How to Host a Wedding Shower

Video Transcript

"So you're the maid of honor, the best friend, or the mother of the bride, and you've been charged with hosting a wedding shower. What do you do? Let's talk a little bit about how to host a wedding shower. There are some basics here you want to follow. First and foremost, talk to the bride. She has some valuable information that you're going to need. What style of shower does she see herself having. Does she want a traditional shower? Or does that kind of turn her off. Would she prefer to have a themed shower? Nowadays, a lot of people are opting to have coed showers and include the guys. So have a conversation with the bride and kind of feel out where she's at on this. You also need to talk to the bride about scheduling. Traditionally, a wedding shower is going to be held approximately four to six weeks prior to the wedding; however, there are some variables involved there. Does she have relatives coming in from out of state that she would like to have included in the shower. If so, you need to be a little closer to the wedding. Or, is she going out of the area for another shower with friends and family that don't live in town? If so, you don't want to be on the heels of that one. Maybe she's having a bachelorette party. All of these things need to be taken into consideration while planning because you don't want to put a stressed out bride through a series of parties back to back to back. Put a little bit of space, at least a week or two in between other events. So again, four to six weeks before the wedding, you'll want to send your invitations out approximately four weeks before your shower date; however, again, a little rule here, I don't have too many rules, but this is a definite rule, do not send your shower invitations out prior to the wedding invitations going out. That's a big no-no. So talk to the bride. Find out where she is with the invitations. You can send yours out shortly after. Once you've spoken with her and decided what kind of a shower you're going to be throwing, you need to work on who is invited. Definitely, this is wedding guests only. It doesn't have to be all the wedding guests, but shower invitees should be people that are on the wedding guest list only. Otherwise it seems like a pitch for gifts. The one exception to that rule is a work related shower. But for regular wedding or bridal shower, wedding guests only, ladies only if it's a traditional shower, coed if it's coed. Talk to the bride about who she'd like to have there. Get those invitations out. Find a location. Are you going to be in a restaurant out to eat or in a home? Typically, this is a hosted event. You're probably going to pay for this. Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you need some help, get another couple of people to help you host, maybe her best friend or a family member and foot the bill there. But, if you're going out to a restaurant, it turns into a little more pay as you go. The guests are much more likely to pay their way. Again, it's kind of up to you and your budget. Be clear in your invitation as to where you're going, what time of day it's going to be, so what the dress code is going to be. Include registry information. It's absolutely okay to include bridal registry information in those invitations, and have the bride register for some more personal gifts, not just things for her and the groom, things that she would like for herself cause a lot of wedding guests like to shop off of wedding registries. That's about it. Once you have all that information, carry your theme through with some decorations, play through party games. I like to play a newlywed type game. Ask people questions. Ask her questions about how well she knows her fiance. That kind of thing. But keep it light. Keep it fun, and have a great time."