A Coffee House Bridal Shower

WARNING:  LONG post to follow.

 A few weeks ago I hosted a coffee house theme bridal shower at my house.  This was no ordinary bridal shower.  First of all this shower was held in honor of my very bestest friend, Sarah, so it had to be

P-E-R-F-E-C-T.  Which for a party crazed gal like me meant that it had to be over the top fabulous.  Secondly I decided early on that the perfect spot to hold this oen of a kind shower was in my then unfinished, and unsightly, basement.  This meant lots of cleaning, paint (LOTS of paint), and work went into just reworking the space the shower would be held.  I think it is fair to say that the odds were stacked against me.

Luckily I have a fabulous husband to help me with all of my crazy plans. 

Let me begin the shower break down with an explanation of the theme and what I was going for.  Like all of my events I always start with a theme (coffee house), unlike most of my other events I was mainly concerned with having the right space.  I thought that the rest of the details would fall in place.  As far as the space was concerned I wanted to create a cozy, ecletic, slightly off beat space.  I wanted to coordinate the pieces/decor, but not have everything 'match'.  The following is what turned out.

 Sarah and I are HUGE FRIENDS fans from way back. In college we would watch, rewatch, watch, and rewatch FRIENDS on DVD. I'm not sure that there was a single day that went by that we didn't watch or quote FRIENDS. So not only did the idea of a coffee house theme seem perfect for Sarah's bridal shower, but it was not going to be complete without a little Central Perk action. I made this sign from an old window that had been collecting dust in my basement and some paint. I thought it turned out pretty well. I had several offers to take it off of my hands after the shower :) Needless to say it will be staying with me at my house.

 From another old window I had laying around I painted the panes with chalkboard paint and made a menu sign. This was SO easy to do and really added another coffee house element to the shower.

The full menu with a photo of the bride and groom to be. We placed about 12 of the different engagement photos around for the guests to see. I thought it was great for some of the guests who hadn't had a chance to see them.

Coffee & Coffee 'stuff'

For months leading up to the shower I searched thrift stores for brown and teal coffee mugs and serving pieces.

Here is a side shot of one of the food tables with the plates. 

For the favors I boxed up whole bean coffee and placed a teal label on it that had the type of coffee and the fair trade logo. I like to tie bows to everything, it is cutesy and doesn't always go, but it is a habit.  You can see the favors in the background.

There was SOOOOO much food at the shower. I am really not a great baker so I outsourced the menu to the brides sister with the stipulation that I wanted baked goods - lots of baked goods. She delivered and the food was fabulous!

I can't wrap up the photos without a shot of Sarah and I.  What a happy and fun day!

Lastly I want to wrap up this post with 'recipe' for how to throw your own coffee house theme bridal shower.   

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  This theme is great because anything goes for the most part.  Use a space that is a little off beat that will fill easily with the 'coffee' smell and that is a little on the small side so that it feels busier.
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  Use a variety of furniture styles.  For this shower I used a mix of upholstered chairs, a small antique love seat, mis matched dining chairs, and a large modern leather ottoman.
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  Focus on the menu.  make sure and have lots of coffee on hand as well as teas and hot chocolate.  have lots of baked goods around, pies, tarts, muffins, mini muffins, etc. 
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  Have a color scheme, but keep it loose.  When you go in a coffee shop (not starbucks, but real local coffee shops) they are colorful and full of patterns and designs.  Use your colors enough to tie things together but stay away from being matchy-matchy.  
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  Make sure and have music in the background.  Nothing kills a small event like dead air space, but a coffee house isn't a place that you're going to hear birds chirping.  
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  Use a coffee themed favor

 That about wraps up all the details of Sarah's Coffee House Shower.  Thanks for visiting (and sticking with such a LONG blog!)

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