Bridal showers are a great way to honor a young couple before they venture down the road of commitment together.  Careful planning will ensure that everyone has a wonderful time making some great memories for the future bride.

Determining a theme should be the first item of business in planning a shower, once the date and guest list have been established.  Themes can be as simple as focusing on a favorite flower of the bride’s, or they can be as fun and intricate as a cooking shower, a “round the clock” shower or even a linen shower.  Find invitations that match the type of shower; if the shower theme is a kitchen shower, finding invitations that reflect that would be a fun way to let the guests know the theme.

FOnce the theme has been established, everything else should fall into place.  For instance, if the shower is to be an afternoon tea, small sandwiches, a plate of fruit and perhaps petit fours would be appropriate to serve.  If the party is a couples’ outdoor party, then grilled foods and perhaps homemade ice cream would be a good choice.  Or, if the party is a brunch, then items such as a casserole, small tarts or pastries, coffee, juice and fresh fruit might be best.

On occasion, hostesses may decide to give party favors to the guests.  This is typically a regional issue; not everyone follows this, and it certainly isn’t expected by the guests.  When determining party favors, though, consider something simple and meaningful, such as a candle with a small “keep the date” sticker on the bottom or side to remember the upcoming nuptuals.  Handmade gifts such as a sachet of potpourri are also nice and inexpensive.

While games are not a necessity at a shower, they certainly can keep the pace of the party rolling and provide a memorable time for everyone.  If the crowd is a compilation of people from various aspects of the future bride’s life, the guests might not all know each other; games can be a great way to bridge that awkward gap.  Some simple and fun bridal shower games can be found in books and magazines.  There’s always the classic team game: the Toilet Paper Wedding Gown race.  Divide into teams, and create a wedding dress out of toilet paper in an alloted time.  Seeing the creativity of the guests can be quite impressive!  Another great shower game is to create a list of trivial questions about the couple, then determine who can answer the most correct.  Amazingly enough, it is oftentimes NOT the mother-of-the-bride!

As hostess, it is not necessary to present a gift to the prospective bride; the shower is the gift.  However, a nice gesture, especially in this technological age, would be to gift the bride-to-be with a lovely assortment of thank you notes, especially if she has not ordered any herself.  Thank you notes should be handwritten; if guests are going to take the time to come and celebrate this amazing time in the future bride’s life, she should take the time to personally thank each person for their presence and their gift.