How To Plan The Perfect Bridal Shower
This blog post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, we may earn a small commission for any purchases made through these links. Click here for the disclosure statement.
So one of your best gal pals is tying the knot! It is a special time and you, as a good friend, want to send off her single days with an elegant bang.
The key to planning a great bridal shower is organizing and preparing ahead of time, and the key to pulling off the shower on the day of is ensuring that guests stay engaged and focused on the beautiful bride-to-be. If you’re not sure where to start, no stress! Here is your how-to guide for putting together a memorable bridal shower.
Checklist for Wedding Shower
Choose a date
A wedding shower typically takes place about 2-4 months before the wedding date, usually on a Saturday or Sunday. The shower can really take place at any time of day, and you just alter your planned menu according to the time of day you choose.
Choose a Venue
Decide if you or another close friend would like to host the shower or if you want to make reservations at a restaurant. If hosting it yourself, you could either opt for an “open house” if it seems to you that that would better accommodate conflicting schedules, or set aside several hours for everyone to be together in order to streamline games and gift-opening.
Make a Cute Bridal Party Invitation Using Canva
It is advisable to send out invites about a month before the date of the bridal shower, so the guests can mark their calendars!
Include a link to the wedding registry if you are sending out digital invites, or if you are mailing them out, drop a mention on the card of where to find the bride’s registry.
Collect RSVPs
Recruit a few volunteers. One way to keep costs down is to recruit the closest friends and relatives of the bride and feel out whether they could help you out by bringing a dish or homemade treat with them. If you have volunteers stepping up, feel free to use them! You shouldn’t feel like you have to do this 100% on your own. It is very reasonable and common for other bridesmaids or close friends of the bride to help out in a small way.
Plan the menu
You usually want to plan on having a wide variety of finger foods, and it is best to plan on keeping the menu light and fresh. We have included a short, mouth-watering list below!
Bridal Shower Finger Food Ideas
Mimosas
Fresh Fruit Bowl
Chicken Salad and Croissants
Plan a few party games, (both interactive ones and for the background)
Games are a great way to keep guests engaged, entertained, and focused on the bride. The games will revolve around the bride and the groom and their relationship, which is (of course!) the whole reason for the party in the first place! They are great ice-breakers, fun-makers, and ways to get to know the happy couple even better.
You can set up and decorate a little table for the in-the-background games such as the ones we have listed below.
Bridal Shower Party Games
How Well Do You Know the Bride?
Keep a stack of printed sheets with a list of questions about the bride and her relationship with the soon-to-be-hubby. Guests will fill them out to the best of their ability. You, as the host, will have to quickly run through everyone’s lists at the end of the event, tally up their correct number, and announce the winner with the highest number of correct answers! Chocolate as a take home prize?
Newlywed Calendar
A humorous teaser for the couple! Guests fill out a calendar with both real dates to look forward to and fun fake life events to “anticipate” in the first year of marriage, like “100th time he leaves the toilet seat up.” This opens the door to a ton of jokes, sarcasm, and inside jokes, anything that will get the special couple laughing when they look over it later.
Guess How Many ___ Are In This Jar?
Fill up a sizable glass jar with plastic rings or Hershey’s kisses, leave out slips of paper for guests to guess the quantity on, and have the winner take some chocolate home as a prize!
Fill-in-the-Blank Marriage Advice
On little slips of paper, guests can leave ironic answers or earnest advice from any married guests
Get decorations and favors
Tasteful decorations can really step up the atmosphere of your event! You could set up a cute photo booth area by sprucing up a blank wall with a few decorations. A few of our recommended ideas for decorations and favors can be found below!
Bridal Shower Decoration and Favor Ideas
Fresh flowers
Whole Foods Market
Bridal Sash
Amazon
Glass Favor Jar With Cork Lids
Amazon
Personalized Tea Party Favors
Etsy (by RozaliaCrafts)
Personalized Mini Wine Bottle Tags
Etsy (by SoSweetPartyShop)
Personalized Wine Stoppers
Etsy (By AllinCork)
Remember:
Stay focused on the bride and her requests! It becomes easy to get stressed and run around like a crazy person, which can stress others, particularly the bride; it could mean you're not spending time with the bride; and finally, remember that the party is about her, not you and your party-planning skills, so remember to keep the spotlight on her!
With these tips and ideas, we hope your bridal shower is pulled off seamlessly! Have a blast with your beautiful bride-to-be!