My first bridal shower was held a few weeks ago on July 7th, while Ryan and I were visiting my parents in Maine. My mom threw me a lovely and intimate tea party themed bridal shower, with the help of my high school best friend / bridesmaid Julia! I'm excited to recap the shower here today for Wedding Wednesday.
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Shortly after Ryan and I got engaged, my mom started talking about hosting a small shower for me when we visited Maine in summer 2024. I'll be having a larger bridal shower for my Virginia and North Carolina friends this September, but my mom still wanted a chance for her family in Maine to celebrate my engagement, as well as a couple of Maine friends.
When I was home in Maine in May for a couple weeks after my job loss, my mom and I went to visit a couple of potential shower venues in Kennebunkport. I'm so glad that my mom ended up going with The Nonantum Resort to host the shower at! Not only did they have a perfect little sunroom in front of the hotel that was perfect for such an intimate shower, but this hotel is also a bit sentimental to me. My older cousin Lydia got married here when I was in high school, and this is also where both of my high school proms were held! Ryan and I never really considered getting married in Maine, but if we had I'm sure we would've looked into The Nontantum. It felt very full circle to be having a bridal shower in the same historic hotel that I went to prom at in 2011 and 2012!
The space itself was lovely to begin with, and the Nonantum events team did a great job setting up the tables with a summery tea party feel. My mom also added a beautiful faux floral garland around the room that was a great finishing touch! I think she said she found it at Michael's. Here's how the full room looked:
There were so many delicious treats at the shower. I couldn't eat everything that I wanted to, lol! My mom ordered dessert trays from the Nonantum kitchen. I loved that they put whoopie pies in them- that's the most classic Maine dessert! I was also really excited about the key lime and berry vanilla fruit tarts. Those were so tasty.
My matron-of-honor Julia ordered a delicious and beautifully decorated champagne cake from a popular Maine bakery called Reilly's! You can see it pictured below. Seriously the prettiest cake! And next to the cake, you can see the yummy homemade maple cupcakes that my mom baked for the shower. There was certainly no shortage of dessert! Fitting for me since one of my life mottos is eat dessert first. 😊
Now for a few pictures of the attendees. First up, me with the amazing hostess, my mom! She and Julia put a lot of planning into this day, and I am so grateeful.
Next up is my cousins from my mom's side of the family! L to R: Emily, Danielle, me and Lydia. Emily and Lydia are my first cousins, and Danielle is my second cousin. They are all between 10-13 years older than me, so it's safe to say I really enjoyed looking up to all of them when I was a little girl.
Me with more of my mom's side of the family! (There were also a few other family members who had left right before this picture was taken.)
My mom's mom, my grandma! She is 99.5 years old, and will be turning 100 in February. She's the only grandparent that I've ever had (the rest all passed young before I was born). She won't be able to travel to Virginia for our wedding. so it was definitely special to have her at my bridal shower. Ryan and I also had a nice visit with her the day before the shower.
My dad and Ryan went out to lunch at a nearby restaurant during the bridal shower, but they help set up a bit, and they also popped by at the end to say hello to everyone.
I was so excited to show Ryan the sweetest gift that my friend Kelly-Anne got us. Kelly-Anne's mom is an artist, and she had her make these custom portraits of my cat Delilah, and Ryan's late dog Arrow! What a thoughtful and sentimental gift. I can't wait to find the perfect spot to hang these in our apartment
A quick note on my outfit: I wore the same Lilly Pulitzer dress that I wore for our engagement party in May! The older that I get, the more that I enjoy re-wearing the splurge pieces in my closet. My mom was the only one out of the people at this bridal shower who was at my engagement party, so it was a "new" dress to almost all the attendees. 😉
At some point either later this year or next year, I want to do some Wedding Wednesday posts about what I put on our wedding registry. But for now, I thought I'd just link the items from our registry that I was gifted at this shower:
Thank you again to my mom and Julia for throwing this bridal shower. I am also very much looking forward to my second bridal shower with my Virginia and North Carolina friends in September!
Past Wedding Wednesday Posts:
Our Proposal Story // My Ring Shopping Experience // Local vs. Destination Wedding // My Wedding Dress Shopping Story // 9 Months Out Checklist + Early Wedding Planning Q&A // How Ryan and I Met // Our Engagement Photos // Virginia Beach Wedding Guest Lodging with Transcendent Stays // Our Engagement Party // 6 Months Out Checklist + Q&A // How I Asked My Bridesmaids //
God Bless,
xoxo Annaliese
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