Nothing spells LOVE like B-B-Q

Since about mid-May, I've had the pleasure of putting many "Pins" to use as my sister-in-law and I planned a couples BBQ wedding shower for her brother/my brother-in-law and our new (almost) sister! The trickiest part of this whole deal was finding adorable things on Pinterest and attempting to  find sneaky ways to get them to one another to read/check-out-- without the Bride seeing what we were up to!

Anyway, here's how things ended up. It was a great evening with friends and family. And, as much as I wanted to pray against rain, I took one for the farmers and told the Lord we could squeeze the tables inside if need be. However, as you all know, that was not an issue... and we continue to wait for the rain.

As our guests arrived, we had each couple fill out a hilarious Mad-libs pertaining to wedding advice for the couple. They were read aloud as the couple-of-honor opened their gifts.

Apparently a few shower guests thought these were real "sliders." They're actually a yellow cupcake cut in half, with half of a chocolate cupcake stacked inside as the "burger." A little yellow icing (mustard)... a little red icing (ketchup) and a toothpick... and voila! (Props to my friend Mrs. R who made these for The Girl's 1st b-day and coached me along as I attempted to remake her art.)

This simple/inexpensive piece of decor was not a Pinterest find thankyouverymuch! I hijacked the Bride & Groom's Facebook photos. Then, I printed them at Sam's Club. Finally, with some hemp and clothespins I had in my crafting "stash," we hung them as a backdrop.

One of the main reasons we chose to do a BBQ (besides having an awesome park-like backyard) was because of this... S'MORES BAR for dessert! We hunted around our local grocers to find out what sorts of marshmallow flavorings they offered (strawberry, toasted coconut and jumbo) and then came up with the menu (see next photo.)

Thankfully, my FIL was thinking ahead and thought to call the police department who Embrace the Pace to see how the burn ban would affect this main-piece of our party. Luckily, we got the go-ahead. Phew!

I've decided when having a buffet, either a menu or placards in front of each "dish" are helpful to guests. We went with a menu. Pre-wrapped silverware with a "dig-in" tag was a fun, whimsical touch, too.

And, to keep with our theme, we labeled mason jars and encouraged guests to write their name on their jar and keep it "in sight."

The other hostess helped with putting pens in all the centerpieces so we wouldn't have to go on a mad-hunt when game time came around.

Centerpieces were: mason jars spray-painted with stained glass paint, aluminum cans wrapped in scrapbook paper, and sitting on a round piece of scrapbook paper. All were placed on a tablecloth of "butcher-block" paper, purchased by the roll at Dollar Tree.

And there you have it. Behind me (as I was taking this photo) were yard games: corn hole, ladder ball and horseshoes.

This was so much fun to plan. It was especially fun because: 1) I live with my in-laws and don't currently have a home/yard to manage. 2) I live with my in-laws and have help with my children. and 3) I live with my in-laws and am not presently working. So, what I'm saying is, I'll likely never in my life have the time I presently do to devote to an event like this. It was fun ;)