fresh squeezed love
It’s sunny and beautiful in San Diego today and the weather is making me want to post about something bright – so I thought I’d share a few images with you from an orange-citrus themed bridal shower I recently hosted for my friend Sarah – featuring the bride-to-be’s favorite color.
For some reason the color orange seems to be overlooked a lot in the baby and bridal shower arena – but if you’re looking for something new – a palette of oranges and yellows provides a very cheery atmosphere! Here are a few ways I incorporated the colors into this particular theme:
1. Citrus Vase: You’ll need 2 clear glass vases – one of which is about 1/2″ smaller than the other in diameter. Place the smaller vase inside the larger one, then slice a bunch of oranges into circular disks, and drop them in the gap formed between the edges of the 2 vases. Finally, insert a tight flower bunch into the inside vase. Voila!
2. Citrus Centerpiece – Simply fill a large white bowl with a bunch of fresh oranges and tuck white flowers into the gaps between the oranges for embellishment. To add more height, turn a white bowl upside-down and set the larger bowl on top of it (so it becomes almost like a cake-stand). The white bowls seen in this image are both from IKEA – for less than $5 each.
3. Orange Tabletop – This was quite a large shower, so shelling out the dough for 30 orange placemats wasn’t exactly in the budget. Instead, I bought a package of orange dinner-sized paper napkins from Party City, opened them up and folded one side down part way to make them standard placemat-size. Place the napkin fold-side down on the table.
4. Mod Napkin “Rings” – For a twist on the standard napkin ring – and a fun, affordable option, simply roll up paper napkins and tie patterned ribbon around them to secure.
5. Mimosas, of course! We toasted to the bride-to-be with the classic champagne/orange juice cocktail (fresh-squeezed is best!) – and embellished the glasses with an orange wedge. Since I like to entertain often, I sprung for actual glasses that I could use again later ($10/4 at target) – but you can also get clear plastic champagne glasses at most party supply stores.
Hope you find some inspiration for your next party here!
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What a great thee. So cheerful and unexpected! I am sure it was a big hit and that she loved it!
fabulous post! you have me looking at the color orange in a completely different light. Oh and YES…mimosa’s are a def. “must have.” ;)
I love the idea of tucking the small white flowers into the citrus centerpiece. That really seems to give it a finishing touch.
It all looks so cheery and bright! Who knew sweet oranges could double as beautiful decorations too, they look so pretty in the vase!
Del Mar Lynn says :)
I’m hositng a race track party and the silks (jockey’s jersey colors) are orange so this is perfect!! Any idea how I can incorporate some chocolate tones into the scheme? Maybe coffe beans or some wood? Thank you!
Hi Lynn –
Great! I’m so glad this helps! I do have some ideas for you but am leaving town right now for the weekend – so check back early next week!
oooooh girl, i LOVE this one! everything is gorgeous! i love the orange slice vase! so simple yet so elegant =)
thank you for sharing this. it is lovely, we’re having a brunch for a friend’s 60th bday, and I will be using some of your ideas. i am in desperate need of three straight sided white nesting bowls for a centerpiece. something i saw in better home and gardens recently. they gave the resource as a gift shop in savanah, ga called at home, but nobody ever answers the phone, not even an answering machine. i’m new to blogs and the web, can you point me somewhere????
Hi justamom –
I’m sorry about the difficulty you’re having finding what you need! I can empathize with your frustration. I ran a search at a bunch of great home/kitchen goods websites and unfortunately all of the white nesting bowls are coming up round – rather than straight-edged. Is there a particular reason you need them to have straight edges? Is that something you can work around? If you can give me more detail about what you’re trying to create with the bowls, I can probably offer you some suggestions.
Also – you might try searching ebay – sometimes you find things there unexpectedly. and last but not least, try doing a google.com search for “white nesting bowls” “white mixing bowls” and “square nesting bowls” – they’re definitely your best bet for searching the web!
What a beautiful color for a bridal shower! I love these ideas!
I love this fresh take on a party theme! These ideas would look just as great using lemons or even limes. Thanks for the great blog!
yes – lemons and limes work great too – and they can be used separately or as a combo for a lemon-lime palette
Hi Del Mar Lynn –
I apologize for the delay in response – it’s been a truly hectic week! Anyways, as for introducing chocolate/brown tones into your party theme – you can start by incorporating them through your basic party elements – such and the decorative ribbon used to tie the napkins, votive candles, table runners, etc. You can also wrap a thick band of chocolate ribbon around the citrus vases (see the “j+k…a very mod engagement” post for an example). A thick band of chocolate ribbon accented by thinner bands of solid white ribbon at the top and bottom of the chocolate band would look great.
I like your coffee beans idea too – at this shower I actually had additional clear accent vases filled with white opaque filler gems (as used in candle and floral arrangements) – and you could do the same with the coffee beans. You could also fill a smaller clear vase by layering opaque orange and brown jelly bellies in thick layers to create a “striped” look.
And last but not least, don’t forget the option of using ACTUAL chocolate as a decorative element! Chocolate horseshoes and horse-shaped silhouettes would look great as an embellishment at each place setting or arranged on a tray. (you can do a web search for “equestrian chocolates” or “equestrian party supplies” to find these.)
Good luck with the party! Please let us know how it turns out :)