Part 1 – The Basics of Bridal Showers

I like organizing parties. To be honest, I’d be happy if my day jo is event planning and management. That would be the perfect business for me but since it’s not a job in demand where I live, I have to content myself with planning parties for other people.

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Among my friends and family, I am always the one assigned to organize bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties and the like. If you have just been asked or you’ve volunteered yourself to organize a girlfriend’s bridal shower without thinking about it then you’ve come to Our One Heart at the right time.

Today I will talk about what you need to know in organizing bridal showers based from my ‘extensive’ experience (woot woot!):

The Date

Before creating a planning worksheet for all the things you do, you should lock the date first. There’s no point in going to all the trouble of planning if the guest of honor (the bride-to-be) can’t make it. Some organize the party 6 months before the wedding (I find that a tad scary though. With 6 months to go till the big day, anything can happen. The engaged couple may have a major argument and break off the wedding. Best to have the party a month before the wedding. It’s safe to say that with a month to go, it reduces the chances of the wedding getting cancelled or postponed. Also with a month to go, the bride may not as frazzled and would be able to enjoy a day off from wedding planning.

The Budget

Whether you’re hosting this at home or at a restaurant, you still need to consider the budget. The host normally pays for the shower but if you are organizing this with other friends, you can spread the cost with them. You need to budget for food, drinks, decoration, invitation (if you’re buying them), bridal shower favors, prizes for the games and accessories for the games.

The Theme

Having a theme for the bridal shower is not a must-have but it’s nice to have a theme. The theme could be based on the bride-to-be’s hobby or current obsession like Twilight or bath and bubbles. It could also be a theme based on what the bride-to-be would need in her marriage. Themes like kitchen theme or lingerie or honeymoon theme are good ones to consider.

The Venue

You should consider the party venue to be somewhere central from where your guests live. If you host it at the northern part of the city and most of your guests are coming from the south and it might take them an hour’s commute or drive, they might not be as keen to come. If you host it somewhere central then it increases chances of people attending the bridal shower. To save on costs, it also best to hold this either at your house (if you’re centrally located) or a friend who’s also invited to the wedding. As mentioned, the key is location. One other thing you need to consider is the size of the venue. If you are inviting 15 guests and your living room can only accommodate 5 people standing then best to consider holding the party somewhere else. Remember, you are also holding games so best to have a good-sized living room or space for this.

Part 2 of the Bridal Shower basics coming up!