Plan a Beautiful Bridal Shower for the Unique Bride

Let’s face it: not every bride dreams of the bridal shower where she’ll eat cucumber sandwiches holding her pinky finger up all day listening to classical music. There are some brides – human brides – who would prefer something a bit more original and different. There are some great ideals for bridal shower themes for unique brides.

Secret #1: Always think of the bride. When it comes to planning the best bridal shower ever, refer to secret #1: always think of the bride. While the bridal shower may involve family, friends and other loved ones – the bridal shower should be an expression of the bride’s personality and taste. It is the ideal time to say something about who the bride is as an adult woman and to celebrate her becoming a married woman. So begin delving into what she likes, what she doesn’t like and what would make her the happiest. It is in uncovering these answers that you’ll find the perfect shower most often for the “unique” bride.

A bridal shower in a unique place can be an excellent choice. If the bride has always loved the aquarium, see if you can plan her bridal shower there. Or if the bride is a history buff, start researching local historical homes open to the public. You may be surprised at how many places are available for special events. Some cost very little and others are exorbitant. But you’ll only know if you ask….

Sometimes the best unique bridal shower exists in creating the “perfect” menu. Is the bride a chocoholic? Have a sweet chocolate theme and serve only desserts and other tempting treats with coffees and teas. Perhaps the bride has been a margarita girl at heart (and who isn’t?)…then try a margarita shower at her favorite Mexican restaurant complete with Mariachi band. The Asian foods bride would appreciate a sushi themed bridal shower. Or the wine loving bride might especially enjoy a bridal shower in a vineyard that featured a wine tasting. Some brides may be very “into” the menu and with others, this may matter little.

With all brides it is critical that those near and dear to her attend. This is not just the unique bride – but for every bride. To plan the perfect unique bridal shower you need to plan it well in advance so loved ones have enough time to travel or prepare to come. You will have a very disappointed bride on your hands if her great grandmother or college roommate cannot attend.

Don’t go bridal shower-zilla on us when it comes to planning. Most people won’t notice napkins that don’t match, if the favors don’t come or if something is spelled wrong. But they will notice the big things. They’ll notice if the bridesmaids and other ladies planning it are stressed about planning the shower – bridal showers should be fun! Shower guests will notice if you’ve run out of ice or cups or napkins. Anyone else who gets too fussy should be reminded it’s the bride’s day to be the fussy one.

Jill Renee, DanforthDiamond.com – Wedding rings, beautiful wedding jewelry and engagement rings.

Unique Ideas for a Bridal Shower

Every bride dreams of having a wonderful bridal shower and spending time with her female friends and family members. Not only is this a time to “shower” the bride with gifts, but a special time to shower her with love and to toast her new special life as a married woman. Why not give the bride a shower that is as unique as she is?

When planning a bridal shower – you can’t go wrong when you start thinking of the bride herself. Every bride has characteristics that make her unique. Perhaps she’s always loved animals or made a great margarita. Or she has a great sense of humor. Or she’s a nature lover and very into living “green.” Each of these can give you great ideas for bridal showers – from hosting a margarita party to going to a comedy club or donating to an animal shelter as a gift to the bride.

Sometimes one special aspect is what makes a bridal shower unique. You don’t have to add tons of ideas to your bridal shower – remember that the guests are going to want to spend lots of time visiting with the bride and also with each other. Try having one or two special touches that make people go “ooh” and “ahh” and make your shower unique. Too many special touches can throw people off and confuse them.

Even if a bridal shower is “unique” it should still be welcoming. If the bride is a vegetarian – would throwing a vegetarian bridal shower be a great unique idea? It might be…depending on the guests coming. When 80% or more of your guests are also vegetarian, having a vegetarian bridal shower is a thoughtful thing to do. If the majority of your guests are not vegetarian then adding some vegetarian dishes and meat dishes to the menu may be the ideal choice – in order to best welcome guests. Remember that a bridal shower is not completely about the bride – but welcoming her to a new family and making everyone feel comfortable and enjoying time spent together.

Try these ideas for something unique and different!

• A spa bridal shower – have facials, massages or manicures and pedicures
• Get psychic – see a psychic or a tarot card reader as part of your bridal shower
• Get physical – invite a bellydance teacher or pilates instructor to teach everyone some great new moves
• Be thoughtful – give gifts to a charity instead of lots of loot to the bride. Perfect for the bride who has everything and has a big heart.

Article by Danforth Diamond, providing expert advice for choosing your engagement ring.

How to Throw a Bridal Shower Surprise Party

Modern technology might have made it more difficult to throw surprises because almost everyone is aware of what is going on around the world. However, that does not mean you cannot throw a good surprise if you wanted to. There are at least a few things you can do when you are planning to surprise someone during a bridal shower surprise party. The following are some ideas.

Making the Lists Ready

You cannot do anything without having a proper guest list first. Send proper invitations to them, with an RSVP so that you know who will actually attend and who won’t. If there are adjustments to be made, such as some of the guests find some other day suitable than what you have chosen, try to make the changes. You also have to take their traveling into consideration.

Make up a guest list of the bride-to-be’s best friends and closest family members, the number of people that you invite is really up to you and how many people you think they would like to have come.

Zeroing in on the Date

The next step in planning the Bridal shower surprise is to actually set the date. This can be somewhat tricky, because more than anything you are going to have to make sure that the bride herself is going to be able to make it on that date, but without letting her know that you are up to anything.

You can speak to her fiancé to see what his opinion is on this, and if you can get a hold of her datebook or calendar, without being overly nosy, you can check to see what dates she has free.

Keep the Bride Occupied

One thing is sure – if the bride has nothing to do, she is going to suspect something about your little surprise. But if she is kept busy, she just won’t have the time to care. Hence, if she ! is not occupied in any other way, you have to ensure that you keep her occupied. That gives room for you to plan things out without worrying that she will come to know. Of course, she must not understand that she is being kept away.

Ensure that No One talks!

This is very important, because even if one person tattletales to the bride, the whole surprise bridal shower is spoiled. Make everyone you speak with, including the ones ! you send invitations to, agree that they will keep this a surprise. It is best that you keep the weaker people out of this secret until the nth hour and that you don’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know about these plans.

photo by ciboulette

Wine Theme Bridal Shower

A wine and cheese party can be a great way to get together with friends or for a special bridal or wedding shower, birthday party or other celebration. It be easy to put together with a minimum of work even if you don’t know much about wine or cheese! You can throw together a simple but elegant party without a lot of fuss and have an interesting theme to boot. A wine and cheese party may be the quintessential choice for an elegant bridal shower party. Women love to nibble and graze and putting out a beautiful spread of cheeses, crackers, fruit and wine (along with some bite size desserts) is just perfect. It is the selection and variety of these items that will set your party apart and above the typical wine and cheese bridal theme party.

The Wine:

Like everything else – serve a variety. Two whites and two reds are perfect.   For the white – offer one on the sweeter side (perhaps a Riesling) and one more on the dry and crisp side (a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc).   As for the red choices – try one on the ‘lighter’ side (Pinot Noir or Beaujolais Nouveau are good choices) and a full bodied one (a French Bordeaux or Californian Cab would be perfect). Of course make sure there are non-alcoholic beverages too – whether water, club soda or the like. Read more

Unique Bridal Shower Themes

A recent trend in the practice of bridal showers are themes. Themes are a fun, creative way to spice up a traditional event. Bridal showers are most than just a day for bride to help her prepare for the big day, they are also a time to enjoy the company of family and friends. It is important that the bride use the shower as a way to express her personal style and tastes. that’s where bridal shower themes come in. Here are some wonderful theme ideas:

1. Wine Tasting Party

This bridal shower theme is a great idea for wine lovers! It is also a way to include all of your guests in the event. If you have your wine tasting shower at a winery, the staff can choose which wines should be tasted. If you would rather have your party at someones house, you can pick the wines yourself or have guests bring their favorite wines to try.

2. Pajama Bridal Shower

Having an all-girls shower? Why not throw the party in the evening and have all guests come in their pajamas! Instead of traditional games, let your guests relax with facials, manicures and pedicures. These wonderful, relaxing activities will help alleviate the stress that the bride is feeling during this time.

3. Hawaiian Themed Party

Say Aloha to the bride with this fun bridal shower theme! Hawaiian themed parties are great for any bride who loves to go to the beach. Decorate your shower with tiki torches and bright colors and give each guest her own lei as she walks in. You could also hire a professional to teach guests how to hula dance!

4. Pink Bridal Shower

For the more feminine brides, “shower” the entire party with the color pink! Use pink decorations including flowers, tablecloths or dishes. Give guests a pink-colored candle as a favor. Also, no pink bridal shower would be the same without a pink cake!

5. Room of the House Bridal Shower

Another great bridal shower theme is a Room of House shower. Each guest is assigned a particular room of the house, such as kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, and they must buy a present that would be used in that room. For decorations, you could separate the party area into different “rooms” and have the bride move from “room to room”; while she opens her presents!

6. Naughty and Nice Bridal Shower

Have you ever wanted to bring a really naughty gift for the bride-to-be but were too embarrassed about her opening it in front of everybody else? Well, here is your chance. Everyone needs to bring a naughty gift, as well as a nice gift to be opened on the day. The naughty gifts however are put in a black satin pillowcase with a red ribbon and left for the bride to open with her husband on their honeymoon night while they have some more fun.

7. Quiz the Bride Bridal Shower

Put the bride-to-be in the hot seat and see how much she really knows her husband-to-be. In order to use this game you will have needed to ask the groom some questions before the day and got his answers either written down or on video tape. You then ask the bride these same questions and see whether she answers correctly. Find out how good their communication skills really are, or whether they have been too consumed with other things.

8. Honeymoon Panties Bridal Shower

Buy packs of plain white panties so that each guest has a pair to decorate for the honeymoon. The bride-to-be then tried these different panties on over her clothes and decides who is the winner and can take them all home to show to her husband on their wedding night.

Go Paperless and send e-invites for bridal showers at American Greetings!

Written partially by Tamara Ford.  you may be interested in reading another article she wrote about Party Themes and Ideas.

Bridal Shower Themes

One of the jobs of a bridesmaid is to help throw a bridal shower for the bride. Depending on your personality, this can either be a very fun task, or a very daunting one. If you are not accustomed to entertaining, you may not know where to begin.

A great way to give a party a distinctive style is to pick a theme. The theme is some idea or design element that you choose to help bring the whole event together. It is fine to be eclectic, but you do not want to host a bridal shower that seems to have no direction or unified look. The theme will give you ideas about the invitations, decorations, food, music, games, and maybe even the gift.

There are some themes that are very traditional for bridal showers. One popular idea is a kitchen based shower. It dates back to the time when it was expected that every wife would be a homemaker. In considering this type of old-fashioned theme today, it is important to know the bride well. If she is a real “foodie”, then no doubt some gifts from the gourmet cooking shop would thrill her. However, if the bride is very career-oriented and has no interest in cooking, she might be insulted by a kitchen themes bridal shower.

These days it is more common to pick the theme based on the bride’s interests or her personal style. For instance, I once co-hosted a bridal shower for a very dear friend who loved cherries (she even had a tattoo of a cherry on her shoulder). We chose invitations with a cherry pattern on them, had dishes of chocolate covered cherries, and for the favors, I handmade soap with a cherry design. Of course, not everything at the shower was based on cherries; we served many of her favorite foods, and chose flowers in her favorite color combination, purple and orange. Remember to use your theme as a starting point, but not to take it over the top.

You can also use the bride’s wedding as an idea for the bridal shower. For example, if she is having a destination wedding, then why not throw a beach themed shower? It would be a great warm-up to the main event. You could send invitations with seashells or starfish on them, fill hurricane lanterns with shells and white candles for decorations, and ask all of the guests to bring a beach themed gift. The bridesmaids might even chip in together on a special present, such as a piece of handmade jewelry for the bride to wear at her wedding. For a destination wedding, a casual piece of wedding jewelry handmade with organic pearl wedding jewelry would be a great idea.

Another source of ideas for a bridal shower could be the bride’s background. Let’s say that the bride is a Southern belle who has relocated to New York City. She would be touched to have a shower that featured her favorite Southern things. You could serve regional foods and decorate with magnolias floating in water.

The most important thing to remember when choosing a theme for a bridal shower is that it should look like the bride. This is not the occasion to inject the taste of the hosts. Ask yourself, “would the bride love this?”, and if the answer is yes, you will know that you have found the perfect theme.

Look to Bridget for advice on planning your wedding. Check out how we can help with your bridesmaids jewelry at SilverlandJewelry.com. Handmade wedding jewelry is a beautiful and thoughtful gift.