Joanna's Rustic Carnival Theme Bridal Shower

Recently I attended my friend Joanna's bridal shower. Her sisters Carly and Bryne created an adorable carnival themed shower that was laid-back and kid-friendly. I wanted to share the details, as well as capture the day for Joanna.

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The bridal shower was held at the home of one of her bridesmaids in Rathdrum, Idaho. The song lyric "over the river and through the woods" summed this location up just about perfectly! It was a hidden gem in an otherwise residential neighborhood. I couldn't believe how beautiful it was; I envy Audrey for getting to wake up out there every morning! The surroundings were so rustic and earthy, I loved it!

The bales of hay really did double duty by adding to the carnival vibe and providing extra seating. Some of the kids put on a puppet show for entertainment using the elaborate puppet show stage.

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JoJo's mom and a family friend worked the food both. They served fun carnival themed food -- corndogs, popcorn, bags of peanuts and corn on the cob. They also did prize giveaways of gourmet treats!

The yard was filled with funny wedding related carnival games. The resident puppy especially loved the "Cake in the Face" game, because it meant he got to sneak over and help clean up the cupcakes and frosting that people were throwing!

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My personal favorite detail was the fun face-cut-out prop of a bride and groom. That's Joanna as the bride and me as the groom!


This is Joanna with her newly married twin sister Carly. Of course they were maids of honor for each other.


JoJo's sister Bryne and a friend made these sweet treats as a parting gift. What says carnival more than caramel apples? Yum!

Citrus Punch – Backyard BBQ Wedding Theme!

I just showed Dylan this inspiration board and he said, “I’m not sure I’d be able to make it through the ceremony if I knew there was a reception like that waiting! YUM!”

I think that’s a pretty great summary for this theme. I call it citrus punch because it’s filled with so many bright, juicy fruit colors: tangerine, apricot, peach, mango and papaya shades of orange, with pineapple and lemon yellow.

This theme really emphasizes the fantastic food and informal fun atmosphere. Who wouldn’t love a backyard BBQ with bright yellow napkins and gingham tablecloths, homemade pies, cupcakes, and refreshing summer drinks? You could even do it potluck style if you’re on a really tight budget.

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Once again, Martha Stewart provided lots of help with the visuals, including the BBQ feast, the assortment of delicious pies, the apricot tart, the apricot place card holder, the peach prosecco sangria, the groom with the orange dahlia boutonniere, and the majority of the bouquets. Another appealing aspect for Dylan was that I had also shown him the Paloma Cooler recipe I found on Martha Stewart.

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The sweet photo in the center of the board is from one of my favorite photographers, Stephanie Williams.

The lemon cupcakes are by Jesi Haack Weddings and Sweet & Saucy Shop.

The orange marmalade was photographed by Victoria Pearson.

The pretty yellow and orange themed table and the matching stationery are both from a real wedding photographed by Union Photo.

I like the idea of a simple tan suit (maybe linen for a hot summer day), maybe with this J.Press bowtie.


The cute orange elbow length sleeve pleated cardigan sweater is from Banana Republic. Perfect for the bride or her attendants if the evening festivities start to get chilly.

Etsy finds:

The Chateauroux large flower hair clip is by Mandizzle. She’s going to think I’m stalking her with as often as I’ve incorporated her stuff, but she really does just have a great variety of lovely hair accessories. Plus, as I may have mentioned before, she looks like a super model, and I like to add lots of pretty to my palettes.

The mango pearl earrings (called Henna) and the honey jade earrings that reminds me of peach Jelly Bellys (called Vilette) are both by ThePeachTree.

The tangerine flower ring is by IndiaAndChic.

The green background of this picture throws it off a little, but look at these insanely adorable mason jar lemonades I found on Intimate Weddings! They would be so perfect with this theme.


If you do go with a theme like this, I have a great MONEY SAVING TIP – try to find a local flower farm and see what they’ve got that you might be able to use. I actually put an ad up on Craigslist for a friend of mine saying that we were looking for a certain color of flower, preferably something with large blooms and ended up receiving emails from a dahlia farmer and a begonia farmer who both offered insanely good deals. We’re talking about a dollar per stem, versus the several dollars per stem most florists would charge. For this palette in particular, I especially love dahlias and ranunculus. Daffodils, gerbera daisies and sunflowers would all be gorgeous, too.

Also, if you go with this theme, feel free to invite us! Or at least send us pictures.

Kitschy Woodland Wedding Theme

I keep seeing all these cute kitschy woodland wedding details lately that I finally had to put it together into an inspiration board. Even if this theme isn't your style (and I know it won't be for everyone), today is a GREAT day of wonderful wedding finds. Make sure to check out some of the artists and shops I'm featuring today, because they're really exceptional.

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I really wanted to showcase Rifle Design today. They are responsible for the custom stationery designs featured in the center of the inspiration board, and the thank you cards above. I just really like their artwork. It has a sweet folk art and almost campy feel to it, but in a really good way. I love flora and fauna, and the idea of using custom artwork for wedding invitations. They were a big part of the inspiration for today's board.

Martha Stewart Weddings magazine this month featured a really whimsical wedding that included the fantastic butterfly bouquet, the dainty butterfly placecards, the brightly colored dessert buffet, and the perfectly coordinated groom. I love how free-spirited and playful all of their details are.

The lush berry patch photos with invitations and coordinated badges or buttons were taken by the very talented Tec Petaja. This is a silly example of his photography skills, but his work is gorgeous. If he gives me the thumbs up, I'll have to highlight some of his work in a future post. Lately I've been researching for local photographers and I'm having a hell of a time. I'm dying to find someone like Tec Petaja, Jose Villa, or Stephanie Williams in Washington state. If you know a fantastic fine art style wedding photographer, send me an email!

The perfect little toadstool boutonniere is a Fritts Rosenow Bespoke Boutonniere. They have some of the BEST non-floral boutonnieres I've ever seen. They really customize them for each guy's personality, and they are incredibly detailed.

The ornate and delicate butterfly cupcake wrap is by Paper Orchid Stationery.

The daniblack Wanda Slide Sandal with the red and white polka dots just reminded me of the cute toadstool details.

I love to bake (even though I haven't had much time to do it lately) and I went bonkers when I visited the newly opened Layer Cake Shop. Dylan and I are both huge animal lovers, we want to include acorns in our theme, and I am the squirrel queen. It's a long story. But regardless, all of those things combined made my heart go pitter-patter when I saw all of the adorable cookie cutters and fun cake decorations on their site. I'm waiting for them to get back to me about some acorn possibilities, because I'm all over that. They even have a July special for free shipping with a $50 purchase. Another really cool thing they carry are really inexpensive and cute labels like the ones below. Wouldn't those be great to label some home baked goodness, especially if you're giving away edible wedding favors?

Bright Purple, Green and Pink.

Today's theme is a beautiful summer assortment of bright purples, greens and pinks. Or in fancier terms: plum, orchid, chartreuse, and fuchsia. I was speaking to a young bride-to-be a few days ago, and she’s thinking about fuchsia and lime green. This was my own take on that.

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With colors this bold and lively, I tried to keep the details relatively simple. Fresh flowers provide most of the decoration.

I LOVE ranunculus and dahlias for wedding flowers. I love how delicate yet dramatic they look, and both manage to be full and hardy. It’s the best of both worlds! The purple ranunculus bouquets are photographed by Stephanie Williams -- I think they're the best part of this board. (If you haven’t checked her out yet, you should. She’s fantastic!) There is also a unique usage of purple tulips strewn about haphazardly under water in big cylinder vases. Kind of funky, but may be a better way to be able to use tulips since they tend to not hold up as well as you’d hope. Orchids are another obvious choice color-wise, but I know they can be spendy and I try to go for budget-friendly.

Speaking of budget-friendly, I found the pretty purple gown on Amazon of all places. And the bright chartreuse gown is from Spiegel for less than $50! I love empire waist gowns in soft fabrics. They're romantic and figure flattering for most of us! Plus, neither of these gowns look like the traditional bridesmaid / prom dress, which is a bonus in my book.