Bridal Shower Theme: Cocktails & Cupcakes

Bridal Shower Theme:  Cocktails & Cupcakes

Cupcakes are huge right now-and for good reason! You get to eat a nice serving of cake (or 4) without feeling guilty.  Add in your favorite cocktails and this girlie party is sure to be a hit.



Invitations

Set the tone for the bridal shower with the invites. The one to the left, a  Cupcakes & Martinis Bridal Shower Invite sets the right tone.  Will anyone doubt that the desserts will be aplenty at this party?

Or this cute Cupcakes & Cocktails Bridal Shower Invitation.  The guest's mouths will be watering with anticipation. Plus, this lets guests know that it won't be a stuffy tea party.







Food


With cupcakes and cocktails you can't go wrong.  Aim for a menu that encourages noshing and mingling allowing the guests to get to know each other while the bride is opening gifts.

Sample Menu

1. Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Apple Martinis
2. Champagne Cupcakes with Mimosas or Champagne
3. Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes with beer, red wine, or Chocolate Martinis

Some helpful tips:

• Chocolate cupcakes pairs well with other chocolate drinks like chocolate martinis, red wine, and beer. The lighter cupcakes pair well with white wines and champagne.
• To balance out the sweetness of the cupcakes, serve extras like mixed nuts, cheese & crackers, and pesto pinwheels along with fresh fruit like strawberries, berries, and grapes.
• Aim for 6 mini cupcakes per person or about 4 regular size per person-guests will want to munch on a variety of flavors.  When in doubt-always have more.

• Have the cocktails ready for mingling by preparing them ahead of time and placing them in mini martini glasses.

Follow the lead of Rene on Rene Takes the Cake. Her cupcakes & cocktails party featured Chocolate Espresso Martinis, Chambord and Champagne, and Stellatinis which were made from strawberry lemonade, vodka, and sprite. Each drink was then paired with it's cocktail inspired cupcake.

• Take cupcaking to the next level with cupcake fondue-yep we said Cupcake Fondue!  A truly creative, one-of-a-kind idea you basically take mini cupcakes and dip them into frosting. Easy to do too!

• Try the cupcake blog Cupcake where you can find unique cupcake recipes like Sweet Potato Cupcakes,  Coconut Lime Cupcakes,  Churros and Chocolate Cupcakes, and Sweet and Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes as well as hundreds of other creative cupcake flavors. 

• Need to order specialty cupcakes? Try Crumbs where among the offerings you can order Cosmo, Grasshopper, and Key Lime cupcakes, all of which are kosher.  Try BabyCakes for gluten-free or spelt cupcakes.

Favors

• Have extra favor boxes on hand for guests to take the left-over cupcakes home with them. Less calories (and less clean-up) for you!

• Stick with the cupcake theme-send guests home with personalized cupcake mixes or give everyone personalized cupcakes. Or go with the cocktail theme-send guests home with personalized cosmo mixes.

• Make cupcakes in a jar for favors. Not only are they easy to make but since they're in a jar, they're easy to transport in a car (or on the subway.)

• Had enough of food? Why not do towel cupcakes or mini cocktail shakers? 

Real Showers: A "Chocolat" Chocolate Shower

Wow. This bridal shower that the author of the blog More than an Army Wife threw for her sister is great... and full of ideas for all of us.

The bridal shower was inspired by the hit movie Chocolat. Chocolate was the theme and they carried it out in every way.

The venue was Moon Dancer Vineyards & Winery in Wrightsville, Pa. Look at the photo above to see the gorgeous venue. The winery describes its building as a "French Country Chateau" which really sets the stage for a shower inspired by a movie that is set in a "quiet little village in the French countryside."

The menu was chocolate inspired with items like:

Vegetable Display with Chocolate Yogurt Dip

White Chocolate Ambrosia Salad

Chocolate Soup with Mascarpone Brioche Sandwiches made with honey and cream cheese

Panini with Chocolate and Brie

Chocolate Fondue with Strawberries, Pineapples, Bananas, Pretzels, and Marshmallows

A chocolate candy buffet was a huge hit.

Even the games were chocolate inspired. They played four games: "How Well Do You Know the Bride and Groom?" quiz, "Guess the Candy Bar" taste test, "How Many Kisses Are In the Jar?" guessing game, and a version of "Don't Forget the Lyrics". Of course, the prizes related to chocolate and included a fondue pot, a chocolate making kit, and a chocolate spa set.

The highlight for most showers is the cake and this cake is no exception. Made by House of Claredon the bottom layer was chocolate cake with dalmation mousse filling (vanilla mousse with chocolate chips), the middle layer was french vanilla cake with chocolate mousse and the top layer was chocolate cake with Bailey's Irish Cream mousse. Sounds delicious.

For favors, the guests were lucky enough to get white chocolate covered fudge Oreo cookies with photos of the bride and groom, bride and groom chocolate miniatures, and copies of the movie Chocolat.

To top off the event, in addition to gifts, all of the guests were asked to bring their favorite chocolates for the bride. What a nice treat for the bride.

To see more of this shower, head over to More than an Army Wife.

Bridal Shower Inspiration: Colorful Dessert Bar

Dessert bars are huge right now and can easily take the place of food for the entire bridal shower. That's why we were so excited to see this dessert bar from the talented Kelly Porter.

(All images are copyrighted Porter House Designs.)

A few tips from her beautiful dessert bar:

-Look for creative dessert plates, candy jars, and other knick-knacks at local antique shops, salvation stores, and thrift stores. For most themes, not matching is a good thing. Candy and desserts usually look best when you take different size containers and use them.

-After finding a ruby red cake plate, Kelly placed it on top of one that she already owned to create a delicious cupcake and cookie tower. Interested in creating your own cake stand this way-try this DIY tutorial found here.

-Kelly was inspired by a colorful sarong which she used for a tablecloth. She then added personal touches and, even more color, with scrapbooking paper and ribbon.

To see more of this dessert bar, head to Porter House Designs.