A Parisian Affair – Jessica’s Chanel Inspired Bridal Shower

As I mentioned in last week’s Wedding Wednesday post, Saturday was Jessica’s bridal shower. She will be getting married this October, and we spent Saturday celebrating her upcoming marriage. It was a very fun and intimate affair held at the Maid of Honor’s house. It was incredibly humid (typical Florida) so we tried to stay indoors the majority of the time, though there were some outdoor activities. The theme was Chanel and the colors were black and white stripes with lavender accents. Enjoy some pictures of the fun Parisian affair…

The entrance was decorated with a gold glittery “I DO” hanging on the door, and a welcome chalkboard that I created.

Keep in mind, I’m left handed, so writing on chalkboards is even harder than for the typical righty. I found the idea on Pinterest, of course, and I think it came out okay. It served it’s purpose, and now it can be reused for whatever the bride chooses; maybe it’ll hold the weekly menu in the kitchen at home.

We found this cute french-looking bicycle plant holder at Michaels and we thought it’d be perfect for holding the wrapped utensils.

The MOH’s mother is very crafty and she’s an awesome cook, so we were lucky to have her help out so much with bringing the shower to life. She created this cute “cabbage bowl” for the dip for the veggies, as well as the watermelon fruit bowl.

Homemade Boursin cheese spread, made from cream cheese and fresh herbs from the garden. I love anything with cream cheese in it, and this was no exception.

I found the perfect mini Paris bowls at Homegoods in the checkout aisle and I knew they were a must for the waffle bar! They were perfect for holding the different toppings for the waffles.

I wasn’t responsible for food, but I did make a few items to help out the other bridesmaids in that department. I made these cupcakes and “puppy chow” (not pictured). The cupcakes were vanilla with a homemade buttercream frosting. Everyone seemed to like them, but I think the frosting was a little too buttery, but it was my first time making it, so I will have to experiment a little more. Do you have a great buttercream recipe? If so, I’d love to try it out if you want to share 🙂

The bride really wanted some Croquembouche to fit the French theme, however we weren’t sure if we could make that ourselves, and couldn’t find anywhere local to buy it. So, we decided to have cream puffs separately, and then use Ferrero Rocher candy to create an alternative type of Croquembouche. Of course it was picked apart very quickly, but was easy to make and looked cute.

I found these napkins at Tuesday Morning and they fit our theme beautifully! I love the watercolor Paris scene. We tried to avoid the “tacky” Paris theme showers with Eiffle Towers everywhere, but this was a great addition.

I found a template for the vase stickers for the centerpieces through Pinterest (yet again) and loved that they made it seem like the flowers were in a Chanel bottle. Looking back, we probably could have put a little food dye in the water to add to the effect.

Since we weren’t going to be outside too much, I tried to keep the tables simple with the attention focusing on the beautiful centerpieces. We also added some perfume bottle and Chanel confetti and tea light candles to fill in the empty space.

Chanel quotes in gold frames were scattered throughout the house, even in the bathroom. They were super easy to create with just a few computer skills, and I bought the frames at Dollar Tree, so it was inexpensive as well.

When Jess said she wanted a Paris themed shower, I immediately searched for ideas on Pinterest, and one of the first things I saw was a banner that said “She said oui!” and I knew it was a must for the shower. I recently purchased a Cricut Explore Air and this banner was the first thing I created. It was a fun first project, and I learned a few tricks to make things easier for next time. The letters were a glittery gold, but look more yellow in the picture, sorry about that.

Can’t forget the typical shower games! I believe one of the bridesmaids purchased the games via instant download on Etsy through Nifty Printables.

You can’t have a Chanel themed party without some perfume! The guests had the opportunity to create their very own scent in a roller ball perfume bottle, and everyone loved it! The oils were purchased at a local natural oil shop and included three scents for each of the three levels (base, mid and top) to create your perfect scent. It was a lot of fun seeing what other people put together and smelling the different smells. My favorite scents were made with the sandalwood base oil.

Last but not least, a picture of myself outside by the LOVE balloons. (They look great, but were the biggest hassle to get thanks to the incredibly unprofessional and unorganized company I ordered them from that I will never work with again…) I had a hard time finding a lavender dress for the shower, so I went with a black and white striped dress (fit the theme well, I think) and a lavender and gold necklace that I got at Charming Charlie. I don’t wear much jewelry beyond my wedding rings and pearl studs, so whenever I need something for a specific event, I just go to Charming Charlie (I always want to say “Charlie’s, but there’s no “s”) and they have a huge color-coded selection of inexpensive jewelry.

All in all, I thought it was a very fun day, and I hope Jessica agrees. So excited for her wedding in October! We will be celebrating our anniversary the week before her wedding, and we have a wedding the week before our anniversary, so October will be a very fun/busy month for us!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Wedding Wednesday post! Let me know what you think, or if you have any questions, in the comments!

xoxo,

Kirsten