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A Friends Themed Bridal Shower

I don?t know about you, but I love a good party. Ever since I was younger, I?ve always loved throwing parties whether it was for a birthday, graduation, or just because! When my parents bought our house in Albuquerque, the previous owners told them the house was known around the neighborhood as the party house. The previous owners were on the board of trustees at my high school, meaning many people knew of our house before we even moved in. We took that reputation very seriously and threw parties often 😉

When my best friend, Delia, got engaged, I knew I wanted to be involved in throwing her a shower. Partially it was because I?ve been looking forward to her wedding since she and Ryan started dating, which was seven years before they got married! At first I had planned for Steven and I to throw them a couple?s shower, since they are our double date buddies for life. Steven and I, as a couple, are basically in a long distance relationship with Ryan and Delia 😉 But then, Amy, Delia?s MOH asked me to combine forces and throw Delia a bridal shower together. So I shifted gears and we started to plan.

A theme is an incredibly important element to any party. Whether it?s a tacky sweater Christmas party, house warming party, bridal shower, or engagement party, there should be a theme. Delia and I have pretty much the exact same style and taste when it comes to a lot of things, so I knew we had to be careful with the theme. We didn?t want her shower to be anything close to the ?theme? of her wedding. But then we started thinking of the things Delia loves and we were left with only one feasible (and awesome) choice: Friends.
We kept the decor very simple, while still using bright colors to represent the Friends theme. We even found an awesome yellow frame at Hobby Lobby to give to Delia with the invitation in it. We kept the drinks and food relatively simple, too. We had a few bottles of wine, water, and I made one pitcher of Peach Raspberry Sangria, thinking that would be enough. I did not anticipate how much of a hit the sangria would be and ended up making six pitchers total, using some of the bottles of wine we had. See recipe at the bottom!
We also found this awesome chalkboard sign and wrote ?Central Perk? on it. Delia also took that home and now has it hung up in her kitchen! It?s so fun to be able to find decorations for a party that your guest of honor can take home and use again. As part of the activities, we had everyone write down some advise for the bride to be on a white frame. It was awesome to get to read people?s advice for the couple on how to maintain a loving relationship for years.

The party doubled as a lingerie shower for Delia. She compiled a wish list on Victoria?s Secret (where she used to work!) and we included a shortened link on her invitation so people could get the things she liked. She included non lingerie items like bathing suits and some Bride apparel.

Etiquette these days is a little iffy about favors, but I always try to do a favor of some sort for a party. It doesn?t have to be anything crazy, but I think it?s important to thank people who attend an event. We stuck with the Central Perk theme and gave everyone samples of coffee. We ordered the bags from here?and were able to personalize the labels. Honestly, that was my favorite part of the favors, to be able to have ?Delia?s Blend? on the labels helped everyone connect the theme. Delia was a barista in college and it was really cool to be able to show her love of coffee even without the party being coffee themed.

Back to the menu for a second. We decided to serve lasagna, based off of the episode ?The One with the Dozen Lasagnas.? We didn?t make a dozen lasagnas but we did have three different types. Two traditional: a meat lasagna and a cheese lasagna? and for the third we did a creamy white chicken lasagna with green chile (another one of D?s favorite things!)

For our second activity we played a round of bingo. The clues included things about both Delia and Ryan as well as well known Friends trivia. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying the New Mexican August weather and the beautiful mountain views. Oh, and one more of Delia?s favorite things: taking pictures! 🙂

?Do you liked themed parties? What?s the best one you?ve been to or hosted?

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Comments

  1. Delia says

    Ahhh, I loved this walk down memory lane 🙂 the shower you guys threw was just absolutely perfect, down to every last detail. PERFECT. EVERYTHING. Can we rewind and repeat, when I’m not stressing about a wedding? 🙂 also, p.s. to anyone reading: YES to this sangria recipe. Completely tops my (very exclusive) list of favorite “beverages.”

    Reply

  2. Delia Barnas Kearney says

    Ahhh, I loved this walk down memory lane 🙂 the shower you guys threw was just absolutely perfect, down to every last detail. PERFECT. EVERYTHING. Can we rewind and repeat, when I’m not stressing about a wedding? 🙂 also, p.s. to anyone reading: YES to this sangria recipe. Completely tops my (very exclusive) list of favorite “beverages.”

    Reply

  3. Delia says

    Also, that frame hangs right by the mirror in our bedroom, and I read the sweet advice every single day. Such an inspiring reminder of the important things to remember, even as the wedding days fade farther into the past.

    Reply

  4. Delia Barnas Kearney says

    Also, that frame hangs right by the mirror in our bedroom, and I read the sweet advice every single day. Such an inspiring reminder of the important things to remember, even as the wedding days fade farther into the past.

    Reply

  5. Jenny Fish says

    This is an awesome idea! My best friend/roommate/matron of honor absolutely loves Friends, so our senior year of college we threw a FRIENDS themed birthday party – like “The One Where Rachel Smokes” – where Monica and Phoebe throw Rachel a birthday party a whole month early to surprise her. We even had Red Solo Cup hats for everyone. It was a blast. I absolutely love your invitation – so creative!

    Reply

  6. Jenny Fish says

    This is an awesome idea! My best friend/roommate/matron of honor absolutely loves Friends, so our senior year of college we threw a FRIENDS themed birthday party – like “The One Where Rachel Smokes” – where Monica and Phoebe throw Rachel a birthday party a whole month early to surprise her. We even had Red Solo Cup hats for everyone. It was a blast. I absolutely love your invitation – so creative!

    Reply

  9. Jenna Griffin says

    This is so fun! I love the little touches you added. The food is making me hungry! It really looks like y’all did a great job hosting. And thanks for the sangria recipe–YUM!

    Reply

  10. Jenna Secrist says

    This is so fun! I love the little touches you added. The food is making me hungry! It really looks like y’all did a great job hosting. And thanks for the sangria recipe–YUM!

    Reply

  11. Rachel G says

    I love throwing parties, and you did such a good job! You’re right, themes can be really helpful in coming up with a plan for an event. I think I have two big parties coming up this summer–a graduation party for my cousin and Angel’s 30th. I’m excited!

    Reply

  12. Rachel G says

    I love throwing parties, and you did such a good job! You’re right, themes can be really helpful in coming up with a plan for an event. I think I have two big parties coming up this summer–a graduation party for my cousin and Angel’s 30th. I’m excited!

    Reply

  15. Zainab @ Blahnik Baker says

    Peach and raspberry is such a unique combination for sangria!! The shower looks so beautiful!! I love the theme 😉

    Reply

  17. Kathy Baugher says

    I love hosting parties too! What a pretty shower, I love the simplicity of it but bright pops of color. The flowers in the galvanized vase and party favors were my favorite. Beautiful job. Pinned on a group board.

    Reply

  22. Jenna says

    This is such a great idea for a bridal shower! And that sangria recipe sounds really yummy, too. Thanks for sharing on Hump Day Happenings!

    Reply

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