Vintage Bridal Shower

Apryl Rose Photography

With the start of a new life, it's fun to play with the classics.  Inspired by Megan's love of vintage and their 70's style engagement photos it seemed fitting to throw Megan a vintage themed bridal shower.

To me a vintage shower means tying the great things of the past  and presenting them in an elegant fashion with the celebration of a promising future for the couple.  It's such a blessing to be a part of a bridal shower, especially someone as loved as Megan.  She has a special place in our hearts as the oldest girl amongst us cousins, and it's great to be able to honor her.  Hosted at my mother's home, with the help of Megan's aunts and some of us cousins, everyone was able to pull together decorations, food, games and gifts that made a memorable event.     

A Vintage Bridal Shower can also be intertwined with the Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue bridal shower.  You'll see parts of these traditions appearing in the details throughout the shower breakdown.  What's truly fun about having a vintage shower is all the decorations that can be collected from the family and put on display.  And then having games that play on wedding traditions carried on throughout the ages that play a role in weddings today.

With a mix of the old and celebration of the new, a vintage shower is a classic choice for those classic brides.
 
Decoration

The fun part of decorating for this shower is compiling all the something olds and something blues to create a vintage feel.  This is where you go to the attic and boxes with treasures stored away and get to put them to use.  Ask around to family members for them to unearth their own treasures and soon you'll have a part of your family history adding to your special celebration.

Items that work great for a Vintage Shower:

• Break out the doilies, lace table cloths and runners passed down through generations. Tulle bows, and ribbons are great details. "Something Borrowed & Old"
• My mom had the great idea to find vases that fit the times, and place some white/cream roses to up the elegance (great gift for the bride to take home with her after the shower).  Tie in the "Something Blue" with a basket of blue flowers and wrap it in tulle.
• "Something Old" that was used for our cousin's shower was a fur coat from my Grandma's era, a purse, pearls, candle sticks, mirrors etc. Finding fun items like hats, lamps, suitcases, boxes, baskets or other older pieces really can add to the overall vintage feel.
• "Old & New" Ancestry pictures (check out our Ancestry Collage wall ) and 8x10 pictures of the newly engaged couple displayed on the mantle. Especially if it's a vintage photo shoot the engagement photos make great pieces.  
• Looking for a "Something New", make a station for the bride's many new presents she'll be opening.

 Food

Brunch seems the perfect time to host a vintage bridal shower.  A shower with a vintage feel boasts of afternoon tea, pastries, mimosas and refinery.

Food ideas to consider:
-popovers, scones, quiche, muffins, finger sandwiches, a light salad, and fruit.
-With desserts being little treat delights consisting of bars, cookies, creme puffs etc.

Games

Wedding Dresses through the Decades

• On the hunt to create an original game for my cousin's bridal shower, I came up with this one.  Based on the idea of wedding dresses being an important part of every bride's day, but the fact that the dresses tend to be a reflection of the times and thereby are ever changing, I thought it would be fun to make a game out of looking back across the ages comparing bridal dresses from each decade. 

• To play the guests will look at all the wedding dress pictures lined up (this game also serves as decoration if you hang it on a mantle by stringing ribbon through each picture and attaching it to the mantle in swags) and need to match the corresponding letter on the picture to the decade they believe the dress is from on their game card.  After all the guests have had a chance to fill their game card the host shows the guests the pictures chronologically, and the guests see how many they got right.  If necessary, there is even a tie breaker picture.

• Take a look at the picture to check out the game cards I made, simple and 2 fit on a 8x11 sheet of paper.  The game had a total of 11 pictures, starting back in the 1900's and providing one for each of the following decades.  I used this website to find most of the pictures, choosing just 1 to represent the decade: http://www.bridalguide.com/planning/wedding-planning-basics/weddings-through-the-ages . You can supplement with your own family wedding photos for some easy points for your guests if you decide against having ancestry photos for decor.
• My mother and I compiled the pictures, arranged them so they wouldn't be in order, attached them to blue paper for that touch of "Something Blue", added a letter in glitter and strung ribbon through the slits we cut to hang the pictures on our fireplace mantle.

Guess Who? Bride or Groom?

• A game that is centered around the bride and groom is always fun to play at the shower, since it allows the guests to discover more about the couple.  The guess who game is great because it can be done individually or in partners, and gives the bride the chance to go over the answers at the end, and add any stories to some of the questions.

• See the Guess Who game card for ideas on questions about the bride and groom.

Wedding Traditions Debunked   (optional 3rd OR replacement of Guess Who Game)

• Where do all the wedding traditions come from?  In a game designed around the traditions that make their way into weddings, guests match the tradition with their guess of the reason why it was put in place. 

• Examples of questions guests answer are; 
• Why is the ring placed on the ring finger? The finger contains the vein that goes directly to the heart, a symbol of love
• Bride throws the bouquet because why? To pass on the bride's good fortune
• What's the purpose of a ring bearer - marriage is doomed if the ring is dropped by the groom
• Carrying the bride over the threshold - The bride tripping meant bad luck



Apryl Rose Photography

• Why does the bride stand to the left of the groom? To defend his bride his right arm must be free.

 

A Vintage Bridal Shower is such a classic theme to dedicate to the bride, and was perfectly fitting for our cousin Megan.  A mix of fun games, delicious food, gifts for their new life, and great company makes for a memorable day.  How great to be able to honor Megan with a shower as elegant and classic as she is! 

 

Congratulations Megan and Leonard!

 

Check out our other bridal shower themes (more games, food & decor ideas): 

Love Birds Bridal Shower 
Animal Print Bridal Shower

Tea Party Shower  

She's Hooked Bridal Shower

Throwing the bride a Bachelorette party? Here are some ideas: 
"Wedding Day" Theme
Western Hoedown Theme  
Beauty and the Beast Theme

Crafts and gifts for Bridal Shower/Bachelorette:
Bridal Memory Book  
Family Recipe Binder
Memorable Moments Log
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