For Marisa’s bridal shower, I wanted to take advantage of Savannah’s beauty. Forsyth Park, famous for its gorgeous moss-draped oaks and iconic fountain, seemed like the perfect location. I also liked the idea of a picnic because it would be casual and we wouldn’t be locked into a tight schedule with a restaurant reservation or feel rushed through a sit-down lunch (with a bill at the end). I think hosting a shower at someone’s house is always the best option because it’s more personal, but for a destination weekend this seemed like a great solution for creating a similar atmosphere. I asked girls who were driving up to bring camping chairs, blankets and folding tables. I had trouble finding a map of Forsyth Park to stake out a spot beforehand, but after a quick drive around the perimeter we settled somewhere near the middle of the park. We had views of the fountain and were under the trees, just like I wanted. The north park of the park has open fields and is less picturesque.

Theme: For a shower theme, we came up with “Stock the Closet.” Lingerie is a common theme, but I knew that wouldn’t fit Marisa’s personality. I’ve also seen showers focused on home goods, where each guest is assigned a room and asked to bring a gift that would go in that room. But since so many brides register for home goods, I didn’t want to do that either. I wanted the presents to focus on Marisa since the day was for her and I thought what girl doesn’t love clothes, jewelry, makeup and accessories? I was so impressed with scope of the gifts! There were tons of sundresses, earrings, and even a subscription to a site called Birchbox that sends monthly makeup samples so you can try new products.

I also decided that I wanted to have some kind of group gift for Marisa. I thought it would be a nice way to bring all the girls together. The idea I decided on was a friendship scrapbook. I really thought the weekend should be focused on friendship and girls. I asked each of the guests to buy a piece (or more) of 12×12 paper and put together a scrapbook page about their friendship with Marisa. I encouraged them to get creative and use as many or as few photos as they wanted. Some added captions or wrote silly poems. I bought an album and we just slid all the pages in before presenting it to Marisa. Not only was it an awesome remembrance of the weekend, but it was really fun for us to pass around at the shower. Not all the girls knew one another, so we were able to see pictures of Marisa from different eras, from middle school dances to recent nights out.

Refreshments: For food, I did a ton of research on catering in Savannah and settled on Thrive, A Carryout Cafe. Emma at Thrive was able to design a menu that fit my budget and also accommodated my requests for both gluten-free and vegetarian options. Thrive sources their ingredients locally and the lunch was delicious. Our hands-down favorite was the pesto pasta salad, which we all literally dug into with our hands later after a long night out on River Street.