Have you ever been to a co-ed bridal shower? I hadn’t … until Saturday, and we were the guests of honor!

It was incredibly sweet of the parents of our best man (and pseudo parents to Nick since he was in fifth grade) to host the shower in northern Virginia. We traveled from Pennsylvania with my parents, my brother, my sister, and my sister’s boyfriend. Three of our six bridesmaids and four of our seven groomsmen made it to the party, as well as several parents of friends. (We really missed Nick’s parents who weren’t able to make the trip from California!)

We had such a nice afternoon relaxing on the deck and drinking peach wine and summer brews with some of our favorite people. We enjoyed an assortment of dips and a cheese spread in the shape of a wedding cake. There were no entertaining bridal shower games (I don’t think the boys would have survived), but there were some memorable moments during the opening of the gifts.

I got baking utensils (and flour) and Nick got grilling tools (and charcoal) from my brother.

A request from my sister to bake every cupcake in the new Martha Stewart book.

We got a handmade quilt for two.

Then there was the hysterical love poem written by two of our groomsmen that included the lines: “Romeo and Juliet have nothing on you,” and “Roses are red, violets are blue, and other nice stuff like that.” They even cut out paper hearts. We surely wouldn’t have received that during a traditional bridal shower!

I don’t think we stopped smiling for even one second that day. Especially when we opened the card from my parents that said, “Can’t wait to see what you ‘mix’ up as Mr. and Mrs.!” My sister captured our expressions as we peeled back the wrapping paper to reveal our red KitchenAid stand mixer!

My parents had previously suggested we add some “manly” items to our registry, but I think our faces show our shared excitement over kitchen appliances!

There were several traditions that struck Nick as odd, such as the bow bouquet. But he played along and posed with it anyway!

After the shower the wedding party changed into comfortable clothes and went to Top Golf for the rest of the evening. (Hopefully the boys weren’t too embarrassed that the bride-to-be beat them!)

This was the first official event in a month full of wedding activities. Nick’s bachelor party is this weekend, and my bridal shower/bachelorette party is at the end of the month. With just 80 days to go, things are starting to feel a bit more real!

What are your favorite ideas for a non-traditional bridal shower?