My sweet sister, Allie, is getting married next summer! We thought we’d kick of the celebrations with an early bridal shower to celebrate. My amazing aunts hosted the shower at my mom’s house. One aunt put on a show-stopping, mouth watering meal, and the other was in charge of decorations. Guess who jumped at the opportunity to help with decorations…. I love love love all things weddings and showers, and I rarely say no to a themed party.
Allie and her fiance, Derek, love sailing. They took their engagement pictures on my dad’s sailboat, and are getting married by the water with a subtle nautical theme. We knew that with a shower, we could have some fun with more nautical-inspired decorations and get away with it! Here are 9 DIY ideas for a nautical themed wedding shower (or wedding!)
*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*
1. Theme the InvitationÂ
Set the stage for the party by customizing your invitation. Personally, I love Evite.com*! First, it’s super user-friendly – my mom can do it. Second, they have SO. MANY. invitations to chose from! From bridal showers, birthday parties and every themed party in-between* (once, my sister Mandy sent me an e-vite for Shark week… just to remind me it was on!) Third, I love that it saves the trees! I love getting cards and invitations in the mail, but hate throwing them away. (Use my link to sign up to E-vite!)
Okay, so we chose a pink and navy themed invitation, and customized it with one of their sailing engagement pictures! I knocked this off the to-do list over a phone call with my aunt. Bonus – E-vite allows two people to be logged in under the same account, so she could see what I was designing.
2. Lantern Inspired Table Centerpieces
First, we rented navy table cloths with a pink runner to really be the foundation for the centerpieces and set the theme.
For the dining table centerpieces, we used white lanterns, with shiny, blush pink votives as a mini vase to hold scatter-roses. Then we scattered fake rose petals*Â (not the exact ones I used, but these look similar) on the base of the lantern to give it a romantic feel.
We bought small navy picture frames from Hobby Lobby to showcase all the amazing engagement photos, and placed them back-to-back so no one was looking at a back of a frame. Plus, the more personal details the better, in my opinion!
3. Tiny Anchor DetailsÂ
We sprinkled this really cute pink and navy anchor confetti *Â on the dining tables and the bar – not too much – just enough to really tie it together.
4. Nautical Ribbon Accents
We tied the napkins in anchor print or blue and white striped ribbon for the finishing touch to the dining tables. It’s all the in the details, people.
5. Metallic Gold Anchor Accents
One way to spruce up a simple glass vases is with gold details. We bought these 3″ wooden anchors from Amazon, and spray painted them metallic gold with this Krylon spray paint.
We tried to hot-glue them on but they didn’t want to stick. We needed up using small, velcro buttons to secure the anchor to the glass vase. Add some flowers, or use to hold utensils!
6. A Tall Lantern with a Personal TouchÂ
My aunt found this beautiful tall lantern to gift to my sister. We stacked two navy candles on top of each other to get it to the height we wanted, and used a ribbon to cover up the ‘seam’. I bought a monogram sticker from Amazon to personalize the lantern. My sister, aunt, and I tried this several different ways… in the end though we loved how it turned out!
Pro tip: Monogram stickers are definitely popular right now and you can find them all over Etsy. I needed this one in a hurry (I forgot to order it! Yikes!) so I bought through Amazon* and had it in about 5 days! Whew!
7. A Sailing Flag Banner
One of my other very creative aunts made this flag banner with navy and pink felt. She attached them to a ribbon, and it hung as a beautiful centerpiece to the room!
Sailing flags add such a cool touch, too, because each flag stands for a letter or can represent a message. My aunt gave a sweet message about communication in marriage, or you could also spell the bride’s further last name.
8. A Warm Nautical EntryÂ
Take that awesome gold metallic spray paint* and spray paint large pumpkins gold for the front door! Then I used this white paint*, painted a white anchor and “A+D” (first letters of their names) on each pumpkin to add that personal touch. We paired it with lanterns, mums, and of course a “bride-to-be” sign! Not having your shower in the fall? Spray paint cheap clay pots for flowers!
9. Anchor’s Away Thank-you Treat
We used these pretty pink and navy  nautical themed round stickers* for the bottom of Kisses chocolate candy, and Life-saver candies. My aunt hand-dipped pretzel chocolate rods, and it was all placed in a baggie for a thank you at the door.
Allie’s shower was awesome! We heard many of her guests rave about all the personal decorations…. and of course the food! Every bride deserves to have a bridal shower that is truly “her” and a reflection of her family and friends love. I think we accomplished that. Allie’s kick off to wedding celebrations was a success! I had just as much fun planning and making the decorations with my family.
Planning a shower? Know a nautical bride? Share away! Also make sure to check out this post for the perfect DIY wedding gift.
Happy celebrating,Â
*This post contains affiliate links. That means, I may receive a commission for some of the links in this post- at no cost to you. See our Disclaimer page for details*
Wow I was there and I continue to be impressed. It really was an extraordinary day! Thanks for the recap.