I am happy to report that my niece Lara’s bridal shower was a huge success! It was a lot of work, but the outcome made it well worthwhile. Her other aunts and I chose to have it at a restaurant in New York City. We also chose “cooking” as a theme as my niece loves to cook! Since I do not live in the city, I had to carefully plan every table, pack everything up and bring it to the restaurant. I still can’t believe I fit everything in my car, it was completely filled. Even my cousin, who sat in the passenger’s seat was holding things in her lap.

Planning these kinds of parties is a huge undertaking. There are always little hiccups and many worries. There is always the risk of having something you ordered not coming on time. I’ve found it helps to anticipate that not everything will go right, and make peace with it. I just really enjoy doing these special little things for my family.

I have a close friend who threw a similar baking themed bridal shower for her niece, so her input made it easier, and I just had to put it all together.

When people first walked in there was a “greeting” table that had glass jars filled with candy and each person’s name and table number on it. 

My friend had a mannequin that she used for her niece’s bridal shower and I appropriately dressed it for the cooking theme. We also had guests sign it when they arrived.

I took a coffee maker, a crockpot, a blender, a colander and a wooden spoon holder to a florist, and had them filled with flowers that coordinated with the colors of the shower, which was blue and yellow.

Here is how each table looked.

Of course, I was not working alone and everyone was happy to help.

My other niece baked this beautiful wedding dress “cake” which was made up of cupcakes (and my friend’s idea).

Even my great-niece Jenna contributed by handing out the favors (which were blue potholders) and thanking each person for coming. How cute is she?!

Lara had a wonderful day and was so happy to be celebrating with family and friends. That made every minute worth it.

It’s that simple (oh no, not really)!