Bridal Open
How to Prepare for a Bridal Shower
A bridal shower is a fun and practical pre-wedding party. Though the main reason for holding a bridal shower is to give presents to the future married couple, it’s also an exciting time to celebrate with friends and family before the big wedding day.
Traditionally, this event is planned and hosted by someone in the bridal party. Usually the Maid of Honor is responsible for organizing the bridal shower. The only things the bride should be responsible for are providing the hostess with names and addresses of those she would like to invite, as well as, choosing the type of shower she would like to have. The bride should have nothing to do with the actual process of planning and preparing for her shower.
To begin bridal shower planning, determine a budget. Then, after setting the event budget, decide on what type of party you are going to organize.
Planning the Guest List
If you are going to have a traditional all-female shower, start by inviting the women with whom you have invited to the wedding. If you are planning on throwing a co-ed shower, then invite the men and women who are close to the bride and groom. Sometimes if the guest list gets too large, several showers are held, such as one for family and close friends, and another for co-workers.
Inviting the Guests
There is no exact time for holding bridal showers. You may have it anytime from two months to two weeks before the wedding. The only rule is that the invitations should be sent three weeks prior to the event. Depending on the formality of the shower, invitations may be hand written or printed.
To be helpful to the guests, the hostess should include a list of your home decorating colors in the invitations. Asking for cash is considered to be poor etiquette, although many people still prefer receiving cash. 
If you want your guests to RSVP, then include a stamped, self-addressed reply card in each invitation. One week prior to the event call those guests who haven’t replied to figure out whether or not they will be attending.
Determining the Menu
There is no specific way of choosing a menu for a bridal shower. But, to simplify things you can start by determining whether you want a formal catered lunch or an informal non-catered bridal shower with tasty and home-made food. Regardless of what menu items you choose, you should take special care to provide a variety of beverages for your guests. If the shower is in a restaurant, remember that paying for the group’s meal is the host’s responsibility given that nobody else volunteers beforehand.
Deciding on the Games
You should plan to play two to three games, depending on the number of guests. The more guests you have, the longer time each game will require. Try to limit your game time so that you don’t bore your guests. For game ideas, there are various books and magazines available both online and offline. Never play games that exclude anybody from the group, or cause too much embarrassment. And, very important – don’t forget to prepare several small gifts to be awarded as prizes to the winner of each game.
Opening the Gifts
When opening the gifts, the hostess or one of the guests from the bridal party should write down each item that the bride receives, along with the name of the person who gave it to her. Another bridesmaid should gather the bows and ribbons from the gifts to make the bride’s bouquet for her wedding rehearsal. Although it’s not necessary, this is a fun tradition that people have been doing for generations. For fun, the hostess can also write down all the comments the bride makes while opening her gifts, so that at the end of the shower, they can be read to the group. Since the comments are taken out of context, this game can be very funny.
Follow these wedding shower planning tips and Eventish guarantees that you and your guests will remember this day for a very long time.
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