Recently a friend of mine was invited to a bridal shower, and she confided in me that she'd never been to one before. "What do I get her? Sexy underwear?" she asked. I explained to her that, unless she would consider sexy underwear an appropriate gift to give this friend for her birthday at a party with friends and family, it would not be appropriate in this case unless the invitation specified that it was a lingerie shower.
Her naivete made me think about the fact that, while being invited to a bridal shower for the first time brings up a lot of questions, throwing one must bring up even more. If you're in this position, know that you first must decide on whether or not you'll have a theme.
The possibilities are endless -- you can choose to throw a shower for just the bride or for the couple together. It can be laid back and casual or an elegant cocktail party. Unless you're doing this as a surprise shower, I would suggest talking to the bride as far as what to suggest to the guests for gifts -- there could be specific things she would love to receive before the wedding.
Since you're throwing the shower, probably you know the couple really well, so you can tailor the theme to their (or the bride's) personality. Are they building a house? Assign each guest a room to shop for. Are they vacationing in Europe for their honeymoon? You could give the guests a list of places the couple will visit and the opportunity to purchase a meal there. Do they love to throw parties? Hold a "Stock the Bar" Party where everyone can bring bottle of booze or a glass set.
Don't be afraid to make the shower specific to an idea like one of these -- it'll give the guests ideas for what gifts to buy, and it'll make the party really memorable for your engaged friend
Finally, if you're a guest and don't see that there's a theme, contact the person throwing the shower and ask if there's anything in particular the bride needs. You can purchase something off the registry, or perhaps some of the other guests are going in on a large item and you could join them.
Since you're throwing the shower, probably you know the couple really well, so you can tailor the theme to their (or the bride's) personality. Are they building a house? Assign each guest a room to shop for. Are they vacationing in Europe for their honeymoon? You could give the guests a list of places the couple will visit and the opportunity to purchase a meal there. Do they love to throw parties? Hold a "Stock the Bar" Party where everyone can bring bottle of booze or a glass set.
Don't be afraid to make the shower specific to an idea like one of these -- it'll give the guests ideas for what gifts to buy, and it'll make the party really memorable for your engaged friend
Finally, if you're a guest and don't see that there's a theme, contact the person throwing the shower and ask if there's anything in particular the bride needs. You can purchase something off the registry, or perhaps some of the other guests are going in on a large item and you could join them.
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