My daughter recently got married, and her bridesmaids and I threw her a bridal shower. From the location to the food, there’s a lot of thought that goes into hosting a bridal shower. Here are some Bridal Shower Ideas to help with your planning.
Who Do you Invite to the Bridal Shower?
One of the first questions when planning a bridal shower is “Who do we invite?”. Honestly, that all depends on the bride and groom. Each shower will have a different set of circumstances.
Before choosing a location, you need to have an idea how many people will be invited to the wedding shower. It can be as small as 6 people which would include the bride, the bride’s Mom, and the bridesmaids. Or it can be a couples shower with 100 guests.
Keep in mind that the more people you invite, the larger the venue, the more food you’ll need, and the bigger the budget.
For a medium size shower, you would invite the bridesmaids, bride’s and groom’s mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, sisters, aunts, female cousins, close family friends, and perhaps female coworkers.
Of course, there are no set rules on who you have to invite to the bridal shower.
Handmade Bridal Shower Invitations
Making the Bridal Shower Invitations will be your first DIY project for the wedding shower. You can do them to match the theme or the colors of the wedding. Classic black, white, silver, and gold are always in style no matter what kind of shower you’re hosting.
If you’re new to making cards, How To Make Handmade Cards will get you started to making your own invitations.
Bridal Shower Ideas – Location
The bridal shower venue can be as simple as a backyard patio or as lavish as a Country Club ballroom. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a location.
- How many people will be attending? You want everyone to be comfortable, and have room to socialize.
- What is your budget?
- Does the location do catering? Can you hire the caterer of your choice? Are you allowed to bring your own food and drinks?
- If you are renting a room, do they provide tables, chairs, and linens? Is there a set up fee?
- Is the location convenient for the guests?
Bridal Shower Themes
I have seen some really fun themes for Bridal Showers. For my daughter’s shower, we didn’t really have a theme. Instead, we did decorations in her wedding colors.
We had originally planned a nice outside bridal celebration with silver and malibu blue garlands draped in the trees with lots of fresh flowers. However, the weather didn’t cooperate, and we had to celebrate inside.
A Tea Party Wedding Shower is classic. The Gracious Wife used teapots filled with flowers, doilies, and pearls, to celebrate this wonderful occasion.
Country themed parties with burlap and mason jars are very popular in my area. Here is a great Rustic Themed Shower that Angie at Country Chic Cottage threw for her daughter. She shares lots of wonderful Bridal Shower Ideas.
If country and rustic isn’t your idea of a party, how about a swanky Breakfast at Tiffany’s Bridal Shower? It’s complete with a recipe for a vegan cake, that weighed 15 lbs and was beautifully decorated by Valentina at The Baking Fairy.
The Great Gatsby is a fun theme for a DIY Bridal Shower. All of the fun flare of The Roaring 20’s is a creative way to celebrate. Look at Aileen Cooks will show you all of the fun things she planned for The Great Gatsby Themed Shower for her sister-in-law.
Bridal Shower Ideas – Decorations
If you’re the crafty type or if you have a crafty helper, you can have a field day with DIY Bridal Shower Decorations.
Garlands, banners, and pennants are so popular for party decorations. I made this Cricut Banner for daughter’s shower.
Here is a wonderful Paper Heart Garland by Jess with Make and Do Crew.
You are not going to believe this amazing Rustic Glam Wedding Decor from Angie at The Country Chic Cottage. She purchased all of the supplies at Dollar General! Yes, you read that correctly. She made these for a wedding, but they would be awesome for a DIY bridal shower.
Bridal Shower Favors
Favors aren’t a necessity, but they sure are fun! They are also a great way to show your creativity.
This Garden in a Jar favor is such a wonderful idea. They are easy to put together, and Kristie with Saving Dollars and Sense even includes a free printable in her instructions.
Fun Shower Games
Not everyone enjoys playing Bridal Shower games, but this unique Advice Jar is a game, a gift, and a guest book all rolled into one. Paula with Beauty Through Imperfection created this beautiful jar that will be enjoyed for years to come.
Bridal Shower Gift Ideas
I found a fun way to wrap my daughter’s gift for her shower. It brought lots of laughs and smiles. This DIY Gift Bag was super easy to put together.
If you have a special sentimental gift to give the bride, this DIY Vintage Book Gift Box is very unique. The bride could also use this as a gift box for her bridesmaids.
A Personalized Cricut Sign made using the Cricut Explore is a wonderful gift for the newlyweds. I made this one from a wood slice, but if the couple is modern instead of country, a monogram on a black slate or chalkboard would be more fitting.
A handcrafted Rag Rug would be a one-of-a-kind gift. Kim with Day to Day Adventures will teach you everything you need to know about Making Your Own Rag Rugs.
Do you know how to crochet? Jessica with Make And Do Crew has free instructions for your to make this beautiful afghan.
No matter what you decide to do for the Bridal Shower, enjoy it! Don’t forget the reason that you’re celebrating. If you make the bride feel special and the guests feel welcome, and the shower will be a huge success.