There are big changes afoot in the Big Dot of Happiness world! Through the years, you’ve come to know us as THE place to purchase everything you need to host a great party…we’re your one-stop-shop for all your party supplies. Well, the Big Dot family is thrilled to announce we’re now also your place for party tips, ideas, and inspirations…

Introducing the Big Dot of Happiness Blog!

Now you can join SimplyWeddingStuff.com and the rest of our sister sites at the all-new Big Dot of Happiness Blog as we share and discuss our favorite party supplies, tips, projects, and recipes—and show you how to incorporate them into your next event, whatever the occasion. At the Big Dot of Happiness Blog, you’ll find all the party expertise you’ve come to expect from our company, brought together in one handy, accessible spot.

So come, be a part of the Big Dot community, and let us help you take your parties to the next level—the Big Dot of Happiness way!

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger

If you’re wondering WHERE to start when it comes to pulling together all the details for an upcoming bridal shower, then start with SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Bridal Shower Checklist. The gurus at SimplyWeddingStuff.com have pulled out all the stops and will have you feeling at ease with your upcoming event in no time flat!

SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Bridal Shower Checklist includes a plethora of information including answers to all the top bridal shower planning questions and a step-by-step timeline to keep all the details together. Perfect!!!

With my cousin’s bridal shower approaching, I’ve been diligent in referring back to SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Bridal Shower Checklist whenever I have a question as to what needs to be done and when. Needless to say, it’s been extremely helpful!

My favorite part of the Bridal Shower Checklist is step-by-step timeline! And I’m happy to report that I am right on schedule! The bridal shower is less than two weeks away and I’m now in the midst of planning the bridal shower games!

How about you over there on the other side of the computer screen? What’s your favorite part of SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Bridal Shower Checklist? Do tell!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

My cousin’s bridal shower is less than two weeks away and I’m not going to lie, I’m a little panicky. With school starting back up, there’s only so much time to pull together the last details. 

Needless to say now more than ever, I’m appreciating the help and support of all the ladies in my family as we come together to make sure all the details are going to be taken care of. What was once chaos is now clarity. It’s amazing what can happen when a divide and conquer mentality takes hold!

That said, my mom and aunt have taken over the food and décor, I’m in charge of the invitations and games, and my cousins are taking care of some odds and ends – like prizes for the bridal shower games.

And speaking of bridal shower games, do you guys have any ideas? Our family is just getting to know the bride-to-be, so we’re trying to come up with something  along those lines. Of course, I’ll be perusing SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s selection!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

I loooooooove gray and orange. Pair them together with bits of white and you have SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s fabulously fall bridal shower theme – Delicate Expression. Absolutely perfect for the upcoming September, October and November bridal showers!

From invite to thank you and everything in between, SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Delicate Expressions bridal shower theme has you covered. Just check out the Delicate Expressions Designer Vellum Bridal Shower Invitations. With 14 lines of text to personalize, you’ll be able to cover all your bases and fill in your guests on all the details.

For guest favors, you’re able to choose from Delicate Expression’s Personalized Candy Bar Wrappers, Personalized Body Butter, Personalized Candle Tin and Personalized Lip Balm. Each personalized favor allows you to add in two lines of text to make the favor unique to your bridal shower.

Put the finishing touch on your fall-themed bridal shower by using SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Delicate Expression Personalized Thank You Cards. On the outside of the thank you card, add two lines of text. On the inside, write your heart-felt note of appreciation. Happy planning!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

When the fun and excitement of the bridal shower wraps up, you’ll be tasked with sending out thank you cards to each of your guests. What better way to say thank you then with a personalized thank you card from SimplyWeddingStuff.com. The great thing about SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Bridal Shower Thank You Cards is that the thank you cards match your bridal shower theme perfectly!

Here are a few tips when it comes to sending out bridal shower thank you notes:

• Be sure to hand-write a sincere thank you message in each of your thank you notes. It is unacceptable to send out a pre-printed, generic thank you to your guests when they took the time out of their day to attend your bridal shower and pick out a gift. Take the time to hand-write the thank you note – it will be greatly appreciated.

• Also make sure to thank your friends and relatives hosting your bridal showers and special wedding events with a sincere handwritten thank you.

• When it comes to the timing of your thank you notes, it is recommended that you send out bridal shower thank you notes within ten days of the bridal shower.

Enjoy your bridal showers!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

I’m not going to lie, I’ve kind of been appreciating balloons as décor more and more. They just add such a youthful and fun vibe to any event. Not only that, but SimplyWeddingStuff.com has some unique Bridal Shower Balloon options that will leave your guests impressed!

First, let’s check out what SimplyWeddingStuff.com has for Mylar balloons. Have you seen the absolutely adorable Mr. and Mrs. Wedding Shower Balloon or how about the Big Best Wishes Wedding Cake Bridal Shower Balloon? Both are large and in-charge and could work as a centerpiece for any of your tables. SimplyWeddingStuff.com also carries a Wedding Dress, Tuxedo, Engagement Ring, Celebration Cluster, Best Wishes Cluster, Big Bridal Shower Umbrella, Bridal Shower Umbrella Bouquet and a Palm Tree balloon for your consideration. Check them all out and see what will work best for your next bridal shower.

But that’s not all! SimplyWeddingStuff.com has taken balloons a step further and has packaged latex balloons into 12-count options with all of your favorite color combinations. Of course, they’ve made it easy for you to pick and choose single balloon colors as well. Enjoy the fun!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

Keeping my cousin’s upcoming Jack-and-Jill wedding shower in mind, I thought it would be fun to put together a mood board for the event! They’re getting married this fall and using warm colors – a burnt red for the bridesmaid dresses, chocolate browns for the tuxes, splashes of orange here and there, and a champagne dress with a brown sash for the bride.

Here’s how it would come together:

• First, I would use SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Custom Bride theme and create the design to be used in each and every item so that the look is consistent throughout. For this particular wedding shower, I’d pick Bride 3 and the Chocolate background.
• Guests would be sent the Custom Bride – Designer Vellum Bridal Shower Invitation addressed with SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Custom Bride Personalized Bridal Shower Return Address Labels.
• A Custom Bride – Personalized Bridal Shower Banner would be ordered and hang prominently in the bridal shower space (i.e. my mother’s living room).
• Tableware would include the Chocolate Brown – Bridal Shower Tableware dinner and dessert plates as well as the beverage and luncheon napkins and hot/cold cups.

We would keep things simple and sweet by adding in orange accessories and flowers that we have on hand. My mother is nearly a master gardener, so we’ll have no problem bringing in colors from the great outdoors.

How have you used SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Custom Bride theme for your bridal showers? Do tell!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

SimplyWeddingStuff.com has more than 20 fabulous bridal shower themes for you to select from! No doubt about it, you’ll be able to find something perfect for the soon-to-be-Mrs. Bride. And while I’m learning first-hand what it takes to plan a bridal shower from start to finish, I encourage each and everyone of you reading this to do yourself a favor and use a SimplyWeddingStuff.com bridal shower theme.

If you have the opportunity to plan a bridal shower and want to make things a bit easier on yourself, pick a bridal shower theme that represents the happy couple and run with it! By doing so, it seems as if all the other decisions immediately fall into place. Such a relief! 

But, back to the fabulousness that is SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s bridal shower themes. Check them out! The SimplyWeddingStuff.com themes have everything you’re looking for – banners, name tags, address labels, placemats, guest favors, stickers – EVERYTHING! And not only that, you’re able to personalize the items with the bride’s name, wedding date, or whatever you think is best for the occasion! Perfection!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

I absolutely LOVE the direction that SimplyWeddingStuff.com is going with their Custom Bride theme. You can now do so much more personalization with your bridal shower theme than ever before. The fabulous people at SimplyWeddingStuff.com have designed ten different brides for you to choose from along with 30 different backgrounds. You’ll find something that perfectly fits the look of your happy bride-to-be. Amazing.

And SimplyWeddingStuff.com continues to add even more bridal shower items into the Custom Bride theme. Just this month, SimplyWeddingStuff.com added the Custom Bride – Classic Personalized Bridal Shower Favor Boxes and the Custom Bride – Mini Personalized Bridal Shower Favor Boxes to the line-up. Perfect for putting guest favors in and handing out to those nearest and dearest to the bride as they depart from the bridal shower.

I’m hoping to be able to use the Custom Bride – Classic Personalized Bridal Shower Favor Boxes in my cousin’s upcoming wedding shower, along with a plethora of other items from SimplyWeddingStuff.com including a Custom Bride – Personalized Bridal Shower Banner and Custom Bride – 20 Personalized Bridal Shower Mini Candy Bar Wrapper Sticker Labels.

How will you use SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s Custom Bride theme?

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s official…I’m taking the lead on planning my cousin’s wedding shower! I couldn’t be more excited! This is the first bridal shower that I’m taking the lead on and while I have LOADS of experience planning weddings, we all know that a wedding shower is a completely different story.

My cousin and his bride-to-be have decided to do a couples wedding shower and due to crazy work schedules, we’re looking at having it on a Saturday night in September. Talk about opening up some opportunities for a non-traditional bridal shower! Needless to say, I’m up for the challenge.

But there were a few sensitive issues at play. Namely, the bride-to-be had been previously married and I wasn’t sure how comfortable she’d be being the center of attention. Thankfully, I was able to run the situation by SimplyWeddingStuff.com’s fabulous customer service department. My conversation with Emily confirmed that it’s more than ok to celebrate a second marriage with a wedding shower and immediately suggested a Jack-and-Jill shower. I ran the idea by the happy couple to be and they were all about it. In fact, they had already thought about it! Great minds, I tell ya..

Now to figure out a location, time, theme, coordinate the hostesses and all the other details!

Posted by Sara, a Dot-arilla Blogger