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This post is brought to you by Francis Ford Coppola Winery–thanks for your support of the brands that make Southern Weddings possible!

It seems that more than ever, friends and family members spread out across the country, and even across the globe, which makes coordinating pre-wedding activities, like engagement parties and bridal showers, a logistical juggling act. I have bridesmaids in four different states myself–and I live in a fifth! In situations like this, one of the best times to schedule a bridal shower is over the holidays, when bridesmaids, friends, and the bride may be in their hometowns. But how to plan a shower that is festive and seasonally appropriate, where the bride is clearly the focus of the celebration? To answer this question, we teamed up with Francis Ford Coppola Winery, who sent us some of their Sofia Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine, which comes in the prettiest bottle, and adorable Mini Cans–the first wine to come in a can. Francis Coppola created these wines as a gift for his daughter, Sofia (yes, the chic and talented Sofia Coppola!), inspired by her bright and effervescent personality, and we imagined the bride this shower is celebrating with the same infectious qualities!

Should you be planning a holiday shower yourself, we have a few tips to help you carry it off with aplomb!

Send invitations early. Holiday schedules fill up quickly, and many people make plans months in advance, or have a standing tradition. Give guests plenty of time to rearrange their schedules or adjust their travel plans by sending out invitations at least two months in advance. We love this fun invitation MaeMae & Co. designed for our sparkling celebration!

Choose a color palette or theme that is festive, but original. For this New Year’s Eve bridal shower, touches of sparkle were a must, but we added a little twist to the typical NYE palette by including the bride’s favorite colors: deep red and pink. The Sofia Blanc de Blancs bottle (which comes wrapped in pink cellophane–Sofia Coppola’s idea, inspired by her favorite peonies!) and adorable Mini Cans fit this palette perfectly, and a gorgeous floral arrangement by Alana of Serendipity Designs completed the table. Even the container the Sofia Mini Cans come in is beautiful–so much so that we were inspired to reuse it as a centerpiece vessel!

Keep the focus on the bride. While this shower may be tied with a holiday, it is first and foremost a bridal shower, not a New Year’s Eve party. Schedule it early enough in the day so that there is no confusion, and bring the bride and her darling personality into as many elements as possible so that she doesn’t feel overshadowed by the holiday festivities. Monogrammed details, like our DIY cake topper, are a sweet way to celebrate her!

If you would love to include Francis Ford Coppola Winery’s Sofia wines (the line also include a Riseling, a Rosé, and a Chardonnay) at your next celebration, they have generously offered 15% off your first order and $5 shipping to SW readers with the code COPPOLA15. As you may have seen on Instagram a few weeks ago, getting a package from them is almost as delightful as what’s inside!

Sparkling Wine: Francis Ford Coppola Winery / Photography: Lauren Rosenau Photography / Venue: The Stockroom at 230 / Florals: Serendipity Designs / Invitation: MaeMae & Co. / Linens: La Tavola / Skirts: Bel and Beau / Tinsel Drink Stirrers: Em for Marvelous

Lauren Rosenau is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
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  1. avatar Just Wedding News / A Holiday Bridal Shower with Francis Ford Coppola Sofia reply

    […] post A Holiday Bridal Shower with Francis Ford Coppola Sofia appeared first on Southern Weddings […]

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This post is brought to you by Kate Aspen–thanks for your support of the brands that make Southern Weddings possible!

When it comes to pre-wedding parties, bridal showers just might be our very favorite. Whether you’re hosting a big celebration with generations of family members or an intimate get-together for the bridal party, a few sweet and simple details go a long way in making a bridal shower memorable, not only for the bride, but for the guests as well. With the help of our friends at Kate Aspen, a fabulous resource for originally designed, chic favors and personalized party décor, we threw this little faux bridal shower to illustrate some of our favorite tips!

Choose a color palette or theme. If you have a location picked out (such as the bride’s parents’ home), use the existing colors and décor as a starting point. We staged this shoot at Lara’s house, which is predominately white with beachy teal accents, so we chose our ice cream shoppe-inspired pastel palette with that in mind. The result was soft and feminine, and since we were working with our venue rather than against it, we didn’t need too many details to create a cohesive look. We pooled our china patterns for the table, and topped it off with a favor that could not have been more perfect for our theme: Kraft Favor Boxes filled with pastel saltwater taffy!

Plan an activity. Bridal shower games can be less than sophisticated, but there are plenty of other ways for guests to interact and get to know each other. An interactive food or beverage station is a wonderful way to get guests moving, so we set up an ice cream buffet featuring our favorite toppings in Blue Glass Tealight Holders (gotta love décor that serves double duty!). Ice cream isn’t the only option–if the bride has a soft spot for sweet tea or a weakness for biscuits, it’s easy to create a buffet out of any food or drink that can use toppings or mix-ins.

Set up a photo booth. There is really no better way to encourage pictures than a photo booth! We especially loved this Woodgrain Personalized Photo Booth Backdrop because it was vinyl instead of paper, so it held up beautifully. P.S. If you’re not planning a photo booth, these backdrops also look great behind gift tables or dessert displays!

We might be biased, but any photo shoot during which we can eat ice cream is an SW favorite :)

If you have a bridal shower, or any other celebration, coming up, we’re delighted to let you know that Kate Aspen is generously giving away a $150 gift card to their website! Along with the favor boxes, tea light holders, and photo booth backdrop that we used, they have fun details and décor to fit a huge variety of party color schemes and themes. The giveaway will end next week, so don’t delay!

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What was your favorite part of your bridal shower, or one you’ve attended? We’d love to hear your ideas!

Photographer: Robyn Van Dyke / Personalized Photo Booth Backdrop, Blue Glass Tealight Holders, Kraft Favor Boxes: Kate Aspen / Ice Cream Bowls: World Market / Wrapping Paper: Snow & Graham

lisa Written with love by Lisa
7 Comments
  1. avatar Melissa W. reply

    The favorite detail from my friend’s bridal shower was each guest sharing a memorable or funny story from their own wedding while the bride opened their gift. This was so much better than playing games. We laughed & sympathized while getting to know each other better!!

  2. avatar Lauren reply

    Such good ideas! I just got lost in the Kate Aspen shop. So much inspiration!

    I see those white lace plates often in the SW photos. Can you please share where their from? Thank you!

  3. avatar Olivia Cox reply

    Love these fun ideas! I’m currently helping my best friend plan her sisters bridal shower at Wine and Design – we’re going to have canvases and paint set up for everyone and of course lots of good wine :) The theme is sunflowers, because the bride always dreamed of having a spring wedding with sunflower bouquets, but because of her crazy schedule as a med school student the wedding will be in December. We’re trying to give her the next best thing with a bright and sunny bridal shower!

  4. avatar published: southern weddings v7 » Robyn Van Dyke Photography Blog reply

    […] extra image on page 300 of Morgan, Lisa, & Emily (three of the gorgeous SW ladies!) from the Kate Aspen Bridal Shower Ideas shoot earlier this year! Be sure to pick up your very own gorgeous issue on newsstands or order a […]

  5. avatar Southern Weddings Bridal Shower Shoot » Robyn Van Dyke Photography Blog reply

    […] of my favorites on the blog here today! You can check out the whole feature on Southern Weddings here!Pin ItPin ItPin ItPin ItPin […]

  6. avatar Perfectly Packaged Edible Wedding Favors -Beau-coup Blog reply

    […] credit clockwise from left: Southernweddings, Beau-coup, […]

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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