"through the year" bridal brunch! celebrating our brides! Part Two
- Our Grand Lives
- May 15
- 10 min read
Updated: May 30
Thursday, May 15, 2025
We’re back with another post devoted to celebrating L•O•V•E!
Summer is right around the corner
and wedding season is now in full swing!
Do you have an upcoming bridal shower to host?
If so, this post is for you!
On Monday, Laura shared Celebrating Our Brides, Part One…
“Our Favorite Things” Bridal Shower!
In that post we shared lots of details - the theme, decor, the menu and the games -
from a bridal shower she hosted at the end of March.
Today, Laura is excited to share Part Two with you.…
We’ve got all the specifics for the second bridal gathering I hosted this spring,
our Through The Year” Bridal Brunch!
Get ready for LOTS of details!
If you read our previous post,
you know that our family is celebrating two weddings this month!
With two nieces getting married within weeks of each other,
I knew I wanted to host a gathering for each of them
prior to their big days
and it was important that each event reflect the bride and groom!
Our Bridal Shower (described in our last post) and our Bridal Brunch (today’s focus)
took place four weeks apart
and the guest list for both included about a dozen of the same people
or less than half of those invited.
As you read, you will notice many similarities between our two bridal events
(this helped keep things organized and manageable).
At the same time, we made sure that each gathering had unique touches
to make things interesting for our “repeat” guests
while celebrating each bride and her personality and preferences!
In late April , we celebrated Bride #2…
only two weeks before her wedding date!
In fact, the wedding actually took place this past weekend!
Once again, I enlisted the help of my wonderful sister-in-laws
and got to work on a theme for our party!
My husband is one of five
so I knew I had a great support system in place
(yay for my three sister-in-laws and two daughters!)
and that we’d be able to pull off another memorable event!
THE INVITATIONS & GIFTS!
Just like with the previous bridal shower,
our guest list for this celebration included
the bride’s family (both sides, including our extended family),
the groom’s family and the bride’s close friends!
It was so fun to meet so many people who were special to the bride!
I created the invite and insert on Canva,
using my original template but with a few changes.
As you may recall,
I love using Canva and have always had great luck when creating graphics.
I was able to find an online coupon and placed my Canva order (super easy)
and then it arrived in less than a week!
WIN! WIN!
NOTE: As always, I’m sharing links for items we used in this post…
But, please remember that we only recommend items we love.
We are not compensated in any way.
Last time I used a floral graphic and for this invite
I found a combination of greenery graphics available on Canva
that complemented the bride and groom’s wedding stationery!
We decided to host a Bridal Brunch with the theme of Through the Year!
Our bride, Grace, and her future husband are in their late 20’s and their household needs are minimal so she really didn’t feel a need to ask for gifts. For their spring wedding, they are primarily hoping for “experience based” gifts or ones that will help fund their honeymoon.
However, I knew that most of our guests would want to contribute something with meaning, so we got creative and came up with two fun ways to “grace our bride with love!”
I included a 3 x 5 card with each insert (see below), inviting each guest to complete “Advice and Wishes for Our Future Mrs.” These were secured to the outside of packages and the bride chose one of the wishes on each card to read aloud before opening the corresponding gift. (YES! There were gifts... keep reading to learn more!)
I purchased a small photo album to house these cards and each one was added to the album after it was read for a lovely keepsake! This was the design I created for the insert of the photo album cover.
The advice and words of wisdom offered
were truly a beautiful gift that the couple can treasure always!
The insert also included directions for gift giving. Since the bride did not want any of the traditional shower gifts, we instead assigned guests a holiday or season that our happy couple might celebrate during their first year of marriage. We offered some suggestions in the insert...
Since we had more guests than holidays/seasons, I grouped guests by those who knew each other and could work together. Then I put all the holidays and seasons in another basket and drew one out to determine which group was assigned which holiday or season.
(NOTE: I was sure to keep a list of these assignments to reference, as needed, and it came in handy!)
Our theme of “Through the Year” was such a hit! Our guests were so creative in bringing gifts that the bride and groom could use on different holidays or during each of the four seasons throughout their first year of marriage!
My daughters and I had “Spring” as our gift assignment so we put together a “Fiesta Party” basket for the couple to share with their friends! We included colorful margarita glasses, tableware, salsa bowls, margarita salt, chips, a variety of salsas and guac seasoning as well as a card game!
We added in a few more items
(including some beer from Mexico and some virgin margaritas)
before wrapping it all up!
Other gifts that were received included champagne glasses (New Year’s),
a snowman building kit (winter),
bug spray and sunscreen (summer),
red, white and blue decor (4th of July),
LED candles (autumn),
a pumpkin carving kit (Halloween),
cherished family serving pieces (Thanksgiving)
and a krumkake iron, mold and recipe (Christmas)!
See what I mean?
So many treasures!
All my helpers with the bride (in red) and the MOB!
THE DECOR!
In many ways, the decor was similar to the shower I’d hosted in March.
This time though,
I used greenery, strands of pearls, white paper flowers and gold accents throughout!
Again, I filled my collection of white frames with photos of the bride and groom!
These were scattered all around!
I had more dollar store vases (!) that I filled
with baby’s breath, greens and white flowers.
Again - they served a dual purpose,
as decor and then as prizes for our game winners!
(After all, who doesn’t appreciate a bouquet of fresh flowers?)
As our guests began to arrive at 11:00 a.m.,
we had mimosas and nonalcoholic breakfast punch waiting for them!
We also had sparkling water and ice water.
as well as hot coffee and iced coffee with creamers available!
I wanted to have something light for our guests to munch on as we planned to play a few games before eating, so, after much consideration, I went the easy route! I dished Dot’s Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels into individual cups for people to grab once they picked up a beverage.
With some cashews (for my gluten free guests) and some heart shaped jelly beans (bought at Trader Joe’s a few months ago)! It was perfect!
Here’s what else we served!
We served two egg bakes - one with meat and one vegetarian version.
Here are the recipes I used, with a few personal adjustments.
Sausage Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole - I have made this casserole many times over the years! Everyone loves it and it can be made the day before. I use one pound of bulk breakfast sausage and after I’ve browned that I also brown the hashbrowns in a little butter in the same skillet before putting them on the bottom of the greased 9 x 13 pan. (I made two pans of this casserole as I knew my family would enjoy any leftovers!)
Italian Egg Casserole - I omitted the sausage from this recipe since I wanted a vegetarian option to serve. Instead, I browned a package of refrigerated hashbrowns in a small amount of butter (as I did in the above recipe) and then put them in the bottom of the greased 9 x 13 pan. Then I followed the directions as written. However, I did bake it for about 50 minutes - watch closely so that the top of the casserole is browned and not runny. (I only made one recipe of this dish for my group.)
Let both casseroles sit (covered) for up to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Ahead of time, I made Lemon Aioli, transferred it to a serving bowl,
covered it and refrigerated until serving.
I also made asparagus bundles following the same recipe, only I wrapped three asparagus spears with prosciutto rather than bacon. I was able to prep and bake these ahead of time(rather than grilling them) at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I put them on a tray, covered them with foil and served them at room temperature.
So yummy and a delicious addition to our menu!!
My sister-in-laws brought lots of fresh fruit (berries and pineapple). There’s nothing like fresh fruit this time of year, is there?
My daughter and her husband brought fresh Wisconsin cheese curds from a local creamery near their home! A midwestern treat for us all!
I debated about making sweet breads or muffins but decided to go the easy route and bought them instead! I found mini croissants (plain, cinnamon and chocolate) at a local store and served them in a big basket with a crock of butter and one with jam. I also bought a kringle pastry from Trader Joe’s. These are so delicious and a great addition to any platter!
Later, after gifts were opened,
our guests were able to choose a dessert…
or two or three to enjoy!
Once again, I decided to make things easy and quick
But, of course, each dessert had to be delicious!
I purchased two different premade sweets
- Palmier cookies and chocolate brownies -
and I added a few small touches to make them our own!
I had bought some vanilla buttercream frosting from a local bakery
and then I piped it onto the Palmier cookies, using a star tip.
We also put a white candy heart on top of each mini chocolate brownie.
I added mini chocolate truffle hearts from Trader Joe’s
(I’d bought them earlier this winter)
and they were the perfect addition to our tray of goodies!
As a final touch, I had ordered my favorite champagne cake from a local bakery
and a “Love” Cake Topper from Amazon.
The mousse frosting was so beautiful and I wish you all could have tasted the cake….
It was delicious!
It was the perfect focal point for our dessert bar!
We all enjoyed every single bite of food!!!
Grace - our bride - and her groom love word games and nostalgic television shows!
So, of course, our games needed to reflect these interests!
GAME #1 - GUEST QUEST!
Soon after our guests arrived, we played this game…
We moved around a lot
as everyone tried to find people that fit each descriptor!
The first person to find someone that fit each phrase
was the winner!
As a follow up to the activity, we all learned so much about each other as the bride read each descriptor and guests who the statement was true for raised their hand!
GAME #2 - BRIDAL WORD SCRAMBLE!
GAME #3 - FAMOUS TV COUPLES!
We played these two games once everyone was seated and settled!
I printed the two game sheets back to back
and we passed out pens and my set of clipboards.
Both games were fun and kept everyone engaged!
However, the word scramble proved more difficult than I’d anticipated!
Everyone loved reminiscing about so many of these shows and couples!
After 10 minutes, I facilitated
as the bride shared answers!
Meanwhile, my sister-in-laws put the finishing touches on our meal
and it was time to eat!
GAME #4 - THROUGH THE YEARS WITH GRACE!
As a play on our theme,
I created this fun opportunity for our guests - especially those from the groom’s side
to get to know our bride better!
We played this game and the next after brunch!
This was such a sweet game
but even our bride and her mom had trouble putting the photos in order!
GAME #5 - HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE BRIDE?
And then, at last, we all got to know a bit more about our bride!
A few years ago, Grace ran Trivia Night at a few local establishments
so, as our final game, we made HER the object of our own trivia contest!
Our Winners?
If we had more than one winner for any game,
the person whose birthday was closest to the bride’s
was the ultimate winner!
This works well for ANY game ANY time!
Our winners loved picking a flower bouquet to take home!
We also had favors for each of the guests to take home!
A glass heart ornament
(in honor of our bride’s favorite holiday - Christmas)!
Hopefully our photos tell the story of a special gathering!
So many people joined together
to celebrate our bride, her groom and their future together!
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Grace's shower look like a lovely time. I love the games and the desserts are amazing. Loved seeing the smiles in the photos. Thank you for linking up on Farmhouse Friday 399.
How lovely and fun!! The details are all amazing!!
Oh my goodness, this is just amazing! What a fantastic theme--great gifts. I love the decor, the cakes, all of it. Looks like a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing this with us at the Will Blog for Comments #62 linkup! Looking forward to seeing what you'll share at #63, which opens Monday morning. :)
Wow Laura this looks amazing! You have such a knack of pulling these together and put so much effort and love into the brunch. I'm sure Grace enjoyed it all, well done and thanks for sharing all the details with us! #Teamwwwhimsy
Hi Laura, wow what lucky brides to have their showers hosted by you! I love the theme and adore the stationary you've printed. The attention to detail and creativity is amazing. Fabulous game ideas and love how you decorated ... and the food - yum! You could be a paid event planner! Thanks for sharing with us at #WWWhimsy ! xo