a couple’s shower challenge

Happy Wedding Bridal Party Challenge Wednesday!

Our good friends, Kam and Susan, and their daughter, Savannah {one of my bridesmaids} with boyfriend Andreas, threw Drew and I a wedding couple’s shower at their home last weekend. Now, this is was no ordinary shower that us ladies are used to. There was no tea sipping, opening up measuring spoons or typical Q & A games. It was a friendly, backyard and party atmosphere where you can slip on your cowboy boots, sip on your beverage from a mason jar and be fully entertained by the fun games in store {and the men were invited, too!}

The decor was an old western saloon. Bandanas were tucked under the flowers and placed into cowboy boots on the tables. The drinks were adorable mason jars wrapped with a rustic twine and heart attached to it. They did a fabulous job!

The games that our hosts created for us were without a doubt HILARIOUS! It was called Bridal Party Challenge – the groom and his groomsmen versus the bride and her bridesmaids. It was officially game time.

In the first challenge, Annie and Marco had to roll the large die on the grass until they rolled two 6’s or two 1’s. Unfortunately for the girls, Marco won. Groomsmen: 1  Bridesmaids: 0

The second challenge was a juggling competition. Chad and his girlfriend, Lindsay, were competing. I think Chad may have been a better juggler, but the crowd voted for Lindsay – sorry Chad! Groomsmen: 1  Bridesmaids:1

In the third challenge, Savannah and JT had to place an Oreo cookie on their forehead and skillfully move it into their mouths without using their hands. Savannah wrinkled her cheeks and nose while JT did squats to toss the Oreo in the air.

Savannah came out notorious! Groomsmen: 1  Bridesmaids: 2

The fourth challenge was perfect for Jessica and Jenna, who we all know are ‘girly’ girls and do not typically enjoy competitive activities. Except that they were paired against their husbands 🙂 It was the girls against the boys, each team seated across from their partner. One member of each team had to feed a bowl of whipped cream to their teammate. Whoever finished their bowl first won the round. The trick: everyone was blindfolded 🙂

The boys won by less than a second. Groomsmen: 2  Bridesmaids: 2

The final challenge for the bride and groom involved a paper plate, a flipper and a tortilla. Drew and I had each had a plate tied to the top of our heads and a flipper on one of our feet. We had to flip the tortilla from our flipper to our plate without touching it with our hands. Drew and I are equally competitive, and we were both in it to win it!

Let’s just say, I kicked his butt 🙂

The winning {bride and bridesmaids} team

The ‘A for effort’ {groom and groomsmen} team

Bridal Party Challenge. Unique. Fun. Completely entertaining. It was a perfect shower activity to get people involved and have an absolute blast! Our guests enjoyed watching and our wedding party enjoyed participating. Our Bridal Party Challenge extravagganza was something that we, as well as our guests, will never forget!

Thank you Kam, Susan, Savannah and Andreas for your inspirational creativity for our Tutto Bella brides!

{images via tutto bella}

no ordinary guest book

Every bride wants a unique wedding. And the guest book is no exception. Spruce it up a bit. Surprise your guests. Do something memorable.

See if any of these ideas fit your fancy.

Art Canvas
Getting married at a museum? Enjoy art? Have your guests each add their own “little” piece of artwork that will be a part of the “bigger” picture on a blank canvas, and hang in your home ~ it will be your first artwork as a couple.

Puzzle Board
I am in love with this idea. Each guests picks up a card with a small image on one side and blank on the other, writes a note, and finds its exact spot on a “peg board” {or a board with nails} to “complete the puzzle.” It’s so creative, and what a fun piece of art for your home.

Vintage Skis
I had a good friend who married her sweetie in Steamboat. They had their guests sign vintage skis, which would later be used as decor in their home. Fabulous idea.

Vintage Typewriter
Jenna used our grandparents antique typewriter for her guest book to coincide with her “vintage glamour” wedding. Guests typed a message and she compiled all the pages in an antique book for a memorable keepsake. See the rest of her gorgeous and vintage wedding here.
grandparents vintage typewriter

Photo Book
We were married in Beaver Creek, Colorado and wanted our guest book to reflect the place where we got married, and we wanted it to be something we didn’t store away in a box. So, we asked our guests to sign pages filled with photgraphs of beautiful mountain landscapes taken by renown Colorado photographer, John Fielder. The Mountain Ranges of Colorado book now sits on our coffee table and the sweet words remind us of that special day.

Anniversary Messages
CasaSugar had a great idea to have guests write messages in a book for future anniversaries. You could even assign each table a different anniversary year {1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc} and each year you and your hubby can read your guests words of advice.

Photo Booth
We love the vintage photo booths that produce a photo strip of 5 black and white images within minutes that guests can tape in a scrapbook along with a note…but this takes it a step further and it’s so fun! Set up an actual photo booth with chairs, empty frames and even props {mustaches, hats, glasses, etc} for people to pose.

{images via Flickr, Jubilee Events, Green Wedding Shoes, Style Me Pretty, Betsey Holley Photography and John Fielder}

o is for orange

It’s wedding week here at Tutto Bella. We love weddings and we’re in the midst of wedding season {personally and professionally}, so this week is dedicated to all-things weddings.

Cheers to Happily Ever After…

First, the bold and beautiful ORANGE at weddings. If you’re a citrus gal {or guy}, you can find ways to incorporate it in everything for your wedding day.

Decor
This unique sculptural grid at this reception table displayed orange ‘Milva’ Equadorian roses, bleached Mitsumata branches, white hydrangea and fresh oranges, along with a logo with the couple’s monogram and a horseshoe mounted on tangerine fabric. This is one gorgeous contemporary piece.

Place cards
These are such fun place cards and the color combination of the orange and blue and white stripes is so striking together.

Bouquets
I love these modern bouquets and the different shades of orange in contract with the grey dresses, and the orange fruit is perfectly placed.

Centerpiece
The gorgeous arrangements below greeted guests at The Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colorado for the wedding of Andrea and Robert Callagy. This gorgeous, mountain wedding, coordinated by Meg Stepanek of Gemini Event Planning and photographed by the talented Liz Banfield, was featured in Town and Country Weddings magazine, 2004. 

Floral designer Judy Stevenson used flowers to reflect the hues of the Rockies with blossoms in rich reds, oranges and browns set off by crisp white orchids. I love the eye-catching tall cylinder and coordinating small vase filled with clementines topped with flowers. 

Food & Drink
Incorporate a little orange zest into your cocktails and dessert for that extra special taste of refreshing citrus.

{images via Hostess with the Mostess, Ruffled Blog, Liz Banfield, The Knot, Polyvore }

wood fabulous

Wood has been my inspiration for this week’s Wedding Wednesday. Drew and I recently sent out our own wood invitations, and I wanted to take it one-step further and find more inspiration for the ‘rustic’ bride. Wood is so natural, texturized and elegant at the same time. It can be used throughout your decor, tables, gifts or stationery. I hope you too can find inspiration in these photos.

Wood Stump: a unique way to display family photos

Wood Wagon: adorable for your little flower girl or ring bearer to ride in

Wood Signage: fun details to use for directing guests or chair hangers

Wood Stands: use for your cake, place cards or at the bar

Wood Gift Box: perfect to hold your gifts

Wood Candles: intimate, rustic and romantic all at once

Wood Tables: a bold statement

Wood Stationery: for your invitation, program, place cards, table numbers or dinner menu

(we got our wood invites at Fleur de Lis – shown below)

{images via Tutto Bella, Intricate IcingsStyle Me PrettyAndrew Clark PhotographySimply by Tamra Nicole,
TreeHouseWoodDesigns shop via Etsy, MonkeysOnTheRoof shop via Etsy, BGWoodlandDesigns shop via Etsy, baraggingbags shop via Etsy, & The Design Pocket}

ride your bike to wedding day

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Even though I drove my car to work today the air conditioning on full blast, today is Bike to Work Day in Denver! I give all of you props who rode your bike to work today in this 90 degrees weather… I definitely decided to pass up that opportunity 🙂

And so today, I was inspired to see how bikes can be used as accessories at weddings. These photos are just too fun!

 customized Kate Spade bicycle notes at Fleur de Lis

{images via style me pretty, lily spruce, i plan it right, chic cyclists & fleur de lis}