Krista Robertson, blogger of Covering The Bases, never really envisioned herself having a traditional bridal shower. The thought of having friends and family watch her open gifts wasn’t exactly her idea of good time, so after she became engaged to her fiancé Andrew, she quickly decided a co-ed couple’s shower with everyone celebrating together was how they would toast their new relationship status. Ahead of their Nantucket wedding this September, the couple brought friends and family together in New York and had their dream party.

Krista and Andrew met while they were both working for Major League Baseball back in 2013, and they got engaged last July. Attending her best friend’s co-ed shower in Charlotte, helped Krista solidify her decision. “I loved how easy and laid back it was—it was a dream having my fiancé with me,” she says. He was into the idea and let her run with it. “I don’t think it was on the top of his to-do list, but he did admit after that he had a great time,” Krista jokes.

While she acknowledges that choosing what type of shower to have varies from bride to bride, she highly recommends going the co-ed route. “We had a lot of fun, and it was something that we can look back on fondly together (versus me having all these great memories, and him just seeing photos). Plus we were able to split up thank you card duty 50/50, and that was a huge win!” she says.

The theme was actually inspired by the invitations more than anything else. The tropical, palm leaf motif translated well in the space they chose too. “Andrew helped start a craft brewery with his dad and cousin called Decadent Ales, and last December, they opened their first tap room in Mamaroneck. It’s an awesome space and one that we thought would be great for hosting our party,” Krista says.

Andrew’s mother and sister helped host the shower, which was catered by Shake Shack and Dippin’ Dots! “One of my dreams for my actual wedding was to have Shake Shack cater, but since we’ll be on Nantucket that wasn’t really an option, so it became priority number one for the shower,” she says. Since she and Andrew aren’t big cake people, they went with Dippin’ Dots and Shake Shack shakes for dessert. “It was like my dream party and food came to life,” says Robertson.

All in all, the day was a success, and there was none of the awkward gift opening voyeurism that she had wanted to avoid. “I loved being surrounded by all of our friends and family,” she adds. “It’s not often you have so many different groups of people from your life together in one place!”