Hi everyone! One of my good friends Natasha is getting married at the end of the month, and I recently attended her bridal shower in lower Manhattan.On April 1st we gathered at Claudette, a Provençal restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village, to celebrate the bride, give our gifts, and relax over brunch. Here are some snippets from the big day! 

Claudette is a bright, elegant corner space that serves Mediterranean-accented French dishes. Here are some pictures of the first floor of the restaurant (located at 24 Fifth Avenue). I really wanted a picture right from the doorway so that you could see the host, the main floor, and the kitchen all in one shot. It was a dazzling sight, but I didn’t want to ask too much of the staff so I tried to just quickly capture some photos. As you can see, it’s a beautiful space full of hustle and bustle.

I was slightly confused when the host quickly and confidently walked me straight into the kitchen. But it turns out, the Flamingo Room is actually accessed through a kitchen stairway descending to the bottom-most floor of the restaurant.

The Flamingo Room was guess what? Wallpapered with flamingos! Here’s a shot of the lovely waitress pouring the champagne into several mimosas.

The girls I spent most of brunch with! Nicole, Sunny, and of course the bride-to-be in white, Natasha.

We all sat around a long table, and at the end, the groom’s family (who hosted the brunch) had a slideshow ready to play on a TV! I was intrigued.

There were mimosas and pastries to start (note the half eaten croissant on my plate), and the options for brunch were Eggs Benedict, Salmon, and Lamb burgers.

The gifts! Mine is the one closest to the camera. I’m proud to say the night before on a wet rainy Friday I went to the container store and bought a cardboard box and special gift wrap for the bride’s present. My dad did the classiest of gift wrap jobs, and to finish it off, I placed the present in a nicely patterned bag I bought from the Container Store.

Me and Natasha’s lovely mom Susanty.

Natasha’s relatives!

Me, Natasha, and two of her former colleagues from Deloitte, who were seated to my left.

Here’s a shot of what I ordered. I’m not an adventurous eater and I had never had lamb before. After nibbling at mine, I decided I still prefer regular burgers.

Natasha’s soon-to-be mother-in law starting off the shenanigans with a nice speech, and of course crowning Natasha with her veil.

Natasha was recited a beautiful love poem that actually referenced candlesticks as symbols, so she collected quite a few to represent all the aspects of love and marriage.

Tom’s father recorded a short message for the auspicious day.

Natasha’s sister-in-law kicked off the festivities with a game designed to test how well Tom and Natasha really knew each other. She would ask Natasha questions like, How did you meet, When and where was your first kiss, What was his/her career ambitions as a child, etc. After each reply, they cut to Tom’s pre-recorded answers and it was hilarious (and sweet).

Me and Nicole stole away to the bathroom and took a quick selfie.

Dessert was lovely. This cupcake stand is gorgeous! There was also cake served (which you can see in the background).

Gift opening time!

My advice to the bride.

The entry/exit table set up with blank name tags (which I did not see until the end) for guests, blank sheets of paper to use to write advice to the bride, and a basket of party favors supplied by Natasha’s mom (they were actually coasters from Indonesia ). There were also cupcake dividers to take home a cupcake or two.

Final pictures with the bride. The three of us have been friends since freshman year of high school (that’s about 13 years of friendship).

Couldn’t resist putting on the veil!

Too cute, Celine (a bridesmaid and former schoolmate of mine) had the adorable idea that both of us should kiss the bride on the cheek. I look super passionate.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I had a great time. The one thing I wished was for the lighting to be a little less dim, but I still like how the shots came out. I can’t wait for the big day, and am so glad I decided to take my camera along today so that all of Natasha’s friends and family can relive the day whenever they want.