How to Host an Effortless Bridal or Baby Shower at Home

The following post was written in partnership with Tara Berger, Stylist and Founder of One Stylish Party, an entertaining blog and online party boutique featuring designs and inspiration for entertaining in style.

Bridal showers and baby showers are such a wonderful way to celebrate love and new beginnings. While there can be so many decisions and plans to make when preparing for a wedding, or the arrival of a baby, there are definitely ways to simplify hosting a shower without sacrificing style or taste.

I teamed up with Heinen’s to share ideas and inspiration for hosting an effortless bridal or baby shower complete with a delicious, fuss-free menu, refreshing signature mocktails/cocktails, elegant, yet simplistic décor and a DIY bouquet favor bar.

Let’s dig into the details!

Home Venue

In keeping with the effortless vibe, I decided to host this shower at home. A kitchen island can easily be transformed into a food buffet, while a dining room and living room allows guests to mingle, eat and enjoy each other’s company throughout the gathering. Unlike a banquet room or a restaurant where guests are often seated through the entire event, a shower hosted at home provides a less formal setting, which I personally love!

Simple, Elevated Décor

My vision was to create a feminine and elegant shower setting that included French-inspired details, reminiscent of an afternoon tea party in Paris. While the premise for the shower theme was well planned, the execution was simplistic.

For the food buffet, I displayed a calligraphy Brasserie menu sign that helped tie in the French theme. I accented the display with a seafoam green gauze table runner, classic serving dishes and a DIY floral arrangement made with flowers from the Heinen’s Floral Department.

When setting the table, I sourced a neutral lace tablecloth online and layered it with white and gold place settings, gold rimmed cocktail glasses featuring a “Santé” wine tag, another DIY Heinen’s floral arrangement and two cake stands featuring homemade French macarons. You can also find premade macarons in Heinen’s bakery for a simple shortcut.

Signature Cocktails and Mocktails

A signature cocktail is a great way to break the ice and introduce the theme when hosting a party. To tie in the French-inspired shower theme, I decided to serve Kir Royales, a festive cocktail made with sparkling wine and Chambord, a French raspberry liqueur.

For the non-alcoholic signature mocktail, I served Heinen’s organic jarred lemonade, which you can find in the Grocery Aisle.

Effortless Menu

When it came time to plan the menu for the shower, I turned to my local Heinen’s for help executing my elevated afternoon tea party vision. I started by referring to their catering guide, which offers a wide variety of gourmet, prepared items for both small and large crowds.

While there were so many options to choose from, I ultimately selected chicken salad croissants and mini brioche turkey sandwiches as the main entrées for the shower.

I also mixed and matched the catering items with a scalloped fresh fruit tray from the Produce Department, prepared pasta salads and spinach quiches from the Deli Department and mini fruit tarts from the bakery. Heinen’s was a complete one-stop-shop for everything needed to create my effortless tea party menu.

Here was my exact order for pick-up at my local Heinen’s:

• 12 chicken salad sandwiches
• 12 mini brioche turkey sandwiches
• 2 full-size spinach and cheese quiches
• 2 1/2 lbs. prepared Greek pasta salad
• 2 1/2 lbs. honey bowtie pasta salad
• 1 scalloped fruit tray
• 6 mini fruit tarts
• 4 bottles of Chandon prosecco
• 12 jars Heinen’s organic lemonade

DIY Bouquet Bar

One of my favorite details of this effortless shower was the DIY Bouquet Favor Bar! This was honestly so easy to pull together and such as hit with guests! All of the florals featured in the bouquet bar were sourced from the 3 for $18 section of Heinen’s Floral Department. The flower selection is truly endless, but I grabbed garden roses, teacup roses, chrysanthemums, baby’s breath and eucalyptus.

The florals were displayed in clear white cylinder vases and accented with a calligraphy bouquet bar sign and two gold fleur props. For shower favors, guests simply picked the flowers they liked, wrapped them together in pre-cut brown packing paper and tied together their bouquet to take home and enjoy!

Whether you’re hosting a baby or bridal shower, I hope you are inspired by some of the details of this effortless French-themed shower, made possible with the help of my local Heinen’s. If you or a loved one have a shower coming up, keep Heinen’s in mind to help simplify planning your menu! Their delicious catering guide, fresh fruit, unique prepared salads and incredible baked goods are perfect for a shower of any kind.

Now, that’s what I call effortless!

Photography: Brittany Gidley Photography, Styling: Tara Berger of One Stylish Party, Food and Florals: Heinen’s, Floral Styling: Ashley’s Floral, Calligraphy: Brenna Claire Calligraphy