Bridal Shower Invitations

Maids-of-honors and bridesmaids, this post is for you. If you're the bride-to-be, feel free to e-mail your best gal pals a link to the blog because it's their job (not yours) to plan your bridal shower. Once the hostess knows when and where the bridal shower will be, and the theme if any, it's time for her to think about the shower invitations. We've often been asked what the maid-of-honor or bridesmaids should include on the invitation. Here's a short list of necessary info that will help you create a basic bridal shower invitation:

• The date, time, and length of the wedding shower

• The address and specific location of the party

• The name of the bride, and the correct spelling of the groom's full name

• The intended shower guests, listed by name

• The location of the couple's wedding gift registry or registries

• Directions or even a map to the party venue

• The theme, if it is to be a themed wedding shower

• Indicate whether cocktails and snacks, tea and cake, or a full meal will be served

• In the case of a potluck party, suggest dishes guests can bring

• What guests should wear, if this is appropriate

• RSVP information, and an RSVP deadline

That's it, unless you want to include other information on your bridal shower invitations. If you're planning a bridal shower that will have a specific theme, consider choosing invitations that highlight that theme, e.g., invitations with a vintage kitchen pattern for a kitchen shower. Remember, however, that how your bridal shower invitations look is less important than ensuring that everyone has a good time. If guests enjoy themselves, they'll forgive almost any breach in etiquette!

Click to shop for bridal shower favors or to read more about bridal shower etiquette

Wedding Shower Ideas

Hey, brides! This post is for your maid-of-honor and your bridesmaids, so pass it along to them via e-mail when they're not looking so they have plenty of wedding shower ideas to work with when they're planning your pre-wedding bash! Remember that you, the bride, shouldn't have any part in planning your bridal shower, but that doesn't mean you can't drop all kinds of hints about the shower you might like to have.

Here are three bridal shower ideas to get you started:

The most popular wedding shower idea is the kitchen shower, and it's really the most practical as well. After all, no one can have too many kitchen utensils or appliances, and there is also a host of nice little gourmet treats that the bride may love. If, however, the bride-t0-be has been living on her own for 10 years, it's likely that she has everything she needs for the kitchen. Check with her before planning this kind of shower.

A personal shower is also nice, with everyone giving the bride a gift of lingerie or accessories such as inexpensive jewelry. Should you decide to choose to include lingerie in the gift list you give to guests, please be sure that your friend will enjoy opening packages of undies and teddies in front of her relatives. Sometimes bridal showers involving lingerie are best kept 'friends only.'

Alternately, call a local day spa and ask if you can book an afternoon for pedicures and manicures for the whole crew. No cake, no boring gift-opening sessions, and no awkward small talk. You can all chat and giggle and feel spoiled, then duck out for a drink and dinner. No muss, no fuss, no clean-up or decorating for you. It's perfect for busy bridesmaids.

Have fun!

Click to learn more about planning a wedding shower

Easy Wedding Shower Ideas

This post is for all the maids of honor out there, so brides-to-be should forward this post onto their sisters, cousins, and best girlfriends. Remember, you can't plan your own bridal shower, but you can give your gal pals hints as to what kind of shower you'd like best!

So, MOHs...it's time for you to start thinking about your bride's shower. Don't be intimidated -- you may have read a lot of rules in bridal magazines or on the big web sites, but really, there's nothing to it. You don't have to have white and pink invitations, fancy cocktails, or bridal shower favors if you're friend isn't a girly girl. Heck, you don't even have to have a standard party!

Here are some shower ideas that will help you plan a fun get-together for the bride, your friends, and the older generation of women in your social circle.

Kitchen showers are big right now, and they're quite practical as parties go. Very few younger brides have all of the kitchen implements they'll want in later years, so it's easy to find gifts. If the bride doesn't have a registry set up, ask her what she needs so you can spread the word. For refreshments, little gourmet treats are great -- even if they're just from the freezer section of the supermarket.

Then there are lingerie and spa showers. At the former, guests bring frilly underthings for the bride, who is often compelled to try each piece on (over her clothes, of course) for the amusement of the assembled ladies. Sometimes the lingerie chosen is silly rather than sexy, so everyone has a good laugh. At a spa shower, guests present the bride with things like skin treatment gift sets, cosmetics, or bath powder and perfumes.

When people think of bridal showers, they tend to picture a gaggle of girls all giggling in a fancifully decorated living room. Everyone is sipping champagne cocktails and eating petit fours while watching the bride open her gifts. That's one kind of shower, but certainly not the only kind! You can host a shower in a restaurant, at a skate rink, in the park, or at any other venue. Maybe you're friend the bride would rather have a casual barbecue with wings and beer than a girly party with lots of sweets.

That brings us to yet another kind of shower -- the activity based shower. From a day at the nail salon to a day at the indoor rock climbing place, choose an activity you know the bride-to-be will like and the guests will enjoy. If you know that some guests won't want to participate in the chosen activity, you can divide the day into two parts. The people who want manicures can meet up first, then everyone else can meet up later for lunch and cocktails.

You can do a mini-shower at the cosmetics counter at a fine department store -- call ahead and explain that you have several women who want makeovers and do a day of bonding over shopping. In some cases, the makeup company will even throw in some free gifts for the wedding party or bride. It's fun and inexpensive, and (like we said above) you can follow up with dinner or drinks.

Click to learn more about hosting a bridal shower

Bachelorette Party Checklists

Now that you're getting married, chances are that someone in your life is going to think about throwing you a bachelorette party. Even though the bachelorette parties you've seen on television have likely included male strippers and lots of booze, don't assume that you have to wear a phallic tiara or ask strangers for condoms if that isn't your style! Enjoying your bachelorette party is a matter of subtly giving your gals an idea of the kind of party you want.

Do you love shocking others and getting crazy with a drink in each hand? Remind your MOH how much you love Animal House style shindigs. Or if you prefer a quiet evening at home watching sappy movies with your best girlfriends, it might just be time to bring up how tacky you think the usual bachelorette parties are. Trust us when we say that your MOH and your 'maids will be happy to have your input.

Bachelor parties have traditionally been a way for men to remind other men of everything they are leaving behind by getting married...you know, like the horrors of dating, the threat of STDs, and really bad hangovers. Bachelorette parties are a relatively new invention, so there's a lot more leeway. Fun bachelorette party ideas include slumber parties, spa parties, Las Vegas weekends, and of course, the tried and true trip to the strip club.

If you're worried that your gal pals are going to plan a bachelorette party you won't like, e-mail your MOH this bachelorette party checklist from an anonymous e-mail account to ensure you have as much fun as your 'maids.

• A bit of research about your best friend, i.e., "the bride," will go a long way.
• Cater to the bride's interests, not your own.
• The theme can be anything from the normal to the exotic. For example, if the bride likes to read, a literary theme might be just right.
• Consider whether your chosen location is easy for everyone invited to get to.
• Use a location that can easily be modeled to your theme. Maybe you can hold it at a lakefront, in a forest shanty, or even on a ship. Whatever the case may be, do not be inhibited by the norm.
• Music, food, and decorations can all set the tone, making your getaway all the more realistic.
• Always have a secondary plan and double check the reservations and invitations.
• Food is an often overlooked aspect of a proper party. Spicy exotic entrees go a long way to setting the feeling.
• Ask the bride's family if there are any foods or beverages she really hates, then scratch those off your list.
• Serve both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks!
• Create a custom cocktail in honor of the bride and groom to take the party to the next level.

Click for more bachelorette party tips and ideas

Bridal Shower Favors

When it comes time for your bridesmaids to plan your bridal shower, slyly remind them not to forget the favors! While favors aren't strictly necessary, the people who care about you most will be happy to have some memento of your shower. The favors guests are most likely to appreciate will be those that are useful or edible. Decorative items can be nice, but they don't always gel with peoples' decor.

The following favors are sure to delight and amuse all in attendance!












Queen for a Day favors will fit right into a spa themed party. Pink and posh, these salon-quality toe separators offer your friends a regal pedicure…perfect for a poolside party. Plus, if you're the kind of gal who loves to do her toes, you can ask your maid of honor to give you the leftovers!












How about nail file favors? Perfect for pampering your fingertips while dishing about all the guys from days gone by, this whimsical nail file set is conveniently shaped like a matchbook, offering portable emery boards for everyday emergencies. Again, if you love to do your nails, remember to ask for the leftovers.












Or keep things sweet with shower gel favors. With charming personalized labels in sweet and sassy designs, these fun shower gel bottles offer a practical gift for bridal shower guests. This is yet another wedding shower favor that lends itself to leftovers.

Whatever your ladies choose, e-mail them the following link to this page about bridal showers so they don't forget anything :-)

Bridal Shower Etiquette

Tradition holds that the first bridal shower was thrown for a Dutch bride who married below her station. She loved the village miller, but her wealthy father had other ideas about who she should marry. As is often the case in these old tales, she ran away with her beloved miller, causing her father to disown her and withhold her dowry. The bride didn't mind being poor, as long as she had her miller at her side, but life was hard.

Their low fortune didn't last for long, however, because the villagers took pity on the newlyweds because the miller had always been unfailingly kind to them. They "showered" the bride and groom with gifts, thereby starting a tradition that has lasted for centuries!

In the modern day, showers have evolved and become more relaxed, but there are still certain rules of bridal shower etiquette that should be observed. Since there will almost always be a variety of attendees there -- friends, family and coworkers in most cases -- it's important to understand how everyone should interact. Mothers and grandmothers in particular can place a great deal of importance on proper bridal shower etiquette, so make sure you know what the rules are!

Here are a few:

• The bride should never, ever host her own shower. Additionally, it is considered bad form to have a relative host. Typically, this responsibility falls to the MOH and the bridesmaids.
• Don't badger potential guests with registry information or tell them exactly what to gift to buy. A bridal shower is a party that is concerned with gifts, but don't turn it into a frantic gift grab!
• Keep the shower relatively small, and make sure that everyone invited to the shower is invited to the wedding. Excluding shower guests from the main event is just plain mean.

Unfortunately, that's not all there is to know -- who'd have thought that planning a low-key party could be so complicated? Look for more on bridal shower etiquette at the preceding link.