My baby sister is getting married in less than 2 weeks! Cue the tears (happy tears, of course). A couple of weeks ago my sisters and I threw her bachelorette party. We started the day with a brunch at my house (I’ll get more to that in a moment). Then we went to The Hopkins Vineyard where we enjoyed a wine tasting. Afterwards we enjoyed the beautiful scenery in their cafe with a bottle of wine and cheese platter. If you’re ever in the area, we highly recommend you stop by. Then we headed back to my house for a full on girls’s night in. We ordered take out food, watched movies, and talked until we fell asleep. We had so much fun and the bride especially loved it all and that’s what counts the most. 🙂
Now let’s talk brunch. I think everyone loves a good brunch, so I thought I’d share all the details about how I threw a bridal brunch for my sister. I wanted to create a setting fit for a goddess (i.e. the bride).
Let’s start with the food. I placed all of the food and drinks in one area, buffet style. This is a great opportunity to have a beautiful presentation. As well, a buffet style is practical so that the guests can turn to one spot to help themselves.
I made broccoli quiche, Mediterranean salad, and vanilla frosted doughnuts.
To go with the bridal theme, I wrote “I Do” on top of the doughnuts. So cute, right?! It’s the little details that make all the difference.
Mimosas are a part of the brunch experience but I decided to make a mimosa bar, complete with a fun sign.
To create a mimosa bar, gather a variety of juices, fruits, and sparking white wine (or champagne). Then let the guests decide how they want to create their own personal mimosa. I found a free printable sign online which I then framed. It’s a cute decoration and I think that it makes for a great conversation starter.
Juices I offered:
- cranberry juice
- orange juice
Fruit I offered:
- strawberries
- lemon slices
- orange slices
- blueberries
Sparking white wine I offered:
A mimosa is the easiest cocktail to make. I shared a traditional mimosa “recipe” last year. However, the proportions of sparking white wine to juice doesn’t really matter. If you want more wine flavor then add more bubbly to your glass. If you want more citrus (and only an essence of booze) then add less sparking wine. No pressure, no problem.
Of course the quantity of ingredients will depend on how many guests you have. You can make about 6 to 8 mimosas from one standard size bottle of sparking white wine.
I used white ceramic or clear glass serving pieces to give the entire bar a uniform look. Perhaps it sounds odd to list two colors as “uniform” but clear isn’t a color.
I recently bought this mirror tray from Pottery Barn. I’d been eyeing it for months. It makes for a great centerpiece to the buffet to help gather the mimosa ingredients.
I used a lot of florals throughout the room. They are beautiful and give that feminine touch that I’m going for. I used a mixture of both faux and live florals. The greenery is from Pier 1 and the carnations are from my local grocery store. I find that my grocery store sells flowers for less money than a florist, which is a great cost savings tip. However, with that said, I find that the flowers don’t last as long. With that in mind, I bought the carnations the day before the brunch.
My sister loves succulents, so I created the table centerpiece around them.
I added faux greenery and simple votive candles to center. The faux greenery is the same that I used on the buffet and that helps to bring everything together in one cohesive scene.
I used mostly white detail for the place setting, again to coordinate with the serving pieces on the buffet. However, I’ve also added touches of pink here. Pink is a fun color for this bride, but you can certainly use another accent color that is fitting for another bride, like maybe the color theme that she plans to use for the wedding.
I mixed the old with the new for the place settings. The dinner plate and salad plate are from my collection, but the top accent plate was my grandmother’s. I loved adding a sentimental piece because while she cannot be here in body, she is with us in spirit.
I saved the piece de resistance for last, the flower wall (or should I say the flower windows?) I saw this idea months ago (I don’t even remember where) and I knew that I had to replicate it. How hard could it be to string flowers? Now I know, it’s NOT easy, at least not the way I did it. I don’t recommend the method I used because it was simply horrible and time consuming. I yelled, I cursed, I basically threw several temper tantrums (as embarrassing as that is to admit), and I very nearly cried a couple of times. I wanted to give up several times, but I had a vision and I was going to complete that vision at all costs (even the cost of my sanity).
At the end of the day, I think it came out beautifully and most importantly the bride was so touched and impressed (by both the look and my tenacity). If you are interested in knowing how I made the flower garlands then please feel free to reach out to me and I’d be happy to share how I made them. I warn you however that my description may be better used as “what not to do.” Maybe you’ll have better luck or maybe you’ll have tips for me on how I can do it better next time (if I ever work up the nerve or the need to do it again).
I hope you enjoyed seeing how we showered my baby sister with this bridal brunch and I hope that it inspires you if you’re looking for ideas for your bride.
