Over Labor Day weekend family and friends gathered at my cousin’s home to shower my niece, Mackenzie with a bridal shower. Mackenzie and Alex are getting married in October in Mexico City, Mexico so a Mexican-themed shower seemed apropos.
Even though we served Mexican dishes, we didn’t go all out with Mexican decor. We wanted the shower to still have a slightly elegant and bridal feel in the surroundings. The lemons on the table were a nod to the wedding invitation designed by my niece, and the shower invitation I created with Mackenzie’s art to match the wedding invite.
Mexican Shower Menu
As guests arrived at noon, we served margaritas, champagne margaritas, lemonade, and water as guests mingled and enjoyed chips and homemade guacamole along with mild & spicy salsa all made with fresh garden ingredients.
Gazpacho soup shooters were served “butler style” meaning we walked around with trays of the soup offering them to guests.
Mackenzie and Alex enjoy cooking and entertaining – and they like to serve meals family-style when they gather with their friends to share a meal. I just love this idea and how they share meals with their friends in this way. It is so intimate and cozy. As we planned the shower we decided to serve the meal family style, in the same way Mackenzie likes to serve her guests.
Just before guests were seated we added the food items to the table. After a few words from the mother of the bride, the meal began. It was so fun hearing the chatter and laughter coming from the table as dishes were passed and stories were shared.
We divided the table into three sections. Each section had the same dishes of food. This way the food items wouldn’t need to be passed the table’s length to share. This worked perfectly to keep the food moving around the table quickly and kept the conversation flowing.
The food on the table included all homemade options (except the tortillas). Guests had the option to make themself tacos or a taco salad. The taco meat was a mixture of chorizo and ground beef. Toppings included cheese, fresh tomato, onion, salsas, queso, guacamole and salsas. We also served a grilled Mexican street corn quinoa salad found on my favorite recipe/cooking site, Half-Baked Harvest.
Mexican Theme Dessert
As the guests finished their meal we began clearing dishes and prepared to serve dessert. We opted for a simple dessert of quality vanilla ice cream topped with homemade hot fudge sauce in a clear glass, served on a colorful plate, with a delicious authentic churro from a local churro bakery. (yep, that’s a thing!)
Table Decor
We kept the table settings simple. Silver Dollar Eucalyptus, lemons, limes, and bouquets of Feverfew Daisies, (which is actually Chamomile) lined the center of the table. My cousin purchased black iron candleholders from Mackenzie’s registry that we also used on the table with votive candles interspersed. We used mint sprigs from my cousin’s garden to add to the place cards on the plates.
As contrast to a typical bridal shower, we did not play games and the bride did not open gifts at the shower. Mackenzie lives in Los Angeles so many guests had already directly mailed gifts to her home so she wouldn’t have to fly with them. The few gifts that were brought to the shower were opened later in the day at a casual gathering with some Lou Malnati’s pizza and time with family.
DIY Banquet Table
The long banquet table that sat 20 guests at the shower was made using two 6-foot folding tables, topped with two 3/4″ thick – 4′ x 8′ plywood boards. This makes a very sturdy table and is a great way to extend your seating capacity for events. The simple table covering was an inexpensive paint dropcloth from Home Depot.
The shower for Mackenzie was so fun to plan and execute and see it all unfold. Between my cousin and I we made all the food ourselves, except the Churros and tortillas — we do have our limits!
We will be traveling to Mexico City, Mexico in October for the wedding festivities which will also include some sightseeing, beach sitting, and some R+R! We will be staying in a very historic area in Mexico City. A few friends who have either lived in or visited Mexico City have given us some amazing recommendations on what to see and where to eat. Mexico City is known as the foodie capital of the world, so I know it’s going to be a treat to dine there! If you’d like to follow along on our trip, I will be posting on Instagram as we travel and experience this trip. If you have been, what should we see and do!?
