My little brother is getting married in August. That's right, my LITTLE brother! Hard to believe - feels like it was just yesterday that I was dressing him up in my clothes and high heels (thus the nickname Patricia :o). He is marrying a woman that he truly loves and cares for and that the Dacek family has come to call one of our own. What better way to officially welcome Kim into the fold? By throwing a quaint little farm inspired bridal shower!

The day started off rainy, but right as guests started to arrive the clouds parted and the sun came out leaving an absolutely gorgeous day for us to enjoy. The shower was held at Diana's house in Westwood, MA....the perfect backdrop for a lovely celebration.

First things first. I created the above mood board. I hunted and gathered inspiration from the web and created a power point slide. I know people love Pinterest, so use it if that's what floats your boat! Kim and Pat are getting married on an eco-friendly, sustainable farm called Pigeon Hill in Vermont. It's very important to Kim (and Pat) to live a clean, organic lifestyle and they wanted that to shine through on their big day.

I tried to stay true to that in the menu by offering wild caught Atlantic shrimp, organic, local grilled chicken, and organic fruits and veggies. Most importantly I loaded up on local Vermont cheeses and meats! The flowers followed suit, my Aunt Barb did all of the arrangements and pulled 90% of the flowers from her own garden as well as her neighbor's (white theme - peonies, daisys, and dusty miller) - she did a beyond amazing job (as always)!!

A lot of Kim's gifts were wrapped in reusable tea towels, table clothes, and napkins to save on paper products. Even the plates that we used at the shower were eco-friendly and bio-degradable!

Delicious Vermont homemade iced tea with mint and honey, sangria, and sparkling lemonade! Yum!

A really talented gal with a shop on Etsy made the paper rosettes. She was super easy to work with! Her shop is called The Papier Studio and she helped me customize based on Kim's colors.

We sprinkled the rosettes around the house to tie all of the decorations together. There were also framed pictures of Pat and Kim as a couple everywhere you looked! As well as some very fun pics of Kim throughout her childhood (thanks to Kim's mom, Ellen).

The bride and her flower girl, Addy. So CUTE!

Kim's closest friends....

I couldn't find the perfect napkins, so instead I used bandanas! Affordable and fun! Found them here in every color.... also the vintage teacup candles were made by me! I will post about that project soon.

Teacup candles "how to" will be posted at a later date...so easy to make!

The painted mason jars were a great little project to do with girlfriends over many glasses of wine. Very easy, but added so much texture and color to the overall theme. I went to Home Depot, found a swatch that matched the seafoam green, had the paint expert mix it and boom - I had the right color. I also bought gold spray paint and a creamy, sparkly color too. It transformed them! We used them for flowers, homemade candles (more on that later), silverware, and snacks!

The stairs were based on my mood board. My dad saw about a quarter of a picture and was able to re-create it out of salvaged barn wood! Talented man that dad of ours...

Leave a Smile for the Bride! The polaroid has been busy the last 5 years making an appearance at many weddings, showers, and bachelorettes!

Two of the many tea towels that Kim unwrapped....

Cutest nuggets ever. Triple AAA. Abby, Alice, and Addy. Ridiculous.

The Favors: a special shout-out to Whitney and Diana for doing the best job on embroidering these burlap satchels. You could clearly tell which ones they did vs. which ones I did (mine are at the back of the piles - ha). I put one Crabtree and Evely… — The Favors: a special shout-out to Whitney and Diana for doing the best job on embroidering these burlap satchels. You could clearly tell which ones they did vs. which ones I did (mine are at the back of the piles - ha). I put one Crabtree and Evelyn hand therapy in each with several sprigs of dried lavender. Delightful!

We re-purposed the stairs by placing mini cupcakes on them! They came from a sweet little cupcake place in Old Lyme, CT that my mom discovered. Delish! We also had an entire ice cream sundae bar, but people were too busy eating that to take pics!&nb… — We re-purposed the stairs by placing mini cupcakes on them! They came from a sweet little cupcake place in Old Lyme, CT that my mom discovered. Delish! We also had an entire ice cream sundae bar, but people were too busy eating that to take pics!

The bride and groom with all of their "ladies". Barb - thanks for all of the gorgeous flower arrangements! Mom - thanks for contributing to everything! Auntie Pam, thanks for being there to help set up! Aunt Sue - thanks for your sangria mason jar a… — The bride and groom with all of their "ladies". Barb - thanks for all of the gorgeous flower arrangements! Mom - thanks for contributing to everything! Auntie Pam, thanks for being there to help set up! Aunt Sue - thanks for your sangria mason jar and for helping with everything. We couldn't have done it without you ladies. Pat and Kim are lucky to have your love and support!!

My sister (in law) Tera with Alice and the amazing hostess, Diana (also with Alice).

It was so much fun putting this shower together! A huge thanks goes out to my unofficial sister, Diana, for giving me an amazing canvas to work with, for all of her help doing the prep, and for simply being a member of the family. Love you!

Now the countdown to the wedding begins! August 17th, here we come! Lots of well wishes to the future Mr. and Mrs. (Pat and Kim)...

Love,

Kiki

lillian and alice