With wedding season in our midst, there's no better time to refine (or refresh) our outfits for the various wedding festivities ahead. And today, we're zeroing in on bridal-shower fare. Whether you're the bride or a guest, take styling cues from Emmy Rossum's fresh yellow and white pairing, Hannah Simone's ladylike floral dress, and Christa B. Allen's embellished peachy lace number. It's a Spring-minded, celeb-inspired lineup, so if you need more A-list ensemble fodder, just keep clicking.
Lasso up your pals and pull on your cowboy boots, we've got all the inspiration you need to throw a bridal shower with country and western flair. If this is your first rodeo as a bride-to-be or a maid-of-honor planning a bridal shower (or bachelorette party), have no fear, we've got you covered from the barn-worthy activities to the country-chic decor and dress code. And don't forget to set the mood with these country wedding songs. Now let's have a little less talk and get this boot-scootin'-boogie bridal shower going!
Bridal showers are for gift giving, gossiping, and even a little indulging. What better way to celebrate than with some very tasty desserts. Here are 10 decadent recipes, some of which are rich and some of which are on the lighter side, but all are guaranteed crowd-pleasers.
When a couple decides to get married, they aren't just signing up to host a wedding, they are also committing themselves to a lot of parties that happen along the way. An engagement party, shower, and bachelorette are all commonly associated with weddings. But with so many parties, it's hard to keep them all straight! That's why I've created this handy guide that explains everything you need to know — from the proper time to host a shower to the first person to toast at the wedding. Read on for all the details.
Calling all fabulous hostesses! Divinelight needs our help planning an office bridal shower for a friend. She writes:
"One of my coworkers will be getting married soon and we want to throw her a little get together in the office. Her wedding date is 9/10/11, so we want the theme to be like a count-up (instead of countdown) to her wedding and have something to do with the numbers 6, 7, 8. What type of ideas do you think we could do that follows this theme? One idea that got passed around was an Ice Cream Shower where there are 6 flavors, 7 syrups (do that many even exist?) and 8 toppings, but we've done an ice cream shower in the past and this will be for a group of less than 10 people probably."
My first question is why the numbers six, seven, and eight? Could they be one, two, and three instead? That way you could do a taco party and have one kind of tortilla, two types of proteins, and three scrumptious salsas. Have it at lunch and let everyone drink their favorite Mexican beer! Or if you want it to be dessert themed, you could do a cupcake bar with one flavor of cupcake, two filling choices, and three types of frosting.
Do you have any good suggestions? Share them with us below.
Hosting a bridal shower this Summer? Here's a menu to inspire you! Most of the dishes are vegetarian friendly, and they all feature in-season produce. The best thing about this menu is that it works any time of day — be it a bridal shower brunch, lunch, or cocktail affair.
Although you're honored to be part of the bridal party, it can also bring in a lot of expenses. If you're in charge of organizing the bridal shower, you don't have to do what everyone's doing and organize it at a restaurant or even Vegas. Here are some thrifty tips from Dana LaRue of The Broke-Ass Bride blog that you should keep in mind if you're throwing the bridal shower:
Bring her favorite food to her: Instead of heading out to a fancy restaurant or paying for bar cocktails, opt to order in (or better yet, potlucking) all her favorite foods at someone's house. Grab a few handles of booze at your local bevvie warehouse and get your buzz on a budget, or create a signature drink for the event to keep it simple, such as a cosmo martini rebranded in honor of your bride. 
This Ask a Savvy Bride is part of a wedding season series of advice from a savvy soon-to-be bride. The post is by reader in our Ask Savvy group — she wants to know the appropriate amount to give for the bridal shower. If you need an outsider's perspective on a wedding dilemma, be sure to submit your questions to the Ask Savvy group.
My friend's shower invitation said to "please provide a monetary gift" so that the couple may enjoy their honeymoon. There was no itinerary to know what their honeymoon will entail or what the monetary gift will exactly go towards. Aside from it being tacky to send out a blanket invite requesting money (IMHO), how do I determine the appropriate amount to give? $50 in the country where their honeymoon will take place will go a lot farther than say $50 in New York City. I read a recent article here on this site about what folks give for wedding gifts, but what about bridal shower gifts? Thanks!
Wedding stress doesn't only affect the bride and groom as you can see in this special Ask a Savvy Bride question. Check out the answer below and if you have issues of your own, ask for help in the Ask Savvy group. Dear Savvy, I'm hosting a bridal shower with another bridesmaid in honor of our great friend who is getting married this Summer. She threw me a lovely shower when I was engaged and I'm thrilled to be able to do the same for her. The trouble, however, is that my fellow host is incredibly cheap — I don't think she realized how pricey hosting such an event really is. How can we meet both of our needs; I want this to be a special day for our bride-to-be.
Anything but Cheap Callie
Here's a post from CasaSugar Community member CourtneyOutLoud from the Lovely Little Vignettes group:
I originally created this tablescape for a NYE Dinner party that never happened. However, as I looked at the table setting, I started to think that I could "recycle" it for a special occasion such as a bridal shower lunch or maybe even a festive Valentine's Day dinner. The majority of the items on the table were purchased from discount stores (Ross Dress for Less, Marshall's), the Dollar Store, or thrift shops. The two splurges on the table are the Waterford crystal glasses, which I inherited, and the tablecloth, which really isn't a huge splurge being custom-made and costing under $100 for supplies and labor. I joke that the most expensive thing on the table is actually the bottle of champagne I used as a prop!
Continue reading to see CourtneyOutLoud's resources for this tablescape!
