Spa Themed Bridal Shower

Because I secretly wish I was a party planner...from time to time, I plan to blog about events I've thrown or helped plan. First up...a bridal shower with a spa theme.

A friend of mine was recently tasked with planning a bridal shower. The bride to be decided that she really wanted a theme for her shower, and my friend wasn't sure where to start. Because she knew how much I love to plan a good party, (and because she's awesome!) she asked me to help her come up with a theme and decorations.

Excited by the prospect of planning a party (especially one I didn't have to pay for), I quickly brainstormed different ideas for the shower. My friend was torn between 2 of the ideas, but eventually decided on the spa theme.

The Breakdown:

The Decor

When it came time to discuss centerpieces, my friend mentioned that she really didn't want to use flowers since she figured they were expensive and they eventually die. Instead, she wanted a centerpiece that either could be reused at a later date, or was otherwise functional. So the centerpieces consisted of candles and stones (no flowers, inexpensive, and reusable--all three goals met--and to boot, the bride to be liked them so much that they are going to reuse them at the rehearsal dinner):

To add to the theme, small spa themed baskets were placed on the bar and on the food table:

Games

The bride wanted to make sure there were plenty of fun games at her shower. My friend had decided she wanted to do a quiz where you had to match up famous couples throughout time, but she wasn't sure what other games to use. I enjoy interactive games, so I suggested a game (affectionately referred to as the paddle game for now, but I will come up with a better name at some point) that I often use at showers.

The game tests how well the bride to be knows her future groom, while allowing guests to participate. Basically, you ask the groom a bunch of questions before the shower. At the shower, each guest receives a green paddle and a red paddle. The hostess reads the question she asked the groom, and then the guests raise a green paddle if they think the bride to be will get it right, and a red paddle if they think she will get it wrong. The bride then answers. Of course, the fun is intensified by the hostess who cracks jokes at both the guests' and the bride to be's expense (e.g., "no pressure" if all guests raise green...etc.). Usually the game works on a point system, where the guest with the most right wins, but in this case, the hostess decided to play the game in an elimination style, which also worked well (if you guessed wrong, you were out)!

I made the paddles by cutting red and green construction paper in wide strips and then gluing them around a plastic red/green knife. They have traveled to many a shower...and somehow have managed not to fall apart yet.

All of the prizes were spa themed (bags full of lotions, nail files, etc., and the grand prize for one game was a plush robe).

The Splurge

Since the party had a spa theme, guests were able to get hand and foot massages during the party. The massage table was placed under a tree in the backyard, and there were wind chimes hung from the branches of the tree. It was a huge hit that everyone enjoyed! As a special treat the hostess treated the bride to be to a full hour massage before the party as a shower gift.

The Food

To go with the spa theme, a light spread, included Chinese Chicken Salad, Strawberry Summer Salad and a Cranberry Salad (and of course there were plenty of mimosas too!):

The Favors

Personalized bath salts and a loofah were given away as favors to go with the spa theme (they also doubled as part of the settings for the tables). (The white blobs are me censoring for privacy)