HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS
Bridal Shower Invite at Paper Style
Celebrate the sophisticated bride-to-be with a feminine, French-themed shower based on a honeymoon in France. Think pink, white and black for a "can-can" motif in your decor. Satisfy guests' appetite upon arrival with a Caramelized Apple Brie en Crute paired with Pouilly-Fuisse' wine. Lest we forget the fun and games, or juex francais!
Bridal shower games are always expected. I love them, but know many people who dread group participation activities at parties. To please everyone, I mix it up with an "ice-breaker" game, an "independent activity", and one "all-play" activity to keep the shower game traditionalists in good spirits.
It doesn't get much better than French food. Since most showers are luncheon events, go with a light Bistro menu, offering food such as a Nicoise salad and petit fours for dessert. Entice guests when they arrive with a glass of Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé, a French Chardonnay, and my winning recipe for a Caramelized Apple Brie en Cruit.
This French dish is magnifique for a bridal shower.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, diced
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 (8- oz. ) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 (2.2 lb ) wheel of Brie
- 1 (17.3 oz. ) package puff pastry dough, room temperature
- 1 egg, beaten
Steps
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples and sauté, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, about 5 - 8 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook for 5 minutes more until sugar caramelizes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
- Place cream cheese in a large bowl. Add apple mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Remove plastic wrapping and labels from Brie. Spread apple cheese mixture on top of one side of the Brie, directly on to thick white skin. Form cheese mixture into flattened dome shape.
- Lay a sheet of puff pastry on prepared baking sheet. Place Brie in center of pastry. Wrap pastry up along sides of Brie. Center another sheet of puff pastry over cream cheese dome. Fold pastry down along the sides and under the Brie. Brie must be completely enveloped in pastry or cheese may leak. Seal any open edges. Brush entire surface of pastry with beaten egg to give pastry golden brown color. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.
- Remove Brie from oven and place baking sheet on a flat surface. If the pastry breaks and cheese is melting out, a piece of bread on the leak should stop it.
- Cut a 5-inch diameter circle in top center of pastry. Remove the pastry circle and gently mix cream cheese with Brie. Be sure to run spoon deep down to completely combine Brie and cream cheese, but be careful not to break the pastry shell. If the cheese is not thoroughly melted, place Brie back in oven for 5 minutes with a watchful eye until cheese is melted.
- Carefully remove Brie to a silver metal tray using two spatulas. Or support Brie with the foil and lift Brie off baking sheet and on to your serving tray. Tear away foil from side of Brie for a cleaner presentation. Place metal tray with Brie on top of a round chafing dish. If chafing dish isn’t available, place Brie on a large round platter. Place a spoon in Brie opening and serve immediately with thin slices of a French baguette or crackers.
Celebrate With More Fun Bridal Shower Ideas:
Bridal Shower
It's a bridal shower - make it girly from the décor to the invitations.
Paper Style has an incredible selection of stationary. It's easy to order online, and you can personalize the cards or leave them blank to write in your own party information. For this French bridal shower, my pick would be the chic bride pulling up her long white glove on a pink background (pictured).
Paper Style has an incredible selection of stationary. It's easy to order online, and you can personalize the cards or leave them blank to write in your own party information. For this French bridal shower, my pick would be the chic bride pulling up her long white glove on a pink background (pictured).
Bring the Moulin Rouge into your decor with pink accents, against black and white stripes, reminiscent of "can-can" girl costumes.
Pink Roses in a Black and White Striped Hatbox
Purchase a round hatbox, about 4 inches high with an 8-inch diameter from a craft store.
Cover the outside of the box with black and white striped fabric or paper, so the stripes are vertical around the box. Set a bouquet of pink roses in the box. Keep the roses fresh with individual flower picks full of water on each stem.
Make a few of these centerpieces for the dining tables and the buffet.
Garter Napkin Ties
Frilly pink garters around napkins rolled with silverware will make everyone positively giddy. Place these napkins in a neat little row on the buffet.
Black & White Floral Plates
I must confess I've always rented China plates for my events until recently. The surge of cool, high-quality, designer paper plates have rocked my party world!
Check out Inviting Company's collection of paper products and tableware. They have a Scroll Pink line of plates and napkins that would be so cute for this bridal shower. The Caspari brand is also excellent. Their elegant line of square, dinner plates with a pink border and white center is available at Plum Party.
Pink Roses in a Black and White Striped Hatbox
Purchase a round hatbox, about 4 inches high with an 8-inch diameter from a craft store.
Cover the outside of the box with black and white striped fabric or paper, so the stripes are vertical around the box. Set a bouquet of pink roses in the box. Keep the roses fresh with individual flower picks full of water on each stem.
Make a few of these centerpieces for the dining tables and the buffet.
Garter Napkin Ties
Frilly pink garters around napkins rolled with silverware will make everyone positively giddy. Place these napkins in a neat little row on the buffet.
Black & White Floral Plates
I must confess I've always rented China plates for my events until recently. The surge of cool, high-quality, designer paper plates have rocked my party world!
Check out Inviting Company's collection of paper products and tableware. They have a Scroll Pink line of plates and napkins that would be so cute for this bridal shower. The Caspari brand is also excellent. Their elegant line of square, dinner plates with a pink border and white center is available at Plum Party.
Teach your friends some words that are fantastique!
Steps
- As an "ice breaker," write or type French phrases on strips of paper and tape them to the walls around the party space for all to translate. Or, translate your own phrases online. You can make it formal with numbered phrases and an answer sheet, or simply allow guests to discover them. For example, "Je t'aime" translates to "I love you." Put a twist on the same idea by posting pictures of famous French landmarks around the room, such as the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre.
This activity is perfect for those who don't want to participate in traditional bridal shower games.
Steps
- For an "independent activity," pick up a blank page journal with a book cover that fits your shower theme. Guests write advice in the book, sentimental, sweet, or silly, to be read at some point during the shower.
This game takes dress-up to a whole new level!
Steps
- My favorite "all play" game is to split the party up into 4 teams and have them fashion bridal gowns out of toilet tissue. One girl is the "Model Bride" and the other teammates are designers. Give it a French spin, by playing "can-can" music during the 5-minute time period that they are fashioning the paper gown. It's always so ridiculous, and always so fun. Those who don't want to play can be the judges.
Fill little hatboxes with vanity items like nail polish, bath salts,
lip-gloss, and the like, as party favors.
Small, paper-mache' hatboxes (2-inches high by 2-inches in diameter) are available at most Michaels Arts & Crafts stores. Load the box up with goodies, wrap them in pretty fabric, and finish it off with a pink bow.
Small, paper-mache' hatboxes (2-inches high by 2-inches in diameter) are available at most Michaels Arts & Crafts stores. Load the box up with goodies, wrap them in pretty fabric, and finish it off with a pink bow.
Bachelorette Party
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Ideas
Menu Ideas: Stuffed
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Foods
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Wedding Shower
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