I have my cousin, Kathleen, and two other best friends getting married this year! Did I mention that I am getting married as well? I think I might have mentioned that once or twice before on my blog! 😉 I have been extremely excited with all of the planning and preparation for bridal showers and ways to give to these special women in my life!

First up was Kathleen’s bridal shower! We did a fiesta theme for her because her and her family LOVE authentic mexican food! My family is known for going out for mexican whenever my cousins are in town. They also expect my Mother’s Margarita recipe anytime we have a summer cookout! So, Kathleen’s two matron of honors knew that a fiesta theme would be perfect for Kathleen. Ali and Jackie got lots of decor, planned the games, and the gifts for Kathleen. You will see some of that below, and they did an amazing job for Kathleen. What I contributed to the shower was the floral arrangements and the gold MRS. balloons! The flower arrangements I made myself, and the DIY steps are at the bottom of this blog post.

Congratulations Kathleen! I hope your bridal shower was everything that you dreamed of and I cannot wait to stand by your side as you and Clark because husband and wife in April.

They had everyone bring a recipe for Kathleen and one of her guests made all of these cookies! I was so impressed!   I love big balloons at bridal showers!!! Kathleen and her matron of honors, Jackie and Ali! They have been best friends since they were in elementary school and grew up in the same neighborhood! Kathleen and all of her bridesmaids! Two cousins (I am one of those!), three sorority sisters, and two childhood best friends! She has a great group of women with her! Kathleen is also one of my bridesmaids for our May wedding. She has been a best friend of mine since birth. We have taken dance classes together when we were little, drove around in her barbie jeep, we would go to her river house in Edenton, had sleepovers and even traveled for a week together in Costa Rica.

I have some of my favorite memories with this woman and I know how great and heartfelt of a person that she is! Clark and Kathleen deserve a life filled with love and happiness and I am happy to be here to give back to them during this celebration in their lives!   

Here is how I did the DIY Fiesta themed centerpieces: I got a lot of flowers from Norfolk Wholesale Floral, and a few others from Whole Foods. Norfolk wholesale has a great selection but there shipments come in on Mondays. I suggest getting your flowers Wednesday or Thursday.

I got blocks of Oasis, that once they have been soaked in water, are a great way to make floral arrangements. Since this was a fiesta theme I went to the grocery store and got jars of Rotel and Las Palmas. I opened the cans, drained everything out, and put the oasis in with a little more water in the bottom. Then I went ahead and trimmed all of the flowers, cutting them at varying lengths and trimming off all leaves.

After that you can start to push the flower stems into the oasis and make your arrangements. It stays sturdy, but once you poke a whole for a stem I would keep it there, the more holes you create the weaker the oasis can become.

To stay with the fiesta theme I also incorporated limes and pomegranates. I love thinking out of the box and using other elements with flowers, that aren’t flowers! 😉 I cut some of the pomegranates open and left some whole, and honestly I loved both just as much!

I would suggest getting plants or florals that can be good fillers (greenery) and start with a layer of those in the oasis, then work in your bigger flowers, colorful flowers, and different textures. A variety of plants and florals that you would not necessarily put together can sometimes be the most interesting and beautiful.

Have fun with it and play around and remember that every woman loves flowers! Spruce up any party by getting a few flowers from norfolk wholesale and making your own arrangements!