Wedding showers, or bridal showers, are often an event that are left to the bridesmaids to plan (that’s right brides, you should get a break from all of this wedding planning business!).  These showers are a great way for both sides of the family and friends to connect and meet each other before the “big day”, plus you are helping a new couple out by providing them with things that they really need to help build their new home, and life, together.

And let’s not forget that it’s a great opportunity for the bride to meet up with her friends and family and indulge in wine and tasty treats.

There are some things you need to consider when throwing a bridal shower, like:

Who is going to Host this Thing?

No, the host should not be the bride!  Though traditionally the maid of honor to the bride would host the bridal shower, nowadays usually a “host” for a wedding shower consists friends and/or family will want to get together and plan the party for the bride.  The key here is that the party is planned and that not a detail is left out; it really doesn’t matter who is actually hosting the event, and where, as long as it is at a location that everyone can reasonably reach.

When do you Throw a Bridal Shower?

Though a lot of families try to plan it as close to the wedding as possible, this isn’t really the most considerate move for the bride.  Think about how many details she has to go over and confirm in the next 2-4 weeks; now is it fair to really distract her from this to throw a bridal party?  While she is undoubtedly appreciative, she may not enjoy it as much as should would if it were thrown at an earlier time, say, 4 to 6 weeks prior to the wedding.

Bridal showers no longer need to be a surprise, either; they are actually an expectation of the bride, which makes it fine to tell her the date of the shower rather than plan some elaborate scheme which may or may not fall through.  Brides these days have jobs and a whole lot of other things to do, which may impact the success of having a “surprise” bridal shower.

Who do you Invite to a Bridal Shower?

You don’t have to know a person well to invite them to the shower. Review the bride’s guest list and be sure to invite all family members and friends or colleagues who are close to the bride.  These are all people who will want to partake in the bride’s special day.

The key is to keep the numbers relatively low.  Why?  If you invite a large quantity of people, you will have everyone breaking off into small groups rather than mingle and get to know the family and friends from both the bride and groom’s side of the family.  Having a small number also makes it far easier to play this hilarious, if not downright embarrassing, bridal shower games!