Here Comes the Bride

Last weekend, I drove down to Nebraska to host a bridal shower for my cousin Jes. She's getting married next month so my mom, sister and I decided to host a Pampered Chef bridal shower in her honor.

I used Minted.com again to custom create the invites. I really like this website (albeit, a little expensive) because I'm able to customize them online, print and ship them directly to me in under two weeks. Best of all, the quality is excellent and they save me time and effort.

Bridal shower party invite from Minted.com

I forgot how EASY hosting a Pampered Chef bridal party is! I enlisted my friend Marcy, a Pampered Chef consultant, to host the shower and she sent us a variety of recipes to choose from a few weeks before the party. We selected the Mini Breakfast Quiches since we were hosting a brunch shower (love these, by the way! Totally the way to go for showers that don't eat up everyone's entire Saturday). All we had to do was purchase the ingredients (and anything else we planned to serve) and Marcy took care of the rest.

At the party, my cousin Jes (the bride) prepared the Mini Breakfast Quiche recipe using all the Pampered Chef equipment and with instruction from Marcy. She even brought along a Pampered Chef apron for Jes to wear while she cooked in the kitchen (Score! We didn't even need a guest book!)

Marcy and Jes preparing the Pampered Chef recipe

Also while the bride-to-be prepared the recipe, Marcy gave everyone a Pampered Chef Bingo card to write down the product items throughout the demonstration. Afterwards, she read off selected items and awarded free Pampered Chef prizes to all the ladies who won Bingo. (I was actually sitting down at this point, because hey! I'm hosting the shower but didn't have anything to do. How awesome is that?!)

While the recipe was baking in the oven, my mom, sister and I also played other bridal shower games and pulled together the remainder of the food items. We served gourmet muffins, fruit kabobs and dip, mints and nuts as well as coffee, orange juice and mimosas.

We used my mom's glass tea plates and her silver coffee/tea set which always makes the party feel so fancy! After everyone ate, we perused the Pampered Chef catalogue. There were no gifts to open as everyone gave Jes money to select items out of the catalogue. I think she said she got one of everything except for the pots and pans! Now that's an awesome way to stock your new kitchen!

The hostesses and bride-to-be
(My very-pregnant self, my mom Candy, bride-to-be Jes and my sister Ashley)

The shining stars of the party
Baby Lauren and Brookie

Overall, the party was a huge success! Simple, easy to plan and went off without a hitch. Jes was able to stock her entire kitchen with Pampered Chef gadgets just in time for their wedding next month.