Planning a Bridal Shower

Your handy how-to guide for a party everyone will enjoy

Planning a Bridal Shower.

Planning a bridal shower can seem like a daunting task.  With the details of the wedding seeming to take precedence, it can be easy to forget this fun tradition.  However, a well-planned bridal shower can be a wonderful chance for the bride to relax and take a break from her own duties to spend time with friends and family.  These quick and easy steps are designed to help your made-of-honor in planning a bridal shower for you.  Print this out and hand it to her.  With this guide, your maid-of-honor will have this bridal shower well in its way in no time.

1.    Select a day and time

The bridal shower is typically held about two months before the wedding.  You should first consult with the bride about the most convenient day, as her calendar is probably the busiest with other wedding planning activities.  Once you have settled on a good day for the bride, inform the bridesmaids so they can clear their calendars as well.

2.    Select a location

The location of your event will depend largely on your budget.  Although the maid of honor is usually responsible for planning the event, all the bridesmaids should chip in to cover the expenses. The mother of the bride could also pitch in, if she wishes.  Some ideas for a location are a restaurant, country club, park, or your own home.

3.   Pick a theme

Get together with any other co-hosts and choose a theme. A bridal shower theme can serve as inspiration for decorations and games, even the invitations, favors, and name tags. It makes planning and preparation simpler and guests will enjoy the instant gift ideas that come with a theme.

4. Send out invitations

Invitations should be sent out about one month before the shower.  You may need to work with the bride to get a complete list of friends and family to invite.  Traditionally, only women are invited to bridal showers, but some bridal showers includes the groom and the men, too.  Remember, the more people on the list, the bigger the cost of the party.  Cute invitations can be found in many stores.  A printer, ribbons, and a bit of creativity are all that’s need to put together invitations of your own as well.  If you do not have the time to make your invitations, but want handmade bridal shower invitations, I think there’s no better place than Etsy.

5.    Plan the menu

Many bridal showers center around a meal or tea.  In this case you will need to plan a full menu. This can get quite costly, though, so another easy alternative is to have hors d’oeuvres.  Easy, light finger foods can be just as nice as a full tea, and can be made from scratch by the bridesmaids, if they’re so inclined.  If you want to serve your guests with delicious home-cook meal, here’s a link to great recipes from Paula Deen.

6.    Select some games

There are a wide variety of bridal shower games that can be played at this event.  When it comes to these activities it’s very important to consider the personality of the bride.  There are some games that may seem just embarrassing for the demure, while more feisty women would be bored with anything less.  To find some good ideas for games, try searching online.

7.    Put together wedding favors

Bridal shower favors are an excellent way to thank the guests for coming.  Since the guests will be bringing gifts, it is polite to give them something small to take home.  Favors can be anything from candy to candles.  In many cases these can be personalized or engraved.

Once you have your plans made, all that’s left to do is enjoy the party!  Bridal showers are an easy and stress free event for the bride and bridal party.  When hosting a shower, be sure to keep an eye on refreshments and take the initiative in starting in on games or gifts.

You should also keep a list of who gave which gift so that the bride can properly thank all of the guests.  You can delegate some of these responsibilities to other bridesmaids, as well.  With a little attention to details you can pull of a fabulous event!

Photo Credit:  ‘Sign Me Up Bridal Shower Umbrella ‘ from Bridal ‘n Beauty