You’ve been asked by your best friend to be her maid of honour at her upcoming nuptials. You say yes, completely honoured to be involved in such a big day in her life. What you didn’t realize is all the work you’ll have to do from now until your BFF says ‘I do.’ One of the many duties on your MOH to-do list is planning the bridal shower.
The bridal shower is a way of celebrating your friend’s last few days of single-hood and help get her started in her new life of matrimony. Or, in other words, it’s a time for the girls to spend an afternoon together and for the bride to be showered in gifts.
If you’ve been given the shower-planning duties, here are a few tips to help you along your way.
Themes
First thing’s first. Choose a theme for the bridal shower. You can go with a simple coloured theme, or something elegant like French Bistro or High Tea. If you really want to make the day a memorable one, I advise really thinking about some of the bride’s favorite things. Who is her favorite singer? What’s her favorite TV show? What’s the one obsession she has that you just don’t get? Choose a theme that really reflects your friend’s personality, and try to make it as unique as possible. In my case, I’d love a Michael Jackson or Harry Potter themed shower. If the bride moonlights as a beauty blogger, put together a spa themed shower — set the mood with candles, play soft music and give manicure sets away as party favors.
Have Fun With Food
The food and drinks at a bridal shower are one of the most important aspects. People tend to prefer serving finger foods, since most showers happen during the day. It allows people to eat while playing games and engaging in conversation without making a mess.
Don’t be afraid to get creative with your menu. Serve sorbet or ice cream in bowls made from actual lemons. Make tiny little individual-sized wedding cakes for dessert. And let’s not forget about the alcohol. Perhaps create a cocktail inspired by the bride’s personality, favorite drink and favorite fruit.
Give Guests Something To Do
Things can get pretty boring very quickly at a shower if the host doesn’t provide games and activities for the guests. You can do the usual suspects — have guests write down their favorite memory of the bride, the MOH reads them out and the bride has to guess which guest wrote it; in teams, design a wedding dress out of toilet paper or newspaper; or have guests share their own marriage advice.
You can make things a little more interesting with a DIY photobooth. Provide fun props for guests to pose in and provide a copy of all the photos, perhaps in a scrapbook or shadow box, for the bride. You can even get the groom involved with the games. One adorable way to do just that is with this 24 Reasons game. Get the groom to write down 24 reasons why he loves his fiancee and have her read it aloud during the shower. These reasons can be silly and funny, uber romantic, or a combination of both This will remind everyone why they are celebrating and gives guests a better sense of their relationship.
