Wednesday, July 21, 2010

an urban and feminine bridal shower

i love being able to share events that i design that aren't necessarily weddings...and this was one of my favorite parties so far this year! it was a bridal shower for one of my best friends, leila khalil of be inspired pr, who deals with the wedding industry every day of her life...needless to say, she has seen it all...so kellee, my co-host in crime, and i knew we had our work cut out for us if we were gonna be able to impress her!

we immediately called courtney toney of joyful weddings and events to help us with the planning process and THANK GOD FOR HER!! :) not only is courtney super creative but she is just so darn organized and really helped me and kellee stay on track...

we were going for an industrial, loft space vibe that we could infuse with sherbert tones, lace, ruffles, cameos, lockets and other girly accents...when kellee found high profile productions in culver city, i knew we had picked the right location! it was modern and airy but the best part was it already had some gorgeous crystal chandeliers, white lounge furniture and specialty lighting in place...instant ambiance!

there were so many fun details that made this day memorable so scroll through and enjoy!



i stuck with ruffly, romantic blooms in shades of peach, coral and blush - parrot tulips, garden roses and ranunculas! we arranged everything in vintage white milkglass so that the vessels would really pop against the peach and blush linens...


cute little accents i brought in...


yup, those are my white ikea frames...i seem to get a lot of good use out of those bad boys! :) jane from olive hue paper did an outrageous job on all of our printed goods that day! she even custom made that silhouette of leila based off a photograph we sent her!


ruffle pillows from pier 1...


melody's cake was absolutely perfect! the lace texture and the cameo were just the right style for our dessert table!


strawberry shortcake cupcakes from cupcakes couture in manhattan beach...they were by far my favorite thing to eat that day!



we set up a few glass apothecary jar carafes holding beverages (in our theme colors of course!) - grapefruit vodka spritzer and peach bellinis, along with cucumber-mint water for the non-alcoholic choice...




we came up with an "L is for..." theme and carried it through...well...EVERYWHERE! :)

of course on the bar we had "L is for libations" and on the dessert table we had "L is for luscious"...attached to these striped paper straws were labels that read "L is for lace, lockets, leila, lewis (her new married name), love, lucky, laughter" etc. etc.




at the entry table, we placed some cute little quizzes about leila with the title "L is for lifetime"...


and we also had each guest write some sweet words to leila on cards that read "L is for lovenotes"...


we adorned some of the milkglass vases with gold lockets and cameos to give it even more of a feminine feel...






courtney found these cute silhouette pillows on etsy so we bought 2 of them to use...




for the dessert display, i bought a ton of laces and satin ribbons in shades of peach, apricot, coral and blush and courtney and i used over 50 strands to create a backdrop...


not that these cupcakes needed anything to make them look more beautiful!!! cupcakes couture did a phenomenal job on creating delicious treats that seriously were almost too pretty to eat! truly, have you ever seen cupcakes this PRETTY?!?!








i created all of the custom cupcake tiers using wood boxes wrapped in peach dupioni silk, peach lace and coral grosgrain ribbon...


once people had gotten their sugar fix, it was nice to have a custom pinkberry bar to refresh and cleanse our palettes! they not only brought in their famous yogurt and multiple toppings, but they also whipped up some yummy smoothies!





courtney created the adorable banner...which you can totally customize and purchase through her etsy shop!




once everyone had finished eating, we gathered around and played a rousing game of "win, lose or draw" - wedding style!! we used words and phrases like "birdcage veil", "honeymoon", "brideszilla", til death do us part", etc. but since half of our guests were involved in the wedding industry, this game did not prove to be too difficult ;)




cute little prizes for the winners...


and lastly, one of my favorite features of the whole day - the custom scent station!! guests were given a little glass roll-on perfume bottle and were allowed to mix and match scented oils to create a specialized scent to take home as their favor...of course jane made adorable labels that said "L is for lovely"...i still carry my scent around in my purse and use it a couple times a week to freshen up - i love it! it's the gift that keeps on giving :)



the bride to be...


and the lovely miss leila along with her sister kellee, courtney and me!


congratulations leila!!! even though this shower was 5 months ago and now you are a married woman ;) we loved celebrating you and your lifetime thus far...here's to MANY more years - now with an amazing husband by your side!

and of course i have to thank the UNREAL team of vendors who made that day so fantastic!

Planner: Courtney Toney, Joyful Weddings and Events
Quizzes, Framed Art, Custom Cameo, Labels, Drink Tags, etc.: Olive Hue Paper
Invitation: Momental Designs
Dessert: Pinkberry
Photographer: Jessica Claire
Video: Cana Video Production
Custom scent station: Kamilyn
Rentals:
Classic Party Rentals & Level 4 International
Linens:
Elegant Designs
Hair and make-up:
Kacee Geoffroy
Spray Tan: Danielle of
Island Spray Tan

5 comments:

WeddingXpert said...

I am sickeningly obsessed with this. Everything from the multi-colored bouquets to the vintage frames to the delicious desserts are just INCREDIBLE! I am jealous of whoever receives such a fabulous party.

christina said...

i'm absolutely in love c! you all did an amazing job making her shower truly unique. i love all the special details, and the colors are so pretty together!

Cara said...

BEAUTIFUL! Just the gorgeousness I need to cheer me up :) I hope you don't mind if I re-post, credits to you, Joyful Weddings & Events, and Jessica Claire? I bet it was as fun as it was lovely!!

Affection for Detail said...

Great venue, great style, great colors + pinkberry = FABULOUS!!

dressesshop said...

wonderful dresses !beautiful wedding dresses!