Wedding Collectibles co-founder Andrea celebrated her impending marriage at a bridal shower inspired by Indian culture. The party focused on the application of traditional Indian (temporary) tattoos (mendhi or henna), bridal shower games influenced by Indian tradition and entertainment, and a host of wonderful edible goodies.
Though henna is traditionally applied to an Indian bride’s hands and feet before the wedding ceremony, Andrea’s mendhi party was a touch she wanted as a nod to her lifelong passion for Indian culture. Her family found their love for the Indian lifestyle after the rental of a Bollywood film during a family movie night. After several trips to Little India, Hindi classes, sun yoga, and as one guest described, the development of “a high tolerance for spice,” there was no going back for the bride or her family.
The traditional elements: A mendhi artist was on hand to apply the traditional temporary adornment to every guest in attendance, including the bride. Most guests chose designs on the palm of their hands, but at least one left with a flower on her shoulder. As a hostess described, henna is popular in India not just as decoration, but also as a personal air conditioner. “It draws heat out of the body,” she said. Though mendhi is traditionally applied to the bride’s arms, legs, and back before the ceremony, Andrea wanted the special tradition a little early. Bridal henna is usually done 2 or 3 days before the wedding for good luck, and the artist will also often hide the groom’s initials somewhere within the design for him to find.
The décor of the day: Though the party space took only a small portion of the hostesses’ backyard, the event felt spacious and cool. The heat of the unseasonally warm day was guarded by lengths of sari (colorful cloth pieces) that draped from the roof of the patio – many of the guests also wore similar saris (ranging in color from pink to orange to vibrant shades of blue and green). Two large tables framed the mendhi space that acted as the event’s centerpiece.
The centerpieces fell in line with the colors of the event, focusing on reds, yellows, and oranges. The hostesses filled large glass bowls with strawberries and lemon slices submerged in water, and topped them with beautiful floating orange and yellow flowers. The home that the event was hosted at fell in line with the Indian theme as well, playing the bride’s favorite Bollywood clips in the living space and smelling ever so slightly of the delicious Indian cuisine that was later served.
The delicacies: The bridal shower menu was as expansive as it was delicious. It was a self-serve, but catered, event, and there was no lack of edible opportunities. When guests arrived, they were treated to appetizers such as panir and peppers, samosas (spicy and complex deep fried veggies and potatoes), and creamy mango smoothies. During lunch, guests found garlic naan, palak panir, chicken tikka masala, daal (lentils), and a dessert of milk cake treats (called ras mali) and son papri.
The games and favors: Instead of traditional bridal games, the hostesses modified some old favorites to fit the day’s Indian theme. Instead of a toilet paper wedding dress, two teams of guests learned how to wrap a sari. After one trial, the teams were set against each other; the winning model earned a beautiful beaded bag. Another bag was later awarded during a game that asked guests to choreograph their own Bollywood-style dance. On their way out, guests were treated to bangles (directly from India!) and a beautiful artisan tote bag.
Is your favorite part of a wedding the moment the bride and groom drive off into the sunset at the end of the reception? Think about topping your wedding cake with a car wedding cake topper. A car wedding cake topper is a beautiful way to show your guests your love for the open road, or maybe even for your car in particular! Many couples find that a car wedding cake topper is a fun way to display their love for their particularly favorite kind of transportation - motorcycles, classic cars, or otherwise. A car wedding cake topper is your chance to show that love to your friends and family on your wedding day. Like other couples might display a little version of their pets atop the cake with them, some couples opt for a car wedding cake topper!
The car wedding cake topper is also symbolic of the union of which you are celebrating. A car wedding cake topper symbolizes the journey the two of your are about to embark on together; it's about moving forward as a team. A car wedding cake topper isn't just for the couple who spends their weekend waxing their '57 Chevy, it could be for any couple ready to drive off into the sunset together for the rest of their lives. Start your journey with a car wedding cake topper!
When designing the favors that you want to distribute to guests during your wedding reception, it’s important to remember simplicity. With place card holder wedding favors, you kill two birds with one stone and guarantee that your trash cans won’t be full of tiny strips of expensive stationary by the end of the evening. Place card holder wedding favors combine the place cards (sometimes called escort cards) and the wedding favors into one glorious gift for your guest. Place card holder wedding favors are a great idea for weddings of all guest list sizes, and they help cut down on clutter on place settings. Instead of finding room for the place card, place card holder, and wedding favor, they’re all combined into place card holder wedding favors.
The consolidation of space isn’t all that’s important in 
Are you a DIY sort of bride whose main concern is boxing your favors – not ordering them? Wedding favor containers come in all shapes and sizes and are a perfect vessel for the DIY bride. So whip out the glue gun and keep the following tips in mind as you exercise your creativity on a few wedding favor containers:
Don’t leave your wedding favor containers until the last minute. Favors might not seem like such a big priority right now, but don’t let wedding favor containers wait until the week before. If you don’t have a choice (busy work schedule, other more-pressing DIY projects), enlist help from your bridesmaids to stuff wedding favor containers over a long weekend. Make the offer more appealing by offering drinks or dinner (and promises of everlasting loyalty) to your maids.
