how to host an italian bridal shower

A friend of mine is getting married next month. She’s marrying an Italian. I’m Italian. So when it came time to host a bridal shower for her, my mind immediately latched on to that similarity (between her fiance and myself), and here we are.

This is what I did:

1. I used red, white, and green as much as possible. I got white roses and red carnations, and smattered them throughout the room. My co-hostess made little cards with Italian proverbs on them, hand-decorated with pen-and-ink, full-color drawings of Italian things.
2. I stuck Italian signs all over the place to help people know what to do. “Mangiare!” (let’s eat) on the food table, “Regali” (gifts) on the gift table, “Prendere uno, por favore” (please take one) on the favor table, and “Benvenuti, amici!” on the front door. Some of them were propped up in bowls of dry pasta.
3. With a nod to my sister and mother, who used this idea at my sister’s sixteenth birthday party, I put drippy candles in wine bottles and kept them burning in corners of the room. The wax melted down the sides of the bottle, giving it a really cool, bistro effect.
4. I put votive candles on all surfaces, everywhere.
5. I procured cannoli, and my co-hostess made a gorgeous tiramisu – classic Italian desserts.
6. My sister made a fun Italian playlist to keep the party going.
7. I made an Italian champagne cocktail with pomegranate juice and Prosecco.
8. I gave out Ghirardelli hot chocolate mix as party favors (Italian company!).

I’m sure all of these things could be easily adapted to any country or culture, but I’ll say that Italian is by far the simplest for me. This is just the way my brain thinks.

Today, I’m heaving a big sigh of relief that it’s over – basically, for the three weddings coming up in the near future for my husband and I, my responsibilities are almost completely taken care of. Now to get out of that project from my brother-in-law’s fiancee…