A few weeks ago I threw a bridal shower for my little sister, Landen. I think it was some time in February or March that I offered, and immediately after that I started scouring the internet for ideas and trying to come up with a theme. After going through several ideas, I suddenly thought of a French Theme. I nearly beat myself up from my stupidity since it took me so long to think of it. It was perfect! You see, Landen’s fiance, Adam, served an LDS mission in Paris, France, and then came back to BYU and became a French professor. My dad also served his mission in France, so our family has always had a soft spot for France, and then when Landen took a French class at BYU, Adam happened to be her professor, and the rest was history (although I will put your mind at ease…they didn’t go on a date until after the class was over. We Gates girls are rule followers, you know).

ANYWAY…

The French theme was picked, and then it was time to move on to the invitation. I wanted something clean, modern, and French-looking. I couldn’t find anything that I liked, so I just started playing around in Photoshop and this is what I ended up with. I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

A few days after the invitations were sent out, I got the Spark Commission and suddenly my life was all-consumed by these paintings. I pretty much didn’t think about shower one time until two days before, and then I frantically came up with a menu, decorations, a game, and all the other little details. Fortunately, it all came together and I only had minimal time away from my canvases. Many of my ideas came from this party. The rest came from pinterest.

Because of the invitations, I stuck with a black and white theme for the decorations. Then I bought yellow carnations and pink roses for two pops of color. I cut up black and white paper triangles and made a few flag garlands (which have become my easy go-to decoration), and a bought some black and white striped fabric which I used as runners down the dessert table and the food table. I also printed out a few engagement photos of Landen and Adam and framed them around the house.

For the menu, I decided on crepes, which carried on the French theme. We did savory crepes for lunch (shaved ham and turkey, gouda and gruyere cheese, and pesto were the options), along with croissants, and red and green grapes. We pre-made all the crepes and kept them in a warm oven until it was time to eat. Then we kept two pans on the stove so everyone had the option of re-heating their crepes after stuffing them so the cheese would melt.

Then for dessert, we did sweet crepes. I had little square bowls (from Tai Pan Trading Co.) filled with blackberries, raspberries, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, nutella, and cinnamon sugar. There was hardly a drop or slice or berry left in any of those bowls by the end of the shower. A very popular dessert. I also made brownies just for another dessert option.

Once everyone had eaten, we played a quick game. I’m not a fan of most shower games (baby or bridal), but I found this cute one via pinterest and it was quick, cute, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Plus, it wasn’t one bit embarrassing to the bride, and didn’t involve chewing 20 pieces of bubble gum (my jaw aches as I type that sentence).
After the game, we opened gifts, and seriously Landen has some great friends and future in-laws. My favorite gift she received was a cookbook full of her sister-in-law’s favorite recipes, and then a humongous storage tupperware bin full of cool pantry items — some used in the recipes, and some just fun random items. Like I said….awesome.

On the invitation, I asked people to dress up in their best Parisian attire. There were a few who didn’t dress up, but most people showed up in something that had to do with Paris. Now that I think of it, I should have done awards for the best outfits…darn. My cousin, Marie, definitely would have won a prize for her striped shirt, red belt, red flower headband, and red 4″ heels (see below on the right). She looked FAB. My Grannie also would have won a prize because she showed up in a beautiful red and white polka dot dress that she actually bought in Paris!

[aunt miriam drove 3 hours to be at this shower!!]

[my little brother crawford crashed the party at the end :)]

For party favors, I made little eiffel tower shaped milk and white chocolate pops. I ordered the mold from a seller on amazon for a few bucks, and just used melted chocolate chips. I forgot to take a picture of them, but they looked just like Darcie’s (so I borrowed her photo). I made little tags that said “Merci! Love, Landen and Adam,” and then tied them with black and white ribbon.

It was such a fun party, and I’ve realized that the more parties I throw, the easier they come together and the more I can enjoy them. I guess that means I need to throw more parties!

I can’t wait for the wedding!