It’s time to celebrate the bride-to-be with an incredible bridal shower. As the maid of honor and bridesmaids, it is essential to round up all the special ladies in the bride’s life and spoil her with beautiful gifts, stunning decor, delicious food and plenty of bubbly. As one of the only pre-wedding event that truly celebrates the bride-to-be, it is essential that you get the bridal shower right. But planning the perfect bridal shower can be stressful, so we’ve put together the ultimate guide to planning a bridal shower to help you get it right! From food to party favors, our guide includes everything you need to know!

Preparation

Speak To The Bride-To-Be

Before you pick a date or start planning, sit down and talk to the bride-to-be. From who gets invited to even having a joint party with the groom/bride-to-be, you never know what the brides wishes may be. It is therefore essential that you include the bride-to-be in decision making so that she gets exactly what she wants from her bridal shower.

Start having this conversation six months before you plan to throw the bridal shower so it can be a constant conversation and genuinely get to know what the bride-to-be wants! Things to include in this conversation should be the following:

Who to include in the planning process – Remember that just because you are the maid of honor, does not mean that you have to plan the bridal shower by yourself. By having a conversation with the bride-to-be, you can ask them who wants to help with the planning like the bridesmaids, mother-of-the-bride and other family members. Having a conversation with the bride can definitely steer you in the right direction to who wants to be involved.

Who is paying for the bridal shower – One of the most significant expenses of the bridal party is the bridal shower. Yes, you and the rest of the bridesmaids usually pay for the bridal shower – but there are a few exceptions to this rule. Often the families of the bride and groom contribute to prewedding events especially if they are co-hosting them. Another exception is the bride-to-be who might want to contribute to ensuring that the bridal shower is exactly what she wants it to be.

Choose a date – After a couple gets engaged, they usually take around a year to plan their wedding day. As the maid of honor, this gives you a few months to start planning the bridal shower. When you sit down with the bride-to-be, discuss a few dates to have the bridal shower as well as the bachelorette party.

Budget

Now that you’ve spoken to the bride-to-be, its time to set the budget. By now you should know who is willing to contribute to the bridal shower (family, bridal party, etc.) so set a budget that can easily be afforded. Remember that going over budget will only put you out of pocket so ensure that the budget is realistic and that everyone involves pays their share.

Pick A Date

Bridal showers are usually thrown about two months before the wedding day. After chatting to the bride-to-be about her availability, as well as the bridal party and very close family, pick a date that suits everyone. It is essential that you choose a date and time where most guests, if not all guests, can come.

Make A Guest List

Now that you’ve decided when the bridal shower will happen, its time to put together the guest list. Along with the bride draw up a guest list with people she wishes to invite. It is essential to know who is also invited to the wedding because you don’t want to invite anyone who isn’t invited to the wedding. Once the guest list is complete ask the bride-to-be to double check the list as well as provide you with email addresses or phone numbers of everyone on the list.

Save The Date

With email addresses and a bride-approved guest list in tow, you can now send the save-the-date. A simple email with a digital save-the-date will do. Remember that the save-the-date is not the actual invite, so you don’t need to add a venue or time to it. The only thing that should be added is the date and the city (and even suburb), so guests know where they need to be on the day. If it is a surprise, include that on the save-the-date.

Choose A Theme

Even though a theme is not a necessity, it does add an element of fun, whimsy, and excitement. A theme influences everything about a bridal shower like invitations, decor and food options. If you’re out of ideas for bridal shower themes, here are a few of our favorites:

Mexican Fiesta – From bright and bold flowers, sombreros and pinatas designs, to a simple cacti design, you can really do so much with a fiesta theme. When it comes to food, Mexican is not only delicious but perfect if you’re on a tight budget. You can have a taco station, serve chips and guac, or enchiladas. For drinks, opt for delicious margaritas and a Mexican beer like Corona. Add a fun dress code inspired by the most Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, with her brightly colored clothing and beautiful floral headpieces.

Fun Floral Arranging – Is the bride-to-be flower or plant enthusiast? If yes, consider a fun floral arrangement class. Invite guests to partake in a hands-on experience as they socialize and celebrate the bride-to-be. Bring in a floral designer to lead the group in making beautiful flower crowns or mini centerpieces. Not only will the guest be learning a new skill, but they will get to take home a cute floral favor.

High Tea – Everyone loves high tea so why not throw the bride-to-be a beautiful tea party. You can do it at home with homemade cakes and savory treats, or host the bridal shower at a local hotel that already serves high tea. Add a cute dress code of dresses and heels for a sophisticated look and feel.

Location, Location, Location

Once you’ve chosen a date, have a guest count and theme, you can now decide on where to host the shower. Depending on the budget, you can hire a venue, book a table at the bride’s favorite restaurant or host the shower at your home. When choosing a location make sure that it is easy to get to (with public transport too or car service), ample parking and that the space can accommodate all the guests that are invited.

Be Clear About Gifts

Depending on the bride-to-be’s wishes, gifts are a great addition to the shower. Some brides prefer only to have small gifts – like everyday things for the home – or no gifts at all. If this is the bride’s wishes, make it clear to guests on the invitation. If gifts are requested, include some guidelines. Because this is not the bachelorette party and children, grandmothers, aunties, and mothers are included, make sure the guideline allure to gifts not being too raunchy. A karma sutra book or sexy lingerie is something that should be saved for the bachelorette party.

DIY or Buy Invitations

Whether you send a traditional paper invite or an e-vite, it’s time to DIY or buy the invitations. Remember that this is only the bridal shower, not the wedding, so do not go overboard with buying paper, hiring a graphic designer or printing the invites. Better yet, use an online template and just send everyone an e-vite. Don’t forget to add a line about gifts and if it is a surprise or not.

Two To Six Weeks Before the Shower

Send Out The Invitations

Six weeks before the actual shower, send out the invitations. This gives people enough time to RSVP and plan accordingly. It also gives you enough time to confirm numbers with the cater and the venue.

Plan The Menu

Once you’ve sent out the invitations and the RSVPs start coming in, you can start planning the menu for the bridal shower. When it comes to planning a menu, it is essential that you choose food that the bride will like, is easy to serve and caters to various dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options). You don’t need to serve a full sit down meal, but rather a few things to nibble on or canapés with champagne and something non-alcoholic options.

If you are catering the bridal shower opt for options that are easy to make. For savory snacks serve quiches, bruschetta, devil eggs, smoked salmon sandwiches and chicken and veggie skewers. If you want a DIY menu, opt for a build-your-own-taco station, hire a hotdog stand or a build-your-own-burger station. For dessert, you could hire an ice cream truck – which will make for great photographs – as well as cupcakes, macaroons, and cheesecake. Mimosas, champagne, tea, and coffee are perfect for drinks.

Get Party Favors For Guests

If your budget allows, gift all guests with a party favor. Even though not necessary, it is an excellent way to say thank you to the guests for attending. A few ideas for party favors include something edible like cookies, rice crispy treats, cupcakes or the bride’s favorite coffee blend. If you’d like to give guests with something they can keep opt for wine stoppers, succulents, or scented candles. Be sure to add a personal note from the bride-to-be thanking guests for attending.

One Week Before

Plan A Few Games

Now for the fun stuff! Get a little silly with a few bridal shower games to play at the party. This is a great way to break the ice with people that have never met and get guests interacting and laughing. But it is essential to ask the bride-to-be if she wants games at her shower. Some brides don’t enjoy games, so it is best to avoid them. If she’d like games, you can play bridal shower bingo and bride and groom trivia. A sweet touch is getting guests to write down some advice for the bride-to-be so make sure to add cards where they can do so.

Prep The Food

If you are DIYing the menu, you need to start planning your grocery list two weeks before the bridal shower. The week of the shower buy your groceries – this may take more the one trip to the grocery store. A day or two before the shower you can start preparing the food. If you’ve hired a caterer, make sure to let them know where to deliver the food on the day.

Set Up The Decor

Take one less thing off your to-do list and ask the bridesmaids to decorate the venue. Round up the girls, let them know the vision and let them decorate! The decor should be done the day before the bridal shower. Don’t forget to set up a table for gifts, party, and food.

Prepare Your Toast

While the rest of the bridal party is decorating, you can prepare a toast to thank guests for coming to celebrate the bride-to-be. It is also an opportunity to congratulate the bride officially. Keep it short and sweet but be sure to add a few words of encouragement and a personal touch like a story about the bride-to-be that nobody knows.

Have A Schedule For The Day

The last thing you should do is figure out a schedule. It does not have to be detailed, but you need to have some sort of plan on how the day will play out. You might need to get some of the bridesmaids involved to ensure everything runs smoothly especially with serving food, opening gifts and handing out party favors. But remember that not everything is under your control and things may not go according to the schedule. The key is to go with the flow in unexpected situations.

On The Day

With the decor set up, the party favors in place and your toast ready to go, there are only a few things you still need to do. The first thing you need to do is finish the food – bake the baked goods, finish the dips, and ice the cupcakes. If you’ve hired a caterer, make sure you or someone else is at the venue to collect and put out the food before guests arrive. With the help of the bridesmaids, you can run last minute errands and add a few final touches to the venue.

Overall, planning a bridal shower should be fun. There might be a few stressful moments – getting everyone’s email address for invitations, ensuring everyone RSVPs, and setting up the decor – but the experience for everyone involved should be filled with plenty of laugh and champagne. On the day, all the stress will seem worth it as the bride-to-be, and her guests enjoy a magical day!