There is something undeniably romantic and radiant about a garden party bridal shower. Surrounded by florals, soft linens, and thoughtful details, the celebration feels elegant, classic and charming – a beautiful way to honor a bride as she prepares for her big day.
From coordinated invitations and dress suggestions to charming table settings and creative decor, hosting a garden party bridal shower is all about layering meaningful touches that create a cohesive and memorable experience.
After hosting two garden party themed bridal showers for my daughter, I have created a comprehensive guide with everything you need to plan a celebration that feels timeless, feminine and effortlessly lovely.
***DISCLAIMER*** Throughout this post will be links to products I have used or ones similar to them. As an Amazon Associate I earn commission from qualified purchases. This comes at no extra cost to you and I do appreciate your support.
Why choose a garden party as a bridal shower theme?
There are numerous bridal shower ideas and themes to choose from. With so many great options, it can be hard to decide on a suitable theme. I am here to help you with that.
The first thing to do is to consider the bride and ask yourself which theme would best celebrate the bride or be most appropriate for her. When it came to my daughter it was clear because she had picked a garden style theme for her wedding, which she incorporated into ever piece of decor and she then kept that theme for her engagement party.
I know my daughter and she loves cohesion. So it was an easy choice to simply go with the theme she was in love with! I knew she would be thrilled to look back on photos from beginning to end of her wedding year (or in her case year and a half) and have them all blend seamlessly together.
So who else would a garden party themed bridal shower be good for? Here are brides I think this theme would be good for:
- brides like my daughter who are doing a garden party wedding;
- brides who love flowers;
- brides who love the outdoors;
- brides who are very feminine or some may say girly girls;
- brides who love Bridgerton;
- brides who are gardeners;
- brides who want the prettiest natural backdrops;
- brides who love a natural elegant event;
- brides who love color; and
- and so many more!
I guarantee you that having a garden party theme will result in a memorable event that is so picture worthy!
So let’s jump right in to learn everything you need to know about the planning process and the best way to throw an exceptional party.
Pre-planning decisions:
Where to host a garden party bridal shower
The very first step once choosing this theme is to consider where you can host this very important and special event. The natural answer would be that the perfect place to host this type of bridal shower would be in a garden of course.
Do not be discouraged if you do not have a flower garden or appropriate outdoor space because there are other options that could work as well such as:
- in a barn, large she shed or greenhouse;
- a local park;
- on a deck; or
- even in a house or a room rented at a hall.
Rentals of barns and areas in flower farms are readily available and that way you don’t have to plant the flowers or take care of them! 🙂
If you will be having a small gathering, a cute little greenhouse could be where the food is set up and the seating could be out in the garden.
An open air pavilion can also work. This was our open air pavilion set up for Jenna and Scott’s wedding but we could have easily hosted the shower there too.
The two garden party bridal showers I threw were in drastically different locations. One was inside of a home because it was still cold out and the other was in my flower garden.
A garden theme bridal shower does not necessarily need to be hosted in a garden which is great because we can’t always count on the weather or find someone with a garden.
The important specifications you will need to consider when choosing a bridal shower venue are:
- can it hold the number of guests you wish to invite;
- it is in a location that everyone can easily get to;
- is there parking for everyone or transit nearby;
- will they allow you to decorate with your own decorations;
- do they offer catering;
- is there a fridge, stove and power;
- does seating and tables come with the venue or do you need to rent separately;
- does the style of the location work well with a garden party theme (ex: a modern, cold, sterile room may not be your best option because you are going to have to spend a lot of money on decorations);
- and most importantly, is it within your budget?
If you opt for an outdoor location, make sure that you have a plan b in place in case the weather does not cooperate. This could be tents or a covered area that everything can be moved to if necessary.
As you will see in the photo below, a storm rolled in after we had everything set up outdoors. The wind whipped up, knocked over a large glass vase filled with flowers and it began to rain. Thankfully we had a large covered deck to move to and the bridal shower carried on.
You will only be able to host an outdoor bridal shower during the right time of the year when it is warm enough to be outside, but not too warm that your guests and the bride are uncomfortable.
Also it is really important to consider insects. We had my daughter’s shower in June and at that time the mosquitoes are really bad. I was determined to have an outdoor shower in the garden so we had a company come in and spray garlic which kept the mosquitoes away.
My biggest suggestion is to think of all the bad things that can happen and plan for them. Find ways to address the issue to the point of where it can no longer be a problem to spoil the day.
Invitations
Once you have a location and a theme, you should pick a date and then order invitations. I chose to design mine on Zazzle and it was so easy. They had many different beautiful options and I only had to enter the details.
Keeping with the garden party theme, I made sure that the invitation had a garden vibe and was in the color scheme of the wedding.
My suggestions for garden party invitations are ones that have a floral design in a soft watercolor palette and to have your fonts in a classic script – not too formal.
Here is the invitation I selected for Jenna’s bridal shower. Some of the private information has been removed.
Beyond the design of the invitation, there are some important considerations when letting your guests know about the bridal shower such as:
Surprise or not a surprise
Make sure to inform your guests if this is a surprise bridal shower. You certainly don’t want anyone mistakenly letting the bride know.
Location
Obviously you need to let them know the address of the event, but the guests should also know if it is taking place outdoors so that they dress appropriately.
Parking may also be a consideration and you may want to ask them to carpool.
If the location is hard to find, adding a map is an excellent idea to assist your guests.
Dress code
In our situation we thought it would be fun if the guests all dress in a garden party style including:
- floral dresses, blouses, etc;
- garden hats;
- wedge sandals or flats due to it being outdoor in our backyard on grass; or
- soft pastel colors.
Guest list
It is best to consider if this is a family bridal shower or a friends bridal shower or perhaps a combination. If there are going to be more than one bridal shower it might be good to separate the friends from the family to keep it from becoming too big of an event. Also that will lend it to being a group of similarly aged people. When it comes to family, it allows family members to see family that they haven’t seen in a while and also to feel completely comfortable as there won’t be anyone they don’t know.
Some guests who should be invited to every bridal shower are:
- the Mother of the Bride and the Mother of the Groom.
- Step Mothers may also be included in all of the bridal showers if there is a close relationship with the Bride and Groom and no friction with the Mothers.
- Female siblings who may not be in the bridal party but want to be apart of all the excitement could be invited to all of them. This is a good way for them to the meet the rest of the family if they haven’t done so already.
- the wedding party which of course includes the Maid of Honor and Bridesmaids and even Flower Girls. It is really nice to have them in attendance as it is part of their duties as being in the wedding party, but it also allows the other guests to get to know them. Then when it comes to the wedding there will be some connection, and maybe even a little relationship has formed.
- depending on their age and health, Grandmothers may be delighted in being included in all of the pre-wedding festivities.
Mailing or e-mailing the invitations?
Invitations can be printed and mailed to the guests which will require each of their addresses. This will increase your costs for printing costs and postage. The bride should have a full list of everyone’s address and email address.
I found it much easier to send e-invites because I could add all the special details in an email that was sent with the invitation.
RSVP
Be sure to include an email address or telephone number for the guests to RSVP to and a date that you would like them to respond by. This helps you with knowing what seating or other rentals you may need, how many plates, glasses, napkins and cutlery and of course how much food.
As well, put the date that the guests are to reply by in your calender. When that date, passes contact those who have not responded and politely ask if they will be attending.
Gift Registries
List all of the gift registries that the Bride is registered at to assist your guests with gift choices.
In your email, you can also provide information like the Bride’s home decor color scheme and style so that if people can’t find something they like on the gift registry, they could pick something lovely for their new home that will coordinate with their preferred style.
Gift wrapping suggestions
Once again, to keep the garden party theme going, you can also let the guests know that wrapping paper in shades of blue or whatever color palette you are going with, or floral wrapping paper, etc. would be preferred.
This will make the photos of the bridal shower cohesive and it will look like something out of a magazine spread.
If you want to go above and beyond, ask the guests to add bows and ribbon to the gifts because the bridesmaids will be using the ribbons and bows to make an old-fashioned garden style bow hat for the Bride to wear.
You will see in the photo below that my guests were more than happy to include lots of bows for the hat and defintely got into the garden style wrapping theme.
This is a tradition that has been handed down through my family and as a little girl going to the bridal showers this bow hat really stood out to me.
While the Bride is opening gifts, the Maid of Honor and/or Bridesmaids will be taking the ribbons and bows from the gifts and attaching them to a paper plate with a stapler or tape. They will need some long pieces of ribbon to attach to the sides of the plates and which will serve as straps to hold the hat on the Bride’s head.
This garden style bow hat makes for excellent photo opportunities.
Music
Something to consider when planning the bridal shower is wheter you plan on having music playing? If you do something that would be appropriate for a garden party theme would be soft music with garden sounds like birds or water trickling.
Be sure to arrange ahead of time what the music will be playing on and have extension cords if needed. Also, having the playlist ready to go will help you on the day of which will be very busy.
Garden Party Bridal Shower Decor
Let your imagination go wild when considering how to decorate for a garden party bridal shower. Here are some decor pieces I was particularly happy with.
Welcome sign
Set the stage immediately when your guests arrive by including an elegant welcome sign with real or faux flowers set on an artist’s easel right in the garden.
This is another DIY project and I will share a whole tutorial soon. Once it is up, I will provide a link here.
You can make any type of sign to welcome your guests, you could even order one printed on foam core and put it on the easel or hang. Staples or Vista Print are great choices for printing.
Or check on line or at stores like Michaels in their wedding section and you will be able to find lots of different welcome signs. Here is a lovely example of a bridal shower welcome sign available on Amazon, just click here.
Pretty path to the party
Guide your guests to the location of the bridal shower with large shepherd’s hooks holding mason jars with freshly picked flowers from the garden.
The mason jar were wrapped in twine and then hung by twine off of the shepherd’s hooks. A pink bow was added to the front and they were filled with flowers from my garden including daisies, lavender and small roses.
Shopping links:
Statement Decorations
While you will have garden style themed decor spread out around the venue, there should be on main piece of decor to anchor the theme.
I did two very different statement pieces for the two showers I had with this theme.
The first was a white and blue floral backdrop that sat behind the bride. If you would like to learn how to make this backdrop, just click here.
If you would like something pre-made, just click here for an optional floral wall.
Or if you are looking for simply the floral hanging garlands, here is an option.
Urns filled with real of faux flowers will also coordinate nicely with a garden party theme and elevate it to a whole new level of elegance.
The second bridal shower had pink as the theme because most of the flowers in the surrounding garden are pink. I made these huge, bigger than life paper flowers to sit behind the bride and her wedding party.
Making these flowers was a big project, but you can also find ultra large flowers online. Click here for a stunningly gorgeous option. And only $89.99? I wish I had seen that option before I spent so much time making these ones!
Here is a link for a soft pink version.
Both of these statement pieces can be used as a backdrop for photos for all the guests of the bridal shower.
Floral Chandelier
To carry on the garden party theme, a floral chandelier to hang over the drink table is also a gorgeous option.
Once again, I made this piece by using a round styrofoam wreath base, tied long ribbons to it for it to hang from and then pressed faux flowers into the styrofoam. I also hung a few flower heads from thin pearl strands that gently floated above the drinks.
Seating
The beauty of having a garden party is that there is some looseness to it. A garden is free flowing, flowers growing this way and that. Lots of different colors, shapes and sizes. So when it comes to seating you can use all the same types of chairs if you have them or by renting them, or you could use whatever outdoor chairs you have.
I went with a mix of every garden type seating I had. Everything from garden benches, wicker chairs, wood chairs and rattan chairs. It sure made it much more interesting than if I had rented all the same chairs. The common theme was all the chairs and benches were either white, wood, rattan or gold. Then I added a variety of cushions, pillows and throws to make the guests comfortable.
Look at these cute daisy seat cushions I found on Amazon. They are pretty tiny but that worked well for the bride and her wedding party. Click here for the link.
A Unique Way to Display Photos
If you are looking for a unique way to display photos of the bride and/or groom at the bridal shower, consider hanging them on a tree.
I would have loved to have done this for my daughter, but unfortunately we don’t have any large trees.
The photo below was taken at my Mother’s home for a different event, but thought I would share this unique way of sharing photos of the bride growing up or special events in her life, etc.
Food Table Details
There are a number of elements to touch on with regard to the food table so let’s start at the top and work our way down.
Above Table Rod System
One of my most favorite event decor pieces that I am glad I invested in, is this gold above table rod system. The food table is a cramped area and it needs to be dedicated to the food so if we can elevate the decor off of the table, that will free up much needed space.
It is easy to transport because it comes apart in pieces and the top pieces expand so it can fit a variety of table lengths. It is also easy to assemble. Click here for the link.
It is decorated with an actual cathedral length chiffon veil with pearls, a small bouquet of faux pink roses and a gold Miss to Mrs. banner.
Flowers, flowers and more flowers
At a garden party bridal shower you just cannot have too many flowers. I opted for a large vase with beautiful pink flowers, but as you can see the wind blew the flowers around and ruined the arrangement.
I would also suggest urns or pots with flowers, bud vases with single flowers and also flower garlands.
Table Cloths
For this table I used a plain floor length tablecloth to cover the table because while the table is sturdy, it isn’t very pretty.
Then a simple pink runner down the middle. For the Something Blue table, I draped a light blue piece of chiffon over the table. There are photos of that table under the food section.
For the drink table, I used a very pretty floral tablecloth.
Take advantage of every opportunity where you can reintroduce the garden party theme such as table cloths, table runners, etc.
Serving Dishes
For a garden party bridal shower, it is time to bring out the really great serving dishes such as marble or gold tiered trays, cut crystal bowls or platters, wood cutting boards, gold bowls, and wood or porcelain risers to elevate some of the dishes.
Unfortunately in the photo below, the memo was not received to put the veggie platter on a real platter.
Plates, glasses, cutlery & napkins
After going to all the trouble of digging out your best serving dishes, please do not drop the ball now but go the extra mile and add special touches such as:
- good china with floral design;
- cocktail napkins or linen napkins with floral design or in the general color scheme or pastel colors;
- wine/champagne glasses with faux flower on stems; and
- fancy cutlery – gold or rose gold – no white plastic forks.
As you will see in the photo below I used:
- my great grandmother’s china with a floral pattern;
- pink linen napkins;
- a vintage glass bowl for holding the spicy pecans of the salad;
- a gold three tiered shelf to hold the sandwiches; and
- crystal coupe glasses for drinks (as shown above on the drink table).
Being served a meal or snacks on your beloved great grandmother’s china is sure to make your guests feel special and leave them with a lasting impression of a lovely day celebrating the bride to be.
Food Table Option
If you really want to bring the garden party theme to life consider using potting benches or other garden accessories to hold food or drinks.
Below are photos of using garden furniture for other outdoor events I have hosted.
Here I used a baker’s rack or wine rack for holding desserts.
This sweet tin garden and seed tray is perfect for holding a variety of drinks, glasses and napkins. Another option would be tin buckets.
Balloons
When you think of balloons, you may not think that they would be appropriate for a garden party bridal shower but let me show you a way that is perfect!
First use a terra cotta pot as your weight. Then create stems to hold the balloons with greenery string. Then blow up three balloons with helium in colors coordinating with your bridal shower color palette and then attach the greenery string to the balloons at the top and the weighted pot at the bottom. I placed some moss on top of the pot to make it look a little more gardeny!
I also glued some faux blue flowers along the greenery to give it more of a flower feel.
As you will see I used blue and white balloons because it was for the first bridal shower that was indoors. We had to travel 4 hours to get to this location so it was easier to pick things like balloons to transport then huge paper flowers.
Below is a close up of the greenery and blue flowers. Links for both are available by clicking on the word.
Garden Party Menu Ideas
Drinks
Garden inspired drink ideas are one of my favorites because they are visually pleasing and so tasty! Here are a list of ideas you could incorporate into your bridal shower:
- look for drinks that match the color palette of the shower;
- garnish your drinks with edible flowers such as bee balm, calendula, chamomile, cornflower, dianthus, English daisy, Johnny-Jump-Up (viola), lavender, pansy, or violets;
- make rose shaped ice cubes with edible glitter and pour Prosecco or Sprite over them and watch them sparkle (click here for the tutorial);
- freeze roses in large ice cubes to be used in ice bucket to chill wine, champagne and other drinks (click here for the tutorial);
- simple drinks like lemonade, iced tea, sweet tea or regular tea infused with floral flavors are perfect for this theme.
The sparkles are a delight and the flavour is wonderful too. Very refreshing!
Food
When I think of a bridal shower menu for a garden party “fresh from the garden” comes to mind first. Here is a list of menu options, most of which I incorporated into the showers I hosted and were so well received:
- fresh garden salad with a light dressing. Choose a salad that incorporates not only leafy greens but fruit like strawberries;
- fresh fruit cut into heart shapes;
- chocolate dipped strawberries;
- veggie platter;
- tea sandwiches;
- mini quiche;
- a charcuterie board with cheeses, crackers and meats;
- finger foods like appies;
- heart shaped cookies;
- specialty cupcakes with floral icing; and
- heart shaped cake with strawberries.
With this variety of options, everyone (including those with food sensitivies) will be able to find something they love.
You may want to consider having a separate dessert table if the food is starting to get cramped.
Bridal shower games
There are many options for bridal shower games and I sure hope you have guests who enjoy them. I was emphatically told that Jenna’s cousins do not like bridal shower games at all. Talk about putting the pressure on me to either come up with a great game or to skip them all together.
I opted for a sheet of questions all about Jenna to see who knew her best. That did go over well because not only was it fun listening to the guesses, but all the guests learned things they did not know about the bride.
Jenna’s maid-of-honour put together this beautiful crossword with a floral design that tested the guests knowledge of the bride and groom.
The groom, Scott, showed up part way through the bridal shower and he joined right in. There were so many laughs because Scott is a very expressive young man so the girls had a great time listening to his answers and stories.
While not a game, providing recipe cards in advance to the guests to write their favorite recipe on is such a help to a young bride. I designed the cards below also in the color palette and garden them and sent them with the invites. Then at Jenna’s first shower, one of the gifts I got her was a recipe box so she could put the cards in as they were received with the gifts.
Last but definitely not least – Thank you gifts for the guests
There are so many options for party favors that are garden related such as:
- seed packets;
- mini potted herbs;
- floral candles;
- pressed flower book marks;
- flower crowns;
- allowing guests to head out into the garden and cut their own flower bouquet; and
- honey or jam locally made.
While I thought it would be fun to let the guests cut their own flowers, I knew some might not do that and we may have run out of time. So I pre-cut lots of flowers and Jenna’s maid-of-honour put these beautiful little bouquets together in mason jars. The guests were so pleased and everyone took one!
Given how the weather changed it is perfect that we went this route because no one would have wanted to go into the garden in the wind in rain.
For the earlier bridal shower, the party favor I went with was a gourmet chocolate in a pretty white cut out box with a floral design. I wrapped the chocolates in a light blue tissue paper to coordinate with the “something blue” color palette.
Look how pretty they turned out. It is the simple details like the floral design that keep the garden party theme carrying on.
By the way, the guests loved them and they all disappeared quickly!
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Bridal Shower
Click below for a curated storefront filled with everything you could possibly need for your garden party bridal shower, including:
- Invitations
- Signage
- Decor
- Serving dishes
- Thank you gift boxes
In closing…
A garden party bridal shower is more than a theme, it’s an atmosphere. When florals are layered thoughtfully and small details are chosen with care, the celebration becomes something that guests truly remember.
Whether you’re hosting indoors with floral backdrops or outdoors surrounded by blooming gardens or giant paper flowers, the heart of a garden party bridal shower is simple: good wishes and gathering together to celebrate love!
With just a bit of intention and creativity, you can create a day that feels timeless, elegant and filled with joy.
From our family to yours, I hope you all enjoy your special day!
Thank you
Thank you for staying until the end. I appreciate your presence and support so very much!
