Blue and White Bridal Shower

I hosted a bridal shower over the weekend (for Keeper's Girl) and wanted to share some pictures.  Megan's colors are blue and white, so I went along with that theme.

The menu. I had a fruit platter, bruschetta, chicken salad sandwiches, lemon-lime bars (recipe from BHG magazine), goat cheese morsels, and Raspberry filled Vanilla cupcakes (recipe below).

 

The drinks and table accents. I made a cocktail called the "Bubbly Bride" in martini pitcher and served it in martini glasses rimmed with blue sugar.  The flowers were hydrangeas I got from Safeway's floral department. The tablecloths were fabric I got cut at the fabric store.

The invitations.  For the shower I used a Crane's printable invitation.  I also included a Bachelorette party invite (which followed the shower) that I made with Crane's cardstock which happened to be the exact color of the shower invite envelope.  The flower is a sticker from Martha Stewart Crafts that I got at Michaels.

The gift table.  I used fabric from the fabric store as table cloths.  The favor bags (on the right) are white bags from Michaels that I stamped with "Thank You" and some flowers.

After I frosted the cupcakes I added a blue artificial flower to each one and displayed them in a Martha Stewart cupcake tree I love. 

The cupcakes were a recipe that I got from a good friend, and they were DELICIOUS.  Since I am not that great a cook, I can only attribute their deliciousness to the recipe.  For those of you who would like to try, here it is:

Raspberry-Filled French Vanilla Cupcakes (it's been altered a couple of times, but I believe the original version is called Bride's Cake in the Cake Mix Doctor.)

Cupcakes

White Cake Mix

1 Stick Butter

1 cup Whole Milk

3 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

Make cupcakes as directed on box, substituting, butter, milk, and eggs for the oil, water and egg white. And add the vanilla. Bake. Cool.

Filling

1 jar of Raspberry Jam (I used Black Raspberry)

Use a piping bag and a filling tip to squeeze the jam into each cupcake.  It should go in about an inch and be squeezed for a couple of seconds. (Or you can just use a knife to make an incision and use a ziplock bag with a tiny whole cut in the corner.)

Frosting

8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

Confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 tsp. Raspberry Extract

The recipe I got from my friend included melted white chocolate and less butter, but the bride doesn't like chocolate (in any of its glorious forms), so I added more butter and raspberry extract.  I was a little nervous about the raspberry extract (how it would taste and adding color to the frosting) but it didn't, and it tasted so yummy with the cream cheese.

Whip butter and cream cheese until combined.  Beat in about 2.5 cups of confectioner's sugar.  Add more if necessary.  Add the extracts.  

Frost the filled cupcakes.  Enjoy!  I made these a day in advance and refrigerated them until a couple hours before the shower.  (They aren't good cold.)