Happy Monday! If you caught the Cake Blog yesterday then you saw Nikki's Bridal Shower cake. Today is the party plan to go with that cake. Today it's all about flowers and color! Lots of color!

 Of course we begin with the invitation. These would be easy to DIY but there are plenty of choices out there like this one from Etsy!

 If you want even more color then how about these from CatchMyParty! They make quite the color statement and set the perfect mood for your colorful shower!

 The easy thing about this plan is that there is no "set" flower for the centerpieces. Think varied color and texture, not a specific flower for your arrangements! This is also economical because you can buy those very colorful supermarket bouquets and save lots of cash! Normally I wouldn't buy those because they only last a day or so..well, your shower is only a few hours so a bouquet that only lasts for two days covers the time needed as well as saves you money.

 If you do have the budget to allow a floral designer to work some magic then what about something fun like these poppies in a grass lined tray? We did something very similar to this for our Alice In Wonderland Bridal Shower. We used the grass lined trays and then filled multi-decorated teapots with colorful flowers.

 Just this past week I was in Michaels Craft Store and saw the kit for these pom poms! How wonderfully colorful for the ceiling of your event space or just grouped over the cake table!

 If you don't have a huge budget and are using someones backyard it doesn't mean you can't make a huge statement with your decor. Using 12x12 scrapbook paper for place mats, layered colored paper plates and layered colored paper napkins, colorful paper cups and painted tin cans to hold the flowers pulls it all together very economically. Top it off with different colored paper lanterns and you have quite the statement of color and texture going on without killing your budget!

 Now onto the food and drink. Lemonaid is a popular drink for Bridal Showers because almost everyone likes it and it's very economical. You can punch up your lemonaid by adding in slices of lemon, orange, lime and dropping a few cherries in there too! If you are setting up a buffet you can set up the glasses that are layered with the fruit and ice so all your guest needs to do is pour the lemonaid and they have a bright, colorful and yummy drink!

 Nikki is a vegetarian so I figured I'd follow that theme for the party. A yogurt bar stocked with all sorts of chopped up fruit will not only be a great brunch option but will be a very colorful one for this color packed shower theme!

 How about a colorful way to serve those veggies? Just cut your bread on the diagonal, scoop out just a bit of the center, fill with dip and stick in your veggie spears. SO yummy and so colorful!

 If you are thinking you can't have "real" food without meat consider the Margherita Pizza option! Pizza dough, even prebaked rounds, topped with some sauce, sliced mozzarella and basil makes for a delicious but filling option for your party without needing any meat on the buffet. 

 Of course there will be cake but what about ice cream too!?! Hollow out lemons and oranges and then fill them with different colors of sherbet and you end up with a cool and colorful treat for your guests!

 Favors don't have to be expensive either. To make these you just print out a few page fulls of your design and then cut them down to 3 inch by 3 inch squares.  Wrap up candy in cellophane or even plastic wrap, tie off the ends with ribbon and then wrap your decorated squares around and use double stick tape to secure it. A couple of hours work and you end up with some really cute favors to place on each plate!

 But if you are less of a "do it yourself" person and more of a "pay someone else" person then how about these very cute little purse favors filled with multi-colored candy! Top off with a place card with the guests name printed on it and you end up with a cute colorful favor for your guests!

Lastly is the cake. This creation is full of the color, texture and whimsy that is featured all throughout this party design. Hours of work goes into a cake like this so it's not a budget friendly design but it makes for a showstopper of a centerpiece for your party. If $7 per serving isn't in your budget then consider having just a few of the multicolored flowers on top or a couple at each tier in order to bring the cost down until it's back inside your budget.

This party was designed for a very cheerful, bright, bubbly, colorful girl. It's full of "happy" everywhere you look. Perfect for a Bridal Shower and the happy Bride to Be!

Next week we have a guest contributor who is all about Baby Showers! See you then!

Cat