A bridal shower is a party held for the bride-to-be prior to the wedding that involves gifts, food, love and women only. Typically one or more of the bridesmaids will throw the bridal shower instead of a family member, and all of the bride-to-be’s closest female friends and family member will be present. We’ve got 15 awesome bridal shower ideas that are guaranteed to be a hit.
Host a classy affair by throwing a traditional British tea party for your bride’s shower. Have guests wear their Sunday’s best and have an assortment of hot tea, iced tea, mini sandwiches, cookies and other finger foods. Décor can include lace, doilies, pastel colors and pretty china table settings. Party favors can be teacups and saucers or gourmet tea leaves.
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Get artsy with a painting class, pottery lesson, flower arranging course, jewelry making session or have guests work together on a scrapbook as a gift for the bride-to-be. Having a hands-on activity as the primary event of the bridal shower will be fun for guests to get creative and have something tangible to take home with them. Having all the guests put together a scrapbook for the bride-to-be is also a fantastic idea since they are her closest female friends and would have lots of great memories to include in the keepsake.
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If the option is available to you, heading to a local winery for wine tasting would be a fantastic bridal shower theme. Hire a party bus to shuttle you from winery to winery and learn about different local wines. If there are none nearby, host a wine and cheese tasting party at your home instead. You can buy gourmet wines and cheeses from the store and have guests decorate their own wine glasses as party favors.
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An interesting and unique idea for a bridal shower is to host a charity shower. You still host a regular bridal shower with any theme and details that you want, but instead of bringing gifts for the happy couple, guests are asked to bring a donation to benefit a charity. Depending on the charity, the donation can be items like food, clothing, toys or cash. This is a great option for couples who don’t have a large wedding gift registry or already have most of the typical wedding gift items.
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A fun theme for a bridal shower is a holiday shower, where the host assigns each guest a holiday and the guest has to bring a gift related to that holiday. This is a great way to ensure that the gifts are diverse and practical for the couple. For example, Thanksgiving gifts could be ovenware and bakeware, Christmas gifts could be ornaments and stockings, Memorial Day and Fourth of July gifts could be backyard barbeque items, the list goes on and on.
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Treat yourselves with a relaxing spa day for a bridal shower. Depending on the number of guests and budget, you can do massages, facials and mani pedis at a salon. If there are a lot of people or you’re trying to stay budget-conscious, host a spa and wellness day at your house. You can make your own facial and body scrubs, give each other mani pedis and relax in the comfort of your own home. Guests can even take home the homemade scrubs as party favors.
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Choose an exotic travel location to use as the theme for the shower, such as France, Italy or Mexico. A Parisian bridal shower would be chic and involve wine, cheese, baguettes, macarons and Eiffel Tower décor. An Italian soiree could have delicious pasta, pizza, limoncello and bellinis. A Mexican themed fiesta could have a nacho bar, margaritas and sombreros. The options are endless with a travel destination themed shower.
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For the foodie brides, a cooking demonstration and kitchen-themed shower is the perfect idea. If you can find a cooking class to accommodate all of the guests, even better. Ask guests to bring kitchen-related gifts, such as nice silverware, wine glasses and nice cookware. The guests will learn new recipes and cooking techniques that they can try at home.
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Bring out the inner cowgirl in all of you by hosting a country western themed bridal shower. Have each guest arrive wearing cowboy hats, plaid shirts and cowboy boots and achieve a rustic feel with mason jars, horses and wildflowers as décor. Line dancing and outdoor games such as horseshoes and cornhole complete the day’s festivities.
Photo Credit: Rustic Wedding Chic
An Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter tea party is a fun and whimsical theme for a bridal shower. Take a trip down the rabbit hole with queen of hearts, clocks, teapots and Cheshire cat decorations. You can play a game of giant chess or lawn croquet in your yard. There are tons of fun Alice in Wonderland related decorations and treats to include in your shower.
Photo Credit: My True Blu
Create your own fragrance with a DIY perfume bar. There are many perfume kits that you can buy online that come with plenty of essential oils and other goodies to help you create your own unique scent. This is a fun activity that results in a wonderful party favor for guests to take home with them.
Photo Credit: Chic Galleria
Who didn’t love sleepovers as a kid? Host a slumber party reminiscent of the ones you had as a child by playing truth or dare, having a pillow fight, staying up late eating candy and watching movies. A slumber party shower can be held at someone’s house, or you can rent hotel rooms to ensure everyone has a bed to sleep in.
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A mimosa brunch is a wonderful bridal shower idea. You can either have it at a nice restaurant, or host a brunch yourself. Have a mimosa station in which there are different types of sparkling wines and champagnes as well as assorted freshly squeezed juices. Personalized coffee mugs or champagne flutes would be a fantastic party favor for the guests.
Photo Credit: Britt Croft Photography
Feel like a celebrity with a Hollywood movie start-themed shower. Purchase disposable cameras to act as paparazzi, serve popcorn and candy and buy feather boas and oversized sunglasses to use as props. You can create a movie poster with the bride-to-be as the star and have all of the guests sign it for her to keep.
Photo Credit: Tress Sugar
Invite your guests to be silly by hosting a hat party. Each guest must arrive wearing a hat – the more outrageous, the better. You can give out prizes for the silliest hat, the biggest hat, the prettiest hat and so on. Incorporate hats into the décor by serving snacks in paper hats and topping cupcakes with plastic hats.
Photo Credit: Party Hats
