Bridal showers have become a new trend as a part of every wedding celebration. For the unacquainted, a bridal shower is an event organized by the bride's family or her close friends in celebration of her upcoming wedding. It serves as the best moment for the bride to enjoy a few joyous and relaxing moments with their loved ones before getting caught up with the wedding shenanigans. So, what could be better than a bridal shower to celebrate the new exciting phase in a bride's life? Well, with the right tips and tricks you can now organize a perfect one for your dear sister or bestie!
For you to prepare for a dreamy bridal shower for the bride, it would be important to get into the know-hows of organizing a great one. Technically, there isn't a wrong or right way to throw a bridal shower but one can always make sure to imbibe more and more fun elements to make sure it turns out to be a great success. Let's get into the details and you would surely end up with a lot of useful information that's going to help you throw a magical bridal shower and be the best bridesmaid any bride could ask for!
The perfect time to organize a bridal shower would be somewhere about two to four weeks before the wedding event. Having a good time span between the bridal shower and the main wedding events would prevent any sort of time clashes. Apart from this, it would make it easier for the bride to enjoy a fun event with their close ones without getting jittery about the wedding arrangements going wrong.
Now, this is quite an essential point to ponder upon. It's all up to you to decide if you want to throw an extravagant bridal shower with a lot of guests or a subtle one with just a close circle of people. In any case, it would be important to freeze a guest list so that the invitations can be sent out on time. This list could include the bride's family and close friends. In case you are throwing the bride a surprise bridal shower, the list could be curated by the bridesmaids or the bride's mother, otherwise if it isn't a surprise party the bride can decide the guest list herself. In any case, the guest list should only have people who are surely going to be invited to the wedding.
This one makes up for one of the most essential steps in ensuring that you don't go overboard with spending money for the event. For that to happen, it is important for you to list down your requirements and the money allocation for each of those. The basic ones would be food and catering, drinks, music and DJ, venue booking, rentals, photography, videography, decor management and a lot more to go on with. To get it all done in an organized manner you would first have to jot down all the amenities you want to include as a part of the event. Moving on, allocate a specific monetary amount as your budget and then decide how much would be required for each of the specific requirements.
Before getting on with the bridal shower preps, it would be important to pick a date that goes well with both the bride and her guests. You can discuss it with her or choose a date that blends in with her wedding timeline seamlessly without causing any sort of hassles in the wedding preparations. Make sure you see to it that the bridal shower does not clash with any of the other major events of the wedding, therefore, try to plan it a few months before the wedding so that the bride can enjoy a fun time with her friends and family without worrying about the wedding preparations.
A bridal shower does not necessarily have to follow a certain dress code but it is always a good option to follow a theme for the outfits so that the pictures turn out great. You could go for options like ethnic, western, casual or formal, that would blend in quite well with most of the bridal shower themes you could think of. Keep it in check that you opt for a dress code that is comfortable for both the bride and her guests so that they could enjoy themselves an untroubled gala time. Also, whatever dress code you come up with, make sure to specify it in the invitation cards that you send out to the guests so that they all dress accordingly and there isn't any sort of last-minute confusing situation to create a ruckus.
A good venue plays an essential part in carrying out a seamless event and a bridal shower would be no exception. In case you are planning to host a lowkey event in the company of the bride's close friends and family, the bride's house or the backyard would be great options to go for. On the contrary, if you are thinking of laying out an extravagant affair, you could opt for a nice hotel or even a resort for that matter. Depending upon where the bride resides, you would have to finalize a location at a place where it is convenient for the bride to travel rather than having to shift the entire guest list to the shower venue. The location would also be dependent on your budget and the ease of travel to the place.
What adds the fun element to bridal showers? Well, why is that even a question! All of us know the answer, of course it is going to be some interesting games and activities. This idea works wonders in helping break the ice amongst the guests if they do not know each other already. It also makes up for the best opportunity for the bride to enjoy a fun time away from the jitters of getting married. You could opt for the traditional, must-include games like tambola, musical chairs and dumb charades or go with the newfound, fun games that are currently trending such as board games. The planning of activities and games also depends on your budget and interests of the bride as well as their guests.
Even though this one's not a mandatory step pertaining to throwing an event, it's a known fact that themes and concepts make them more exuberant and intriguing. You could brainstorm and come up with fun themes for the bridal shower that could be personalized keeping in mind the bride's personality or choices. Apart from this, you could also find some amazing inspirational ideas from Pinterest to go for a trending bridal shower theme. Some of the themes that have been a rage in the market nowadays are floral-theme, polka dot-theme, Disney-theme, retro-theme, Bollywood-theme and many more. The internet has a wide array of interesting ideas and themes for you to check out so keep an eye constantly if you want to match up to the current trends and styles that are gaining popularity.
Food and catering make up for the most awaited part of any event. The menu that you choose for the bridal shower would depend on the theme and time that you decide for the event. The best options would be organizing a brunch or an evening bridal shower where you can keep light snacks and various cocktails and mocktails as a part of the bridal shower menu. Whatever food options you choose while finalizing food items for the menu, make sure that it resonates with the bride's likes and dislikes and also keep in mind any sort of food restrictions pertaining to the bride and the invitees. Also, the number of guests attending the bridal shower should be finalized beforehand so that you do not go short on the quantity of food for the event.
As per the budget restrictions, you could decide for a decor service that caters to the theme you are following without burning a hole in your pocket. If you want it to be done professionally by inculcating the top-notch services and facilities it would be best to hire a decoration service that is reliable. On the other hand, if you are planning to save some money you can also look for some easy-breezy do-it-yourself decor ideas on Pinterest and take up the responsibility of decoration upon your shoulders. You could opt for something that resonates with the special moments of the bride's life. Some decoration styles that never go out of trend would be floral, sequins or even tropical for that matter. Also, do not forget to include a cool and funky photobooth setup for getting pictures clicked that would be etched as a part of your memory for life.
What even is a great party without some fun music? Get the guests and the bride in a fun, party mood with some groovy music and enjoy a gala time together. Curate a playlist by mixing some of the bride's favorite tunes and the latest party music to invoke the party animal in all of your guests. You could never go wrong with some upbeat Bollywood and some slow yet mushy love songs. You could also hire a DJ that can take care of the playlist and you could get that burden off of your shoulders to enjoy a fun evening with your close ones.
Bridal showers make up for a fun event to have the moment of a lifetime with the bride before she goes on to get married. By keeping these points in mind, you could host the bride an amazingly special event before she begins the new phase of her life. Now that you have a rough idea as to how to go about the bridal shower preparations, you could be just the perfect bridesmaid a bride could ask for. Make sure you have everything well-planned and organized before time to avoid any sorts of last moment hassles. The little tips mentioned above would leave no stone unturned in making the moment memorable for both the bride and her guests. With the right tips and tricks, you can ace managing the bridal shower like a pro. So, what are you waiting for? Go get your bridesmaid shoes on and get started with the bridal shower preps right away. Also, do not forget to enjoy the entire experience while getting caught up in the preparations. These are the moments that go on to become some of the most special memories of our lives that tug at the heartstrings when we look back at them.
