How to Have a Successful Bridal Shower

The bride will typically receive gifts off of her bridal registry at a bridal shower.

One of the many responsibilities a bridesmaid faces is organizing a fun and entertaining bridal shower. A bridal shower is commonly a women-only event that is attended by the female relatives and friends of the bride-to-be. A successful bridal shower generally consists of food, wedding-related party games and a gift opening. While there is no official way to measure the success of a bridal shower, some determining factors can include the number of people who attended the party and the amount of fun the attendees seemed to have had.

Things You'll Need

• Streamers
• Tablecloths
• Paper bells
• Fresh flower bouquets
• Appetizers
• Light refreshments
• Gift bags or party favors
• Game prizes
• Bingo cards
• Rolls of toilet paper
• Scissors
• Knife
• Pen
• Paper

Instructions

1. Choose a theme for the bridal shower. Ask the bride what she would like the theme to be or choose one based on the interests or relationship of the couple getting married. For example, if the couple is into sailing, choose a nautical theme for the shower. If the couple met while vacationing in the Caribbean, give the shower a beach theme.

2. Decorate the shower lightly. While you will want to decorate the facility in which you hold the party, do not break the budget. Buy some white, silver or gold streamers, tablecloths and paper bells. Accent the decorations with a few small bouquets of flowers, such as white lilies or carnations.

3. Keep the food and drink light. Put out appetizers, finger sandwiches, a bowl of punch or have some cocktails on hand. Enlist of the help of the entire bridal party to prepare the food for the party to chip in the money if you decide to have it catered.

4. Have gift bags and prizes on hand. Many bridal showers feature small gift bags for attendees that might contain relatively inexpensive items such as small candles or cooking utensils. Have other prizes on hand to give away to the winners of the party games that you will play during the shower.

5. Play shower games that are fun and not too embarrassing for the bride or the attendees. Choose one or two games to play with the attendees. If you play more than two party games, the crowd might become restless and the shower may run too long. Create Bingo cards based on possible gifts the bride might receive or divide the guests into small groups of four or five and have them create a wedding dress and veil using a single roll of toilet paper.

6. Open gifts near the end of the bridal shower. Have scissors or a knife handy to aid you in opening the gifts. Have the maid of honor or another member of the wedding party sit nearby with a pen and paper and write down who gave what gift, which will help you when sending out thank-you cards later. Keep present opening to under an hour otherwise the crowd can start to lose interest and get antsy.

References

• "The Today Show"; How to throw the best baby or bridal shower; October 2006
• Bridal Shower 4 You: Four Tips To Follow When You Want To Throw A Successful Bridal Shower
• The Gloss; 5 Tips For Throwing a Fabulous Bridal Shower; Jessica Pauline Ogilvie; November 2010