Showerette

So what if I this party was back in May....and now I'm posting it in September.  It's whatevs.....

So here's the thing with my sisters wedding.  It was destination (San Diego) and the guest list was relatively small....about 60 people or so. I was talking with my sister Bree as we were beginning the planning process for her bridal shower.  In that conversation we realized that maybe having two parties wasn't necessary with such a small group....especially considering how many people were coming from out of town.

It was quite a bit of a different situation from my own wedding where we invited 200 and 150 showed.  In that case I had a ton of people who were invited to my bridal shower that weren't people I would necessarily invite to my bachelorette party....aunts, cousins grandmas etc.  I think I had 30ish people invited to my shower and 8 girls at my bachelorette. 

In the case of this smaller wedding we came to the realization that the two parties would include the exact same group of people.  She didn't have mass amounts of family members and people in town to invite besides her core group of friends and the two moms.  So we pitched the idea to her of combining the two parties together and calling it a "Showerette"  I was totally pinching my ass in the seconds waiting for her reaction because I was afraid she would hate it.  I didn't want her to feel cheated out of the whole bridal experience.....but luckily she loved it!  She liked the idea of  having one laid back sort of "hang out" party and calling it a day.  Plus she isn't a "Penis straw, penis necklace, penis tiara, go out to the club in a mini skirt" kinda gal anyway so she was good with not having a traditional bachelorette party.

So we moved forward with the plan of a poolside Showerette.  The only real theme we had was bright colors

Guests were greeted at the door by an "I Do" wreath

And given a choice of floppy hat to wear for the party (the favor)  You'll see pictures of them wearing them later.  I just really wanted a functional favor that went with the theme and a sunhat just seemed perfect

For food we had my sisters favorite....an assortment of "Pickies" as we call them.  Or appetizers in other peoples world

 

Sign made by the bride.  Yes...I totally had the bride making signs for her own party the weekend before.  Not my fault she has mad drawing and writing skills ;)

 

On the menu: Fruit,veggies, chips and guacamole, salsa,  and 7 layer dip. Shrimp cocktail, chicken tenders and dip, veggie pasta salad, 2 kinds of empanadas (potato chorizo and corn black bean) and aioli for dipping

The other bridesmaids (besides the 3 sisters) pitched in and brought some awesome desserts

And don't forget the booze station.  Complete with a jug o' sangria

As people mingled and ate I let them know that we were having a "tidy whities" decorating contest.  I had a station all set up for them complete with fabric markers and iron letters to make a sexy (or not) pair of undies for Brian to wear for Kinsey.

I had my niece make this sign and she was pretty mortified about the entire thing.  You want me to do WHAT???  "Draw a picture of your uncle in underwear...no biggie!!" (scoffs at the child)

My first idea for the comment bubble was for him to say "Make something hunky to hold my junky"  My sister Bree said..."Dear god somebody PLEASE think of something else!!"  I was all...whyy?  Too much??  So I came up with the "Make me a pair that will make her stare"  I'm still partial to the first one though.....

 

When they were done they hung them up and at the end of the party she chose a winner.  Can you guess which one she picked?

After that we played the name game.  I gave them all a sheet of paper (face down so they didn't know what it was until I explained....kinda like timed tests in elementary school)

I wrote her full name to be and gave them 6  minutes ( I chose 6 because she was getting married the 6th...5 minutes would do) to make as many words as they could out of her name.

Every word was worth 1 point except for one 10 point word because it was pretty uncommon.  I was really happy I decided to do that 10 pointer because two girls tied with 58 words but one had the 10 so she won with a score of 68.  Worked out nicely

Because we all know there is NOTHING more thrilling in this world then watching other people open gifts (are you sensing me sarcastic eyes?) ...I took the challenge and kicked it up a notch

That's right ladies.....Bridal Bingo!
(waits for screams and applause to subside before moving on)

You filled up your card with gifts you thought she might get.  Lingerie, a toaster....whatever.  

As she opened gifts you marked them off and the first to Bingo wins. 

 Depending on how many gifts you have to give away you can do more people....I know I did at least two...maybe 3? I can't remember. It was just a way to give people something else to do while she opened gifts

Oh and while we're at it....here's the outfit I gave her as a gift prior to the party

Since I was giving away bright colored sun hats as the favor I wanted hers to be white.  I also got her a white bikini and swimsuit cover up.  There's also a white garter with a pink bow under there

I bought the same cover up in yellow for fun

After the gifts I geared up for Bra Pong!  My sisters one request for the entire party.  

I wrote a whole separate post about it HERE with all the details.  Making the board, rules, playing....everything!

After the Bra Pong tournament we lounged by the pool.  It was the perfect time where all the "events" were done and people that needed to take off could but then a good amount of girls hung out by the pool with us for a while.  It was nice to just chat and relax and tell our bridesmaid dress drama to anyone who would listen lol

 And just to close this post out I just wanted to show some of the general decor

I made about a zillion tissue poms and hung them in the tent along with lanterns

And in the pool I had a ton of beach balls and floaties in all different colors since my only real theme to the whole party was the colors  It's too bad it was windy and I couldn't get a picture  of them scattered all over the pool....instead they're all pushed to one side.  Oh well....can't win em all

I was alllllll about these flamingos and put them everywhere.  I even gave one away as a prize

 Well I think that about covers it all. I highly recommend the "Showerette" if it fits in with your group.  Saves time, money, and quite a bit of sanity. Sanity is important