The Bridal Shower

Showered with Love

The wind-ruffled cards, dangling on ribbons from a welcoming archway lush with fragrant roses and viburnum, were inscribed "Bon Fete" and "Amour," but the tears in Veronika Wettstein's eyes said much more. Inside the private club in Newport Beach, California, the bride-to-be would discover an enchanting scene, meticulously designed with a singular purpose - to celebrate everything wonderful that springs from love and marriage.

Event designer Sunny Ravanbach of Irvine-based White Lilac, Inc., and her team of 25 had a mere 3-1/2 hours to transform a drab room into a visually stirring setting for Veronika's bridal shower. Drawing inspiration from Italian designer Emilio Pucci, Ravanbach used both bold and subtle hues, geometric patterns, and a range of textures to make the space romantic, dramatic, and fun. Pink umbrellas anchored to the ceiling rained chains of orchids. Jellybean-filled glasses and jars, spindly cherry-blossom stems, and frosted bowls loaded with lemons added bursts of color. Quirky, custom-printed napkins raised the rhetorical question: "Eat, drink, and . who's Mary?"

Square tables were draped with patterned, custom-dyed, Pucci-esque runners and topped with low, dense monochromatic floral centerpieces. Silk sachets filled with pound cake scented bath salts, and decorated w/lime green feathers and topped off with a fabric rose to compliment the centerpieces. Frosted glassware, pink-tinted champagne glasses, pearly flatware, and buttery yellow china were ordered especially for the event.

"It was very Alice in Wonderland," Veronika says. "It made me giggle because it was very much my taste - very whimsical. In this one room, they created a whole different land. I'm not a princess-y kind of girl, but that day, I felt like a princess."

From drinks to cake, the foods and beverages were also chosen to fit the shower's overall theme. Angular straws protruded jauntily from glasses filled with neon-green sour apple martinis, and a festively frosted almond cake complemented the layered, multi-hued linens and floral dcor. Professional lighting added warm color tones.

After about two hours of "girl time," Veronika's fianc, David Ventura, and other male friends and family members arrived. "It got the party started all over again," Veronika says. There was even a poker-chip cake for David, a professional card player.

The couple plans a Las Vegas elopement, so the shower was elevated to the status of the nuptial "main event" - an opportunity for Veronika and David to toast their forthcoming union with family and friends. "It gave us a chance to say, 'We love you; we're glad to be with you,'" Veronika says.

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