Hello friends!

Last week my matron of honor and my family pulled off an amazing surprise bridal shower for me! I knew there was going to be a shower, but I had no idea it was going to be a picnic in the woods. They secretly cleared a path into the forest and filled it with beautifully decorated tables and heaps of flowers. I had a wonderful time being with my friends and enjoying all the loveliness my family worked so hard to create. ❤

I wanted to share party inspiration and pictures with you guys, even though I didn’t take any of them. Credit to my Aunt Andrea and my friend Erin who used Aria’s camera to take pictures that Aria then edited. Read on for an exciting announcement ( 😉 ), cottagecore aesthetics, stunning bouquets, a “grazing table,” cute fairy gardens, and a happy Allison.

Here’s Aria getting everything set up before I came. Megan helped a ton with the planning and setting up, but Aria was the one behind it all. Thank you so much, my friend. 🙂

Look at that amazing table full of food! And please appreciate the doughnut pun Aria stole from Pinterest and Megan cut out with her Cricut. 😀

Mom made these doughnuts, helped by Megan and maybe Aria. (I was shooed out of the house that morning so I’m not sure.) We’re going to make more purple doughnuts like these for the wedding instead of feeding the guests wedding cake. Yum!

One of the most impressive parts of the party to me was this incredibly beautiful (and delicious) charcuterie spread. Aria says it’s called a “grazing table,” but that name sounds too funny to be spoken with a straight face, hehe. Presiding over the grazing was this adorable hedgehog cheeseball that was almost too cute to eat!

Here’s a picture of me being almost knocked off-balance by everything when I came down to the woods. :’D It was so so beautiful! The pictures don’t do it justice. (Since someone will probably ask, my dress is from Baltic Born.)

You know what else was exciting? CHESSIE AND LOGAN ARE ENGAGED! AHHHHHH! They got engaged a little while ago and are going to get married in September! I am thrilled for them, and so was my family when they heard. 😀 If you don’t know who Chessie and Logan are yet, check out this photoshoot I did of them here.

This is one of my favorite bouquet pictures, taken by Aunt Andrea. Mom went all-out for these bouquets and oh my goodness, they were breathtaking.

I mean… is this not gorgeous?! You guys know how much I love flowers, and of course my friends and family knew too. I felt very loved. 🙂

These dark purple blooms were some of the most striking, bold, and beautiful tulips I’ve ever seen. Mom still has more growing in the garden!

They even used stumps for some of the chairs! And lace tablecloths! Isn’t it charming? I sat in a folding chair since I didn’t want to catch my lace dress on the wood, but unfortunately the ground was so soft and muddy that the chair sank into the ground and I had to remove myself from the chair without moving the chair. :’D It made me laugh.

The activity for the shower was making these super cute terrariums or fairy gardens. I used to love making fairy gardens when I was a kid, and kinda still do, so that was a really sweet idea.

Here’s the example terrarium Megan made. Delightful!

They set up a table with loads of moss, tiny wood slices, pebbles, and the most adorable mushroom figurines.

I think the mushrooms were my favorite part. They make me so happy!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the activity and it was so fun seeing everyone’s creations at the end. 10/10 recommend. 🙂

Now for some guest pictures. Here’s my mom, Sully’s mom, and then Aria concentrating on writing down my gifts. XD

HAHA my expression. I didn’t want to smile with my mouth full, so I… I don’t know what that is. It’s making me laugh out loud while I’m writing these. :’D

The photographer’s corner. Erin (on the left) took some of these pictures, and Aunt Andrea (who took this picture) took the others. Aria let Erin borrow her camera.

(I love how happy Gram is in this picture.) Although it was a beautiful picnic, it was QUITE chilly, oh dear. Megan brought down a basket of blankets so anyone who needed some extra warmth could wear one. For some reason Chessie thought the blanket made me look like a queen. :’D

A series of me opening gifts. Bridal showers are like birthday parties where all the gifts are actually useful because it’s mostly stuff for your house! There were so many aesthetically-wrapped gifts that I almost didn’t want to destroy the hard work! But I did. Not to worry.

Megan was my assistant for some of the big gifts, once I discovered how difficult it was to unwrap large boxes while you’re sitting in an armchair.

Aria and my friend Sam so kindly offered to clean up all the mess I’d made while I went and started on the terrariums. My goodness, I love my friends. 🙂 I felt so honored that everyone came out to help me celebrate and spent all that time decorating and making it beautiful. ❤ Ooh, speaking of celebrating… Sam is getting married in one week and I am thrilled to be able to help her celebrate her wedding by being her photographer! I will likely have some wedding photos to share with you guys soon. But that’s for another day.

I hope you enjoyed that little peek into my woodland shower! A huge thank you once again to my friends, family, and church family who have been so generous. I hope I can love others as well as you have loved me. ❤

What was your favorite part of the decorations? Would you have an outdoor bridal shower?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***