Part 2 – Basics of Bridal Showers

This is a continuation of the Basics of Bridal Showers.

So now you have an idea on the date, venue, theme and the budget. Now let’s talk about the other things you need to consider when planning a bridal shower:

Image: Shop.com

The Invitation

After deciding on the date and the venue, this is the next thing you need to do. You have 3 options here.

• You can buy the off-the-rack bridal shower invitations from your local bookstore or at Target, K Mart and the like
• If you’re crafty, you can create the bridal shower invitations yourself
• If you’re web-savvy, you can create a digital invitation and print it at your local printer or you can also choose to email to your guests rather than get them printed.

For bridal shower wordings, you can hop online and check these sites out: Card Shoppe and Colors by Design.

The Guests

If you don’t know all of the bride-to-be’s friends, the best source for the invitees will of course be the guest of honor. If it’s a surprise, best to ask her fiance and her family for who else you can invite to the shower. You need to consider the size of the party venue though. You may be restricted on the number of people you can invite if the size is prohibitive.

The Menu

The menu will depend on the time of the party. I like holding bridal showers at night time so you don’t feel dorky about serving alcohol. Cocktail is best served. To save, hold the party after dinner or late afternoon. There’s nothing stopping you from holding the party for at any time you want, ie brunch, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.

The last one I organized is for my sister’s bridal shower and we held it after dinner at a local, upmarket videoke bar because most of the guests likee to sing the night away. If you’re hosting the party at home and to save on food costs, you can ask the guests to “bring a plate” so they contribute to the party food. It will not be unheard of if you assign people on what to bring…some can bring the food, some the drinks, the other cutleries and flatware (paper plates if you’re not keen to do any dishwashing!).

The Decorations

You can buy run-of-the-mill decorations from Target or K Mart. Usual decorations include a personalized bridal shower banner, table cloth, napkins and the like but they’re not necessary. Balloons are always a nice touch to any party.

The Games

Bridal shower games are always nice to have but not a must-have especially if you prefer to spend the night eating, drinking and gabbing

The Favors
What’s a party without favors? You can buy bits and pieces to put together as favors or you can order/buy them pre-packaged. There are tons of ideas for bridal shower favors.

**STICKY: Have you joined Our One Heart’s latest giveaways: Win 6 Gurkha Cigars! Perfect gift for your groomsmen!