These days, organising a bridal showers is becoming as important as planning the wedding itself. A lot of “about to weds” even contract the management and planning to brands to ensure they get the bridal shower of their dreams.
If you’re the bride’s best friend and you’re asked to take charge of the entire process, what would you do? What ideas would come to your mind to make the event unique and fun filled? Here are some of our best kept secrets to planning a successful bridal shower.
Share creative ideas and tasks
First of all, you shouldn’t feel every concept must come from your head. Gather all the friends of the bride and rub minds together. Think of ways to make it fun without losing perspective.
When you all have agreed, distribute the tasks amongst each other. If there’s someone who is a wine connoisseur, let them handle the drinks. Those who have an eye for fashion can take care of the style you all want for the day – and so on.
You can as well talk to married women who have had the experience in the past. They would likely come up with concepts to help you save money, time and effort. Even if you’re an events planner, two heads are better than one. Allow others contribute their own opinions.
Come up with theme ideas
Getting a theme for the bridal shower is one of the major aspects of the entire organising process. Be creative about theme decorations and colour. Here are some popular themes you could consider:
A travel theme – You can have the different maps to the bride’s favourite cities or countries embedded in invitations, clothing and gifts – if you’re giving out any.
Cultural theme – You can style the attires for the day to fit a particular culture. It could be African, Caribbean, Arabian or English. This could even inspire the honeymoon destination for the couple afterwards.
A lingerie theme – It’s an all-girls party. You all can decide to look kinky in silk or chiffon clothing. Short, long, plain or decorated, it all adds spice to the event.
Personalised theme – You can get all the props that would be used for the event personalised with the bride’s first name, initials, nickname, favourite phrases, and so on – from napkins, flower vases, photos and gifts to clothing, shoes and even the walls of the venue.
Food and drinks theme – There are many sub-concepts to this. If the bride is a foodie or even all of her friends, you can have a special recipe and meal prepared for the occasion. This gives everyone something to remember and a taste to lead them into the wedding day.
On the other hand, you could also have a BYOF shower – Bring Your Own Food. This also goes for drinks. Instead of spending a lot on drinks, you can tell every guest to bring a bottle of drink from a range that would be communicated to them via the invitation mail or ticket.
There are also the paper showers, hardware shower, tech shower and many more for you to consider any if you want to customise for more uniqueness.
Plan from start to the finish
When planning, make sure you follow through from start to finish. From the invitation to the invitees and the venue, make sure the “WOW” effect is consistent. When giving out tickets, be certain the content will instantly fascinate and catch the attention of the invitee. It can be a funny sentence, a captivating image, or a special type of calligraph or material texture that lets the reader in on what to expect when they arrive.
Furthermore, if it’s a surprise, don’t forget to indicate it on the ticket. Provide contact details so anyone can reach you for further information.
Don’t forget to include the name of the bride. As the guest of honor, it’s only wise that people know whose bridal shower they are going for. Be clear with the details and the purpose, so people won’t think it’s just a party or something else.
Indicate the date and venue in places where they can be easily seen on the ticket. Talking about venue, if the party isn’t going to be in a popular location or a place where people can locate, add the directions to the ticket. You can also put information about parking.
The dress code is very important. Make sure it’s in line with the theme and the venue. You wouldn’t ask people to wear an evening dress to an outdoor bridal shower during the cold or rainy season. Indicate the colour of the day too.
Confirm with the bride that she likes the concept
Since the event is majorly about the bride, do not lose sight of her. Ensure that whatever idea you all settle for is approved by the bride and is one she’s comfortable with.
In some cases, the bride might even want to take up some of the responsibilities. Respect her wishes and let her provide any extra information she feels will make the bridal shower better.
However, there are brides who might wish to have a bridal shower but can’t afford to and perhaps you are planning one as a surprise – enlist a close member of her family into it. If you know the bride well enough and you are certain of how her regular schedule is like, who most of her friends are, the things she likes and so on, then you’re good to go.
Let the day be about the bride
The day has to be about the bride. Let no one else steal her shine. It’s important she’s well pampered and taken care of. The funniest person in the clique could volunteer or be asked to anchor the day to make sure she laughs, blushes and is excited all day.
Make videos, rent a photo booth and take pictures, and try not to let a dull moment ruin your efforts. Another friend can help take down the names of people who came with gifts – while you all open them.
