The Sex and the City Bridal Shower

My maid of honor suggested the theme of Sex and the City for my wedding shower. After all, what a perfect theme for a New York journalist, who met her future husband on a NYC subway, no?

The Decor:


Our girly, skyline invitations requested that everyone dress as a character from SATC, some copied the flirty outfits others went all out and put birthmarks on their faces or came in sexy lingerie. I went as Carrie, wearing my similar gold Tara necklace that I got when I was 10 (I'm Italian) and I wore a poofy Carrie-like ballerina skirt with Capri leggings underneath, I also styled my hair in waves.


We printed out stickers with each character's face on them saying "I'm a Charlotte" etc. so that the guests could pick and stick on the character that fitted them the most. Charlotte was the most popular followed by Samantha then Carrie, sadly there wasn't one friend dressed as Miranda.


We had an official Sex and the City movie poster on the sliding door so that it was viewable from the outside tent and tables, bright flower, cheap cloth table runners, pink roses and pink, silver and black balloons anchored by sexy pumps and stilettos. After all, "decorations, from the simple to the elaborate, can transform a regular setting into a place of celebration," writes author Jennifer Adams of Wedding Showers. Oh, and of course lots of martini glasses were on display and for cocktails. Plus, Sex and the City DVD was playing on loop inside on the TV for an extra touch as those went in to refresh. 

Cocktails & Cupcakes


For drinks we had a fountain bubbling out pink lemonade and vodka, which looked like Cosmopolitan’s when poured into a martini glass, but not as strong for an afternoon party, although they were lethal in its ability to mask the taste of the alcohol. We also had wine and champagne and placed flower designed Wine-O cards around their necks for added decoration, which I first heard about over at Hostess With The Mostess. For dessert, we of course had Magnolia NY cupcakes and some awesomely designed ones from Sweet in Boston with little edible emblems with shoes and handbags on them added to the frosting.

The Favors


The Bridal Association of America estimates that the average couple spends over $400 on favors for their guests!

"Favors are such an easy thing to do, and they make the shower much more memorable. It's fun to send your guest off with their own memento from the party," writes Adams.

Well, my guests got more than just one memento, but several flirty and fun gifts that matched the overall theme. I probably did more favors for the shower than I am doing for the wedding, but then again the shower was only around 25 people and the wedding is 150.

First item in the favor bags, that my bridesmaids and I stuffed, were Cosmopolitan jelly beans in a cool tin from Beau-coup Wedding Favors, they also sell Bellini, mojito and lemon drop flavors as well. Way better than doing boring mints. Jelly beans are the new mints ;)


Next up was the ZookHooks quality purse hangers, which hang from a table and hold on to your purse so it doesn't touch the dirty ground. I was skeptical of how it would work, but it can hold purses up to 20 pounds, which is good in my case and now I use my hook at work for some added glitz. Anyway, I couldn't wait to give them out to my fashionable friends and they come in a velour pouch.


I loved the vintage designs on the tiny lip balm tins from Pin Up Balm - All Natural Lip Care ($4), each flavor came with a different glamorous retro pinup girl on it. I kept a Voluptuous Vanilla for myself and gave out their assorted flavors randomly in the bags.

Oh we're not done yet, I also had two very SATC favors for my girls from MyWeddingFavors.com -- a mini martini gel candle (I love gel candles and we were going to give away martini glasses as a favor so this accomplished both and more uniquely) and a chic leather stiletto key chain. I love the idea that the candle might appear on their dresser or desk and the key chain will be on their keys always reminding people of the fun day and our friendship. What's especially great about these two gifts is that they come in cute black and white boxes already and with hanging Thank You tags, thus the work was done.



For my bridesmaids:


For my awesome bridesmaids, after I opened my gifts I called all of them up to join me and presented them with a little thank you by giving them personalized bow pads with their names on it and a Thank You note written by me.



Bridal Shower & Bachelorette Party Games:


We did a how well you know your fiance game, personalized bingo boards during the Shower and the Guess the Panties games the night before during the bachelortte party.




33 comments

  1. what a great idea!! i didn't even have a shower. i didn't know what activities to do for a shower, but you came up with a great solution!

    quitecontrary1977@hotmail.com

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  2. What a fun shower! I'm a HUGE SATC fan! I especially love the stiletto keychain.

    Pick me, pick me!

    allyupe@sc.rr.com

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  3. What a great idea having the balloons tied to the high heels!
    april

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  4. Wow, what a fabulous shower! It looks like you all had a blast. And I love your favors! For mine, we gave out wine bottle stoppers that were shaped as little designers purses that would have fit in perfectly with your theme!

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  5. Pity you had no Miranda. She's the best (when not wearing sweat pants). Good luck with everything!

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  6. Oops, forgot to leave the email addres:
    ifonlymyenglishwerebetter@gmail.com

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  7. The attention you paid to details is amazing. I cannot wait to see the wedding!! You are putting plenty of other brides to shame! Everything looked incredible (and like you had a blast!!!)

    fitzalangorman@yahoo.com

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  8. longtime reader, first time commenter...thanks for being up on the web and writing/posting photos and links so frequently.

    sounds like a SUPER FUN party...i love theme parties, and you nailed the heck out of the theme!!!

    c dot gallinati at secoa dot com
    is my work address.

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  9. Sounds like so much fun...I love the party favors chosen.

    So, I thought that I would throw my name into the hat for the gift bag, too :)

    nc_state_gal@yahoo.com

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  10. Wow, that is the funnest idea ever. Creative and fun and yet still tasteful. Hope you had a blast Tara!

    piratemeghan at hotmail.com

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  11. I had SO much fun, T. And I've been talking about your shower ALL WEEK - everyone agrees that the SATC theme was a fantastic one, so major kudos to D for that idea. And I LOVE the goodies in my gift bag. The ZookHook has been a particular point of jealousy among my girlfriends. Looks like I know what I'm getting them for XMas!

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  12. tara sounds like such a great shower, i love all the decorations and everything, so fun!

    bug425@yahoo.com

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  13. Such a cute idea, Tara! Looks like you guys had a blast!!

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  14. Sounds like a blast! Very cute and Inventive what you done. I hope you had a great time at your shower. Your wedding will be even more beautiful! Congrats

    Oh if you want to pick me as the winner, you can do that too lol

    anjulaelmer@yahoo.com

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  15. The cupcakes are adorable! And I love the theme of the shower. I'd love to win the presents :-)

    ihatesomuch@gmail.com

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  16. It looks like you had a great time at your fabulous party! I love the favors, and what a great theme!

    suddenspontaneity@gmail.com

    (I hope this comment doesn't post 4 times...I keep getting errors when submitting!)

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  17. love the theme!

    simplysweetsaz@gmail.com

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  18. Wow! You DID do it in style ...how cool! The cupcakes and Cosmopolitans left me drooling! I missed out Magnolia Bakery on my NYC trip and still wake up at night in cold sweat envisaging myself outside Tiffanys in a long black dress & sunglasses...but with a pink frosted confection instead of a coffee and croissant!

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  19. Aw, wow! That sounds like such a great wedding shower! Great theme!! I like that everyone dressed up, but can't believe no one was Miranda!

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  20. What a fab idea, I love it! I'm such a SATC fan!!! choose me pretty please! divarez@comcast.net

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  21. I LOVE SATC! I love the shower idea! Too fun!
    Can't wait to see the wedding pix :)
    jamierings@columbus.rr.com

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  22. Fabulous gifts for your shower attendees; they are lucky girls!
    I would love to win the gift bag!
    Best wishes.

    mplnews@aol.com

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  23. that's such a unique bridal shower. those gifts were thoughtful and will be used my all of your bridesmaids. I guarantee it. Definitely count me as entered cuz i know I'd use all of them. cajunbluesbaby@yahoo.com

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  24. Tara, love your blog girl, and not ashamed to say that I check it everyday! In fact, every time I visit, it inspires me to keep up with my own blog posts (http://well-lovedtales.blogspot.com/). I love your writing tone and your "chic and sassy" take on life :)...life is what you make it no? Congrats on your beautiful bridal shower and your wonderful online adventure!

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  25. Bridal showers are always much more fun than baby showers...must be the alcohol! Sounds like you guys had an awesome time. It cracks me up how crazy you went on the gifts and decorations. Hostess with the Mostess would be proud!

    Kat - labloggergal.com

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  26. Sounds like such a fun bridal shower! I love SATC everything:)
    But I want to backtrack a minute, you met your future husband on the subway???? I need more details!

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  27. Interesting post, thanks.

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  28. THAT IS SUCH AN AMAZING IDEA!!

    Thank you so much for outlining the entire day!!

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  29. My daughter is having a Sex and the City Bridal Shower. Where would you get a poster of the movie? What games did you play? Loved the favor ideas! Would love to win the gifts for the bridesmaids.My daughter and her roommates have always considered themselves the Sex and the City cres. They each know their identity! I would love to hear more and see some more pictures! Can't wait to get the shower going. It is the weekend after Easter. Need lots of ideas and help!
    Thanks so much!
    nmmaines@gmail.com

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  30. I walked into the reception hall the day of my wedding and I almost cried. The staff was so attentive to me and my guests. Everyone said they felt like royalty.

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