Ever been to a “Retro Housewives” theme bridal shower? Neither had my family when I pitched the idea. But for this bride, my cousin, it was the perfect fit.

The couple chose an up-north location in Michigan for their ceremony because it meant something special to both sets of grandparents. Since their influence in the celebration was so significant, it felt important to include that in the bridal shower. Luckily, both grandmothers were brides at relatively the same time, in the 1950’s! The stars seemed to align.

Then the planning all started with a food truck! That’s right, we hired out this great local company, Shimmy Shack, to serve their vegan, allergy free food right in driveway. It’s also happens to be one the bride’s favorites because they have several gluten free options. After creating a special menu for the day they served hamburgers, falafel wraps, French and sweet potato fries and (non)milk shakes. The bride was pleasantly surprised and very appreciative to have them there.

For décor, we played off the truck’s branding and leaned into the bride’s favorite color of mint accented with both pale and bold pinks. For an extra retro flare, we chose a more traditional set of dishes and silverware from Pret-a-Party accompanied by sparking silver tumblers found on Amazon . As a bonus we laid out a spread of retro appetizers including a pickle platter and deviled eggs. There was also a traditional fruit punch with champagne on the side. The mother of the bride created a variety of mini icebox pies for dessert.

Strewn about the house were retro antiques, a photo display of family couples and special mementos including aprons from several generations of women in the family. The bride’s grandmother’s original 1950’s style cocktail dress was on display – including the shoes. There was also a Coca-Cola tray with glass bottles and a chalk drawing hand done by the maid of honor.

For entertainment, we played several on-theme games, including a “Price is Right” styles guessing game asking guests to guess the prices of items in the 1950’s! There was also a questionnaire about the happy couple and a Mad Lib style write in where you guessed what a good retro housewife would have said.  I created my own but similar ones can be found on Etsy here. Finally, we finished the day with a “Guess the Bride’s Age” game. My personal favorite was a custom “Pin the Tie on the Hubby” game from Etsy.

Party favors were handmade dish scrubbers in the shape of flowers – how perfect is that for the theme?

Doesn’t seem like there is much time to open presents right? That’s because this modern bride chose to go against the traditional party feature and requested a “display shower” concept. In the invitation, guests were asked to arrive with gifts unwrapped. Upon arrival, their name was written on a decorative post-it note and attached to their gift before they were placed on a display tables. That way guests still got to see what was gifted to the bride and the bride got to relax and socialize with her loved ones. It’s a new but catching on concept that I recommend for any reluctant to be the center of attention bride.

At the end of the day, the bride told me this shower was more than she could have imagined that that’s all I needed to hear to know the Party Planning Mafia did it again.