Maine Manus: Under The Tuscan Sun A DIY Flower Bridal Shower

The Bride and Groom-to-be met in Italy during a college study abroad program and fell in love over a semester of pasta fagioli, coffee, and Bolognese. After graduating from separate Universities and enduring a long distance relationship, this adorable couple vacationed in Italy and came back engaged!

An Italian-inspired love affair from the start, the Under The Tuscan Sun theme was an obvious choice for the bridal shower! The rustic Sunflowers on the invitation and a color palette of yellow, orange, green and brown set the tone for the day.

To transform the space they covered the tables with bright yellow linen and then cut toppers for each table out of long 48″ rolls of brown Kraft paper. Handwritten messages on the food tables identified menu items, beverages stations and 4-Steps for making a personalized Mimosa! For a 2 p.m. event, they served Italy-inspired nosh such as Antipasto, Panini, and Mozzarella Tomato Salad. Mini sunflower cupcakes, cream puffs and éclairs (a favorite of the Bride’s Italian Grandmother) were the delectable sweets.

PLANNING TIP: Having a distinct theme makes it easy to generate ideas and the planning process so much more fun!

The flowers were the primary decor element and the family made the arrangements the day prior. They decorated 12 of the 32 oz mason jars (the ones with the narrow necks for easy arranging) with burlap and ribbon. Those were completed weeks before the event and ready to go. Arranging the flowers on the day prior was simple and painless (even though they had never done it before). The flowers arrived 3 days before the event. The family opened the boxes, cut the stems and placed in buckets of water to hydrate. The flowers (which looked weak and sleepy upon arrival) were vibrant and fresh after getting hydration! They put the arrangements together the day prior and because the design was simple it only took about 3 hours. With the extra flowers, they made several larger arrangements for the entryway and the buffets. The extra sunflowers were cut and placed around the room to bring that Tuscan sunshine feeling everywhere the guests looked!

ARRANGING TIP: Choose a vessel with a narrow neck for easy arranging. Stems can be cut to the right length, placed in the vase and a narrow neck helps them stay put.

The Mother of the Bride hand-painted wine glasses and filled them with chocolate covered sunflower seeds as the favors. The family hand-painted banners hung bunting and streamers and had a photo prop to invite guests to post on social media with a hashtag that compiles all tagged photos.

The Bride had requested a display shower so they included a poem on the invitation to explain how it works. Not un-wrapping gifts left more time to enjoy each other’s company. A gift display area was created with stacked boxes (as risers) and then covered with yellow fabric. To acknowledge each gift and let the Bride know who gave what, a small die-cut sunflower tag was added to each gift. A display shower does require a bit of extra coordination as guests arrive but offer the lovely benefit of more time spent together.

The day was vibrant and alive with love and romance. The guests were honored by the lovely party and the Bride was OVER the Tuscan Sun with gratitude! The couple is planning a Tuscany-inspired wedding at Running Hare Vineyard this Fall.

Scroll on for more photos captured by New York Photographer, Caitlin Charney.