(photo courtesy of Joanne)
Last weekend I helped throw a bridal shower for one of my very dearest friends, Chelsea. Chelsea and I met while in grad school and became very close on our carpools to and from class. She is one of the hardest working, most beautiful people I know and I am so honored to be part of her upcoming wedding in Maui this July.
Because the wedding will be in Hawaii and because Chelsea adores brunch, her sister (Lela) and I came up with a Hawaiian brunch theme. We threw the shower at the clubhouse where Chelsea lives and we had about 20 guests attend on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon.
The menu included:
- Mini Crab and Asiago quiche
- Mini Asparagus and Gruyere quiche
- Bacon
- Herbed Breakfast Potatoes
- Assorted breads from Great Harvest
- Tropical Fruit Salad
- Mini Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits
- Hawaiian Sunrise Granola
- Passion Fruit Cream Puffs
- Pineapple Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Yellow Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
- The Chelsea Cocktail (sparkling wine, Chambord, pineapple juice, mango passion fruit juice)
- Coffee, tea, and juice
Favors: Macadamia Nut Shortbread, Pineapple Strawberry Jame
The spread (photo courtesy of Joanne)
I made menu cards to go with cardstock and Martha Stewart stickers (photo courtesy of Joanne).
Linda’s beautiful fruit salad (photo courtesy of Joanne).
I borrowed mini parfait glasses from my friend, Jess, for the yogurt. I love the look of individual servings with these cute cups (photo courtesy of Joanne).
Aunt Khaki gave me the idea of using freeze-dried passion fruit powder to add a Hawaiian punch to the cream puffs . This was probably my favorite menu item (photo courtesy of Joanne).
Robert helped me make a homemade cupcake tower (idea from Annie’s Eats). The orange royal icing flowers were from my friend Jess’s previous cake endeavor and made a great cupcake garnish (photo courtesy of Joanne).
The gorgeous bride-to-be and her namesake cocktail. Seriously, she is supermodel beautiful.
Favors include macadamia nut shortbread and homemade pineapple-strawberry jam (photos courtesy of Joanne).
Joanne made this pretty floral centerpiece- it looked just like a real cake!
Game leader and sister extraordinaire, Lela.
(photo courtesy of Joanne)
Colin (son of Chelsea’s coworker) is the cutest, most well-mannered three year old I have ever met. What a charmer! How could you say no to that face?
Congratulations, Chelsea! We love you. You will be a stunning Hawaiian bride (photo courtesy of Joanne).
Ooooo,I think we are heading over to your house today and maybe we’ ll make up a mini batch of passion fruit truffles…..oh yay,
Congratulations to Chelsea! Your preparations for the bridal shower were very creative and professional looking. I love the little place cards with the flowers and your food really was spot on with the theme. I know it was a lot of work, but it really did pay off. Everyone looks like they had a great time. I am sure that this will be a treasured memory of Chelsea’s for years to come. Enjoy the day!