Lemon Theme Bridal Shower

Hi Friends! Long time no chat! So I just had my bridal shower this past weekend (Saturday 8/7) and it was nothing short of amazing. I need to give a special shout out to my Mom and cousin Connie who helped with the planning and setting up. They also dealt with me calling them numerous times throughout the day for weeks just to make this day super special! I also want to thank My Aunt Carol who made the centerpieces and cousin Samantha who helped me set up. I am going to give you a full run down of all the vendors I worked with / what I did to make this the most magical day ever.

The Venue:

I had my shower at Portobellos in Oakland, for those that are familiar with North Jersey 🙂

They have 2 beautiful buildings, a banquet hall and then the actual restaurant. The actual restaurant gave me Italian vibes, which was the theme of my shower (Lemons/Italian/Amalfi Coast etc) so I chose the restaurant. I felt the vibe was perfect for the occasion! They also have a cute outdoor area but when I booked this (in March) I figured it would be so hot and humid (totally was!) in August so I went with the restaurant.

Cannot complain at all about the restaurant! They have been super helpful throughout the whole process and were great the day of the shower! The food was amazing and there was SO much of it! I couldn’t believe it!! I am so happy people were able to take it home and enjoy later. I also opted for the unlimited bellinis and mimoas – which were also a hit!

The main difference between the banquet hall and restaurant is that we had family style food vs buffet style (banquet) and the restaurant only allows 3 hours for a party vs 4 hours at the banquet hall. Which I don’t mind for a shower at all because they usually tend to drag on and I also didn’t open gifts! My guests already knew that I wasn’t going to open gifts because I worded my invitation to say “be a dear wrap in clear”…etc.

Check out their website here and IG here! I totally recommend them if you are in the NJ area!!

Invitations / stationary / games / signs:

See below for invitation. The invitations were from Callagraphics. I worked with the owner, Gail, and she is literally the best. She pays such close attention to detail and 10000000% delivers! She gets everything done in a timely manner as well! She sends proofs of everything so you can edit and adjust anything you want! Everything I envisioned in my head, Gail made it come to life!

Also, she did my wedding invites which I LOVE and will show you once the wedding is over in October! Check her IG out here and website here!

Prizes for game winners! Gail created the labels 

Photography:

Photos were done by my friends boyfriend Mike! Check out his IG here. He has such a great eye and took all these fabulous shots! He was also the same person who did my engagement pictures last October! It was so hard to just choose some pictures for this post because I loved them ALL!

Hair & Makeup:

Mom and daughter duo! I was referred to Leia (makeup artist) and her mother Bonnie (hairstylist) by 3 different people! That says a lot 😉 They will be doing my hair and makeup for the wedding so I thought the shower would be the perfect time to do a trial! I will have different looks for the wedding, but I truly LOVED how everything came out. I only trust a few people with my face, now Leia is one of them. Check out their IGs here: Makeup IG and Hair IG !

Nails:

For those that don’t know by now I go to the nail salon biweekly for a gel manicure and pedicure. It has been a thing of mine since I was 17. I have been going to Sylvia for YEARS! She is a nail tech at Together Nails and Spa in Wayne, NJ. She free hands everything. Check out more of her work in my highlights on IG!

Donut Wall:

I was referred to Off the Wall Donuts by a friend of mine and I was beyond impressed. Everything was complete perfection! Kate was a sweet heart! She came to set up and take everything down. You can customize the wall to say whatever you want. I chose “Soon to be Mrs. Apricena.” They also set up 2 end tables on both sides of the wall! They have to go baggies for your guests to take the donuts home! They also do pretzels / a combo of both! The donuts were delicious!! I will DEFINITELY use them again! Check them out on IG here or their website.

Flower Wall:

I used Mirror Mirror by Dina! I honestly knew I wanted a wall like this and googled a few and this company just stuck out to me! I am so happy I went with them! Dina’s husband Izzy came to set up and take the wall down! You have a selection of what size wall you want (and if you want the circular one or square like mine). You can choose from any sayings they have to offer! You also can choose different types of walls such as the green wall I used (shown below) or a complete flower wall! Check out their IG here.

Cake & Lemon Shaped Cookies: Cakes by Kate

Kate did my cake (shown below) and Lemon/Mrs. Cookies! They were everything I wanted and more!! I found her randomly on IG and knew right off the bat I wanted the Lemon cookies she did for another party! I sent her a picture of the cake that I wanted and she made my vision come to LIFE! Outstanding work! I tagged her IG above but here is her website! 

Lemon Shaped cookies / Found her Main Squeeze / Miss to Mrs

Favors:

I am not being biased when I say this because she is a friend, but these are the BEST candles I ever purchased! Yes I love them more than Bath and Body works!! They are also better for you (100% soy wax). What I also love is the names Alexis comes up with for the candles! Some are hilarious! Check her out here! See below for the only picture I got of the favors! I placed them around every plate setting 🙂

Outfit:

Last but certainly not least- my outfit! I never usually wear white but found this the perfect opportunity to! It was really hard for me to find an outfit! I cannot link any of the items for you guys except the jean jacket! The shoes and bag are several years old!

Dress: Vici

Shoes: Vince Camuto

Bag: Betsy Johnson

Earrings: Chanel

Customized Denim Jacket: Shop the link here on Etsy!

Other Notable Mentions:

Other parts of my shower that I LOVED and worth mentioning are:

My “getting ready outfit” aka robe, romper and slippers displayed on a dress form! I saw this idea on Instagram and showed my cousin Connie. She truly delivered!! She put everything together and I couldn’t be more in love!! Pictures below.

Centerpieces: My Aunt made my centerpieces and thought of the burlap runner/lemon runner idea for the tables! I literally LOVED how they came out! She added fresh cut lemons, blue hydrangeas and white roses! Simply gorgeous!

Dessert table: some of these items might look familiar because I used them for my 30th birthday dessert table last year. My cousin Connie and her friend Alycia made the chocolate covered strawberries, pretzels and cake pops! People keep raving about how good they were!

I hope you all enjoyed these pictures as much as I did! Let me know if you have any other questions! I think I was a party planner in my past life 😉 !

I appreciate the love and support as always!

Xo,

Kristen

* Please note- I will make a small commission if you shop! Thank you for the support *

*Also Please note- I OWN the rights to these pictures*