Planning a Bridal Shower

Ready to have some fun???

If you have been delegated as the bridal shower planner for your friend or family's wedding, you have a lot ahead of you. There are many things you are going to want to do in order to make sure you have a fun-filled and well-planned evening for the bride-to-be.

In order to plan a bridal shower, you want to talk with the bride-to-be first. Find out what she is comfortable with or if she has any particular ideas of what she wants to do. There are many different ways to hold a bridal shower, so think about this carefully.

For instance, she may want to go to a comedy club show, a bar, a strip club, or have the party at a particular person's house. Most commonly, bridal showers are held at the house of a friend, the bride-to-be's mother, or a family member's house. This allows the bride to get away from "home" and her comfort zone so that she is much more likely to let loose and have some fun (without worrying about coasters, the dishes, laundry, etc!).

Next, find a good date and time for when you can do the bridal shower. This may require talking to a number of people - such as the bride-to-be, her mother, and close relatives and friends. Try to work with a few dates and who is available on those days, then take the list back to the bride-to-be to pick a good day.

As the bridal shower planner, it would be your job to send out invitations. So, once the time, date, and location are all set up, order bridal shower invitations and distribute them. Again, you will want to talk to the bride-to-be to find out who she would like invited. Try to get an address book from her (she should have all the addresses for the wedding invitations, so this should be easy) and send out invitations at least 4 weeks prior so that people have time to RSVP and to put the date on their calendars.

You may want to work with another close friend or relative of the bride-to-be for the rest of the planning. It helps if someone else knows what will be going on that day, just in case. This allows you have someone else that can help out throughout the shower itself and keep everything moving.

You'll need to figure out a few key things - what is everyone going to do? What are they going to eat? And, most importantly, what is everyone going to drink?

With drinks, you'll have to make certain accommodations. If there will be any driving, you'll either need a designated driver at the party, hire a cab or limo, or have someone else who will pick all of you up and take you where you need to go. Also, if the bride-to-be is pregnant, drinks are going to be a big no-no for her!

Food should be light and easy - appetizer type foods that are easy to eat while still playing games or chatting. And games! You'll need lots of entertaining games to keep everyone engaged, happy, and festive.

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