Tag Archives: orange

Citrus Twist Bridal Shower

I hosted this citrus themed Bridal Shower for my cousin. It was a small group, but I wanted to make it special and tie into her wedding colors without being too similar to her wedding theme.

Citrus Twist

The ribbon-bracelets and safety pins were used for the classic ‘don’t say the grooms name’ activity. Everytime someone said his name, they had to give a safety pin to the person who caught them in the act. You could play this game with various items. The close freind that hosted my own bridal shower played this game with inexpensive garter belts from the craft store. It was hiliarious to see the girls in the lead wearing them over their pants or stacked up their arms. Another activity we played is a spin-off of the newlywed game. At this shower, I was able to ask the groom-to-be a list of questions about himself and his future bride ahead of time and record his answers. During the shower, I had the bride answer the same questions in her own words and then we compared the two. This is a common shower game, but it’s fun for the guests to get to know the groom through his responses, and also fun to expose some of the more embarassing aspects of their relationship.

Favors & Prizes

Of course, the favors and prizes are the easiest way to tie in a color theme. Inside the favor bags, were orange jellybeans tied in cute little bags with orange ribbon, a small orange soap from a local boutique, and a coral lipgloss to top it off.
To drink, I served ‘fizzy blood orange flips’ in sugar rimmed glasses and garnished with an orange slice. I bought blood orange italian soda from Whole Foods, which come in nice glass bottles, and

Fizzy Blood Orange Flips

chilled champagne in an ice bucket so guests could poor their own drinks, with or without alcohol. For an afternoon shower, this was the perfect fizzy beverage.  I also served coffee and tea, which was perfect with dessert.  Having a specific color theme made the drink selection much easier to narrow down.  Choosing one theme appropriate beverage makes sense and is way easier to manage than offering guest multiple options.  It was clear what the drink offerings were, which made guests comfortable to help themselves if needed.

To eat, I prepared a simple spread including a farfalle carbonara pasta dish with peas and pancetta, toasted and sliced baguette for sopping up extra sauce, cranberry gorgonzola green salad, fresh fruit, and sweet vanilla cupcakes dressed in orange polka dot wrappers.

Simple Spread

I’ve also included a picture of a citrus floral arrangement that I made for another party.  This arrangement would tie in perfectly to this party theme, and I wish I had thought about it at the time.  The cylinder vase was actually purchased at my local dollar store (I stocked up when I found it, just in case).  I placed

Citrus Arrangement

another smaller cylinder shaped vessel inside of it, which is what was filled with water and the stems of the flower.  Between the inner vessel and the outer vase was the perfect space for sliding the lemon slices in.  They stayed perfectly in place, and the arrangement lasted about a week before the lemon slices really started to shrivel.  If you do these ahead of time for a party, I would suggest putting the vase in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap to keep them extra fresh.