Rustic Italian Bridal Shower

This weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a bridal shower for my beautiful niece and her fiance. The wedding will take place this summer in the Italian countryside so a rustic Italian bridal shower seemed very fitting. I kept the details and the menu very simple but added some fun rustic touches to carry the theme.

Wooden initials for the bride and groom added a whimsical touch to a corner of the table …

… and I used food and flowers to add color to the table and then placed everything at varying heights for interest.

I added a little bit of elegance with touches of gold in lacy paper plates, napkins, and straws …

… and used wooden crates in two different sizes as a backdrop and a way to add some elevation to the table.

Rather than serving a punch, I set up a self serve Italian soda bar with five different flavors …

… and wrote instructions on a chalkboard. {To set up your own Italian soda bar, click on the link or photo at the end of this post.}

I made a canvas and wood slice wood burned amore banner for the wall behind the table {I’ll share the tutorial on that later this week} …

… and then stacked food randomly all over the table, placing stacks of crackers on the crates, bunches of grapes on the table, and adding height with tall breadsticks in mason jars and food placed on cake plates.

Fresh sunflowers added a bright, happy touch while still fitting well with the rustic tone.

I served simple food, all of it storebought: a variety of cheeses, sliced summer sausage, different types of olives, salami slices, grapes and strawberries, cookies, miniature red velvet cupcakes, and lots of different crackers and breadsticks.