Melissa Smrekar from Southern Vogue shares her wonderful story and beautiful pictures from the bridal luncheon she hosted inspired by our Fresh Romance bridal shower invitation.
When my childhood best friend, Lauren, got engaged and then asked me to be her Maid of Honor, my brain immediately starting spinning with ideas for creating a fabulous Bridal Shower for my most special friend.
Lauren didn’t have a particular theme she desired for the shower; rather she causally mentioned that she loved the color yellow. For the venue, I selected the FDR Suite at The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Texas. (The room was named the “FDR Suite” because this is where the President and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt stayed on their trip to Dallas in 1936. I love this little bit of history!) The room itself has a gorgeous green damask wallpaper. So, by pairing yellow and green together, the citrus theme was born!
After selecting the venue (The Mansion on Turtle Creek) and the theme (Citrus), the next step was selecting the perfect invitation to set the tone for the event. Invitations are one of my favorite elements of any party because they immediately let your guest know what the party will be like. I wanted this Bridal Shower to be two things: fresh and chic. It took me quite a while to find what I was looking for. Everything seemed to be either too boring or too busy. I even considered commissioning my own original invitation (which would have been oh-so-pricey!) when I stumbled upon the Wedding Paper Divas website and found exactly what I was looking for in the “Fresh Romance” invitation suite.
Though they were created to accompany wedding invitations, I opted to include the RSVP cards because I thought this added a little something extra and made keeping track of the responses so easy (for both the guests and for me!). In particular, I loved that Wedding Paper Divas provided the option to use any color scheme I wanted. I asked them to change the brown text box to green so that it would fit in perfectly with my color scheme. The invitations and response cards were absolutely stunning.
My initial inspiration came from an image I saw on Pinterest of lemon trees being used as table centerpieces. So, I created a lemon topiary, as well as a table runner using leaves and actual lemons. I fell in love with this idea of a non-floral centerpiece that was still natural. Combined with the four yellow vases I filled with green and white flowers, it definitely created the fresh, clean and chic vibe I sought after!
Other little details that really brought the party to life:
- Mini-Topiary Placecard Holders (that I’ll get use of out for a long time to come!)
- Spring for modem calligraphy (Etsy is your new best friend)
- Yellow Linen Napkins tied like bow ties (rent & return!)
- Individual Boxes of Cake Balls with a coordinating favor tag and grosgrain ribbon (the best favors are always edible!)
- A tiered stand of lemon and pistachio French macaroons (because who can deny a macaroon?)
- A yellow, silver and gold tassel garland that I made and hung around the gift table (so on trend!)
- A vintage, 1960s Peacock Chair for the bride to sit in while opening gifts (it created a stunning vignette for photos!)
- Giant yellow balloons (in a color that really “POP”s!)
Because I planned months ahead of time, doing little bits here and little bits there, this Bridal Shower Luncheon was… a piece of cake! It gave me such great joy to shower my lifelong best friend with a party that was so totally her! I shy away from doing anything “cookie cutter” because life’s too short to do something boring! Think outside the box and create an event that reflects the personality of the person you’re showering with love. It is a memory that they will cherish forever!
Finally, I leave you with my three mottos for a celebratory life…
- Buy the dress, find the occasion!
- Presentation is just as important as the present!
- No champagne, no gain!
Southern Vogue is a lifestyle blog by Melissa Smrekar that is based in Dallas, Texas. Be sure to visit Southern Vogue for more details and party pictures!
Meet Ashley
Jessica and Dan met nearly 7 years ago on Myspace. (Remember Myspace?) It took weeks of contemplation until they decided to finally meet… and I guess you could say the rest was history. After discovering their mutual shoe addiction, surviving countless Thanksgiving family meals together and three apartment/house moves later—they are officially ready to tie the knot.