How to Give a Jack & Jill Bridal Shower
Jack and Jill Bridal Showers are a popular alternative to the traditional all-girl showers held to celebrate a couple’s upcoming marriage. Also called co-ed or couple’s showers, the Jack and Jill version includes both men and women on the guest list and is often less formal. Hosting a Jack and Jill Shower lets you combine a diverse crowd and creative themes to the time-honored custom of bridal showers.
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Instructions
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Consult with the couple about who they wish to invite and what type of gift items they need. While traditional showers are often limited to immediate family or close friends, Jack and Jill Showers often include family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and anyone else the couple is comfortable having invited. Determining gift needs will help you choose a shower theme. Encourage the couple to register gift selections so that guests will know specific wants and avoid duplicate items.
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Choose a theme such as a "Great Outdoors Shower" for the couple who needs gardening and lawn care items or a "Smorgasbord Shower" for those who want to stock a kitchen with appliances and gadgets. A "Techno-Electro Shower" would suit those hoping to update their technology and electronics, while a "Full House Shower" will benefit the couple who needs a little of everything. Knowing future plans of the couple is also helpful in deciding a theme. For example, a couple buying a house with a deck might appreciate a shower that encourages gifts such as grilling supplies, a chimera, bug zapper, bird houses, flower pots and wind chimes. Plan invitations and decorations that reflect the theme. If you opt not to have a theme but want to decorate, use table décor, balloons and flowers in the couple’s wedding colors.
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Consider head-count to be the most important factor in deciding on a location for the shower. A backyard barbecue, hors d’oeuvres at a neighborhood club house or a taco bar in a restaurant’s party room may be ideal for larger crowds, while smaller groups may be completely comfortable enjoying finger foods in a living room. Arrange seating so that guests have easy access to food and can see the couple as they open gifts. Laughter and conversation are the sounds usually heard at relaxed gatherings, so avoid making them compete with loud music. Include music only if it is low-key and used as background accompaniment.
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Announce the shower several weeks before its scheduled date. Electronic invites are a popular, simple, no-cost option for these more casuals events and many are available on-line. Start with a "save the date" announcement emailed several weeks before the shower, followed with the actual detailed invitation about a week later. Most electronic invite programs give invitees a convenient way to respond and also sends them a reminder shortly before the event. Mailing invitations the old fashioned way is still not a lost art and remains the preferred method of many hosts and hostesses. Remember that some guests may be hold outs to the cyber age and need to be contacted by snail mail or telephone, even if the majority are receiving an electronic invitation.
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Tips & Warnings
Because opening gifts can take awhile, it is often the last event at a shower, giving guests time to eat, socialize and play any games that may be part of the festivities.
While shower styles have changed some over the decades, etiquette has not and teaches that anyone invited to a shower should also be included on the wedding guest list.
References
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