainment to dancing. But if you get in a jam, don't forget that there are party planner services such as Bride's Night Out that do the party planning for you. It may not be a bad idea!

Photo of darling Heather's bachelorette party.

Bridal Shower Game

(My bridal shower six years ago)

I recently attended a shower where they incorporated a few simple games that ended up being fabulously entertaining. Everyone knows that opening gifts at a shower is a must- and often it is a long process that can be a bit tiring for guests. So here are the games I played this last weekend.

Game One: Have prettily wrapped prizes, nearly one per guest. Then bring out an egg timer and set it for 1 minute. The bride must have completed opening and showing off the gift before the timer rings. If the timer rings first, the guest who's gift is being opened wins a prize. It keeps guests entertained and encourages the bride to be timely. It's a must have game for large showers.

Game Two: At the start of the shower have blank bingo cards ready. Guests must fill in each square with gifts she thinks the bride will receive. Guests may not use the same idea twice (to help you might offer a list of gifts off the bride's registry). As the bride opens each gift, guest cross it off their bingo cards. Have several medium prizes for the first three guests to win bingo. This keeps guest fully entertained during the shower and rooting for their bingo! gift.

Photo by Martha Stewart.

A Charming Bridal Shower

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A charming tradition (gleaned from Martha Stewart) is to create a "charm" cake. Tie charms and perhaps a personal note to a ribbon left trailing from the Bundt cake. At your shower, allow guests to pull out a charm for a favor. It's a sweet idea!