When my best friend, Kate, asked me to be her matron of honor for her wedding this August, I was thrilled. As I started planning a bridal shower the bride-to-be, I was immediately overwhelmed by options: venues, food, invitations, flowers, games…I felt like I was back in the shoes of a bride planning her own wedding.

I knew that I wanted the shower to be bright and cheerful. I was thrilled to find the Loft310 Penthouse Suite in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan. The suite used to be the home of the couple who owns the building, but lucky for us, they moved out when they had children and converted their loft into one of the most beautiful event spaces I’ve ever seen.

After we decided to turn the shower into a bridal tea party, the bridesmaids all worked together to create a simple menu with small plates that would be easy to eat in a casual setting so that we didn’t have to set up formal dining for 25 people. Each bridesmaid handmade a unique dish, from caprese salad kabobs and fruit kabobs to lavender and honey cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and gingerbread shortbread. One bridesmaid even brought fresh cut lilacs from her own garden. We turned the baked goods into favors for the guests by offering to-go boxes for guests to fill up before leaving.

The staff at Loft310 lined up beautiful tea cups and saucers for guests, along with hot tea and coffee. We brought in some iced tea to complete the tea party, and our guests sipped and enjoyed themselves all through the gift opening.

Here I am being super fancy with my coffee cup in the master bedroom.

The bridesmaids.

We had to grab a few photos of the four college roommates together again.

I’m clearly a bit behind the game on this one.

Before leaving, I went around the suite to grab a few more photos—I’m totally inspired by the design. Maybe bits of inspiration will work their way into our own home renovation later this year.