Jack and Jill Wedding Showers

A co-ed Jack and Jill shower has many things in common with a standard all-female shower. You will need invitations, food, decorations, and of course, presents. However, all of these things should be planned with a much less feminine flair than they would for a shower without the guys. Start with invitations; instead of something pink and frilly, choose a more gender neutral party invitation (it need not be specifically a bridal shower invitation, as those are likely to be very girly), such as one in green or blue instead of pink or purple. You don’t want the invitation to scare off the men you invite, after all!

Next, think about the decorations for your Jack and Jill party. Opt for a more modern and streamlined design than you might for a traditional shower. Pick a theme which is equally appealing to men and women; instead of the Victorian tea party, go for the backyard barbeque or cocktail party. Skip the lace tablecloths and wedding bells in favor of linens in an elegant dupioni (for a more formal party) or a casual print (for a very relaxed party). Create chic floral arrangements in shades of green and cream, versus pink, pink, and more pink. Attending a wedding shower will be a first time event for many of the men present, and you want to make sure that they do not feel like they accidentally stumbled into a “hen party”.

Many traditional bridal showers have games, such as making a “bridal gown” out of toilet paper or doing word scrambles with the names of kitchen tools. These games are frankly not appealing to many women, and they are certainly out of the question for a co-ed shower. A wedding party does not actually need games at all, but if you really want to include them, limit yourself to just one or two, and make them fun for everyone. The best choice is a questionnaire with questions about the bride and groom; whoever gets the most right answers wins a small prize. This is a fun game because it can spark a lot of funny answers and bring up a lot of silly old memories.

One thing that is absolutely the same for any wedding shower is that the guest of honor must thank their host appropriately. A small gift and a heartfelt letter of thanks from the bride and groom would be lovely after the Jack and Jill shower. If the hosts are bridesmaids, remember that you should get them a separate thank you gift apart from the bridesmaid jewelry you give them to thank them for being in your wedding. While bridesmaid jewelry is a wonderfully personal gift from the bride to her attendants, the hostess gift which is a joint present from the bride and groom should be a little less personal, such as a fine bottle of wine with a personalized bottle opener or a pair of theater tickets. It is a very gracious way to show your appreciation for the Jack and Jill wedding shower.

Non-Traditional Bridal Showers

The traditional bridal shower is a timeless wedding custom. Yet, it is certainly not the only way that a bride and her bridesmaids can spend quality time together. When the bride does not want a shower or a classic bridal shower just does not seem to fit the situation, there are plenty of other great options. These are some fun ideas for non-traditional bridal showers.

A spa retreat is a great alternative gathering. All of the ladies involved in the wedding can spend an afternoon together at a fancy day spa getting pampered. Pedicures with cocktails, lots of chit chat, and good times are on the agenda. This can be a wonderful way for the bridal party to relax and unwind before the wedding. If gifts will be given, they can be presented to the bride at the end of the pampering.  By the way, brides, a spa day can also be a great time for you to give your bridesmaid gifts to your attendants, especially if it is an event for only the members of the wedding party.

A night out in the big city can be a really fun gathering instead of a bridal shower. This would be particularly nice for a second time bride, for whom her friends want to do something special that does not involve gifts. Take the bride out to a dinner in a trendy restaurant, and follow it up with either tickets to the hottest play in town or a night of hitting the dance clubs, depending on which she would enjoy more. For out of towners, think about renting a few hotel rooms to share and staying the night so you can have a leisurely brunch and do some shopping the next day.

Non-traditional bridal showers can also be tailored to the bride’s hobbies or interests. Perhaps the bride loves quilting. Why not get everyone together for a fun old-fashioned quilting bee? Each person can work on one square at the party, and at the end the bride gets to keep all of the squares to stitch into a one-of-a-kind keepsake quilt. The quilt would be a marvelous alternative to regular shower gifts, especially for the bride who already has all of the basic household goods. A special event, tailored to her interests, is a wonderful way to show the bride how much everyone cares for her.

Bridal Shower Traditions

It is said that the first bridal shower took place to help out a wealthy young woman whose father disapproved of the poor young man with whom she fell in love. Because he was displeased with the match, the father of the bride refused to provide the dowry that was typically used to help a young couple set up their first home as newlyweds. Lucky for the love-struck young woman, the kind-hearted people in her community got together and “showered” her with the necessary items to fill a home. Thus the bridal shower was born.

In keeping with the idea that a bridal shower should help a young couple set up housekeeping, showers are usually reserved for first time brides. If the dear friends of a second-time bride feel moved to throw her a shower, of course they may, but it should be limited to her very closest friends and family members who won’t mind shelling out for a bridal shower gift a second time around. It is the idea that a guest should only be asked to contribute one bridal shower gift that makes it a good idea to only invite a person to one shower for the same first-time bride if multiple parties are in the works. Exceptions to this rule would be the bride’s mother, mother-in-law, and possibly her sisters and maid of honor. Speaking of the bride’s immediate family, etiquette dictates that they should not be the hosts of a shower in her honor, as it would look as if they were trying to drum up gifts for her. The job of hosting a bridal shower is best left to the bridesmaids or other non-relatives.

Since the original purpose of a wedding shower was to help a young couple fill their home, shower gifts have traditionally been practical. Probably the most common theme was a kitchen theme. Besides the idea that a young wife would likely spend much of her time in the kitchen (a fiction, obviously, in today’s world), pots and pans, utensils, dishes, linens, and small electrics (think toaster) were the most traditional shower gifts. Another nice thing about a kitchen themed shower is that there were plenty of gift ideas available in every price range. Although bridal shower gifts have gotten more generous in recent years, if you go back about a generation, shower gifts tended to be less extravagant; a pair of nice wooded salad servers would have been a nice present for a bride in the 1950s or 60s. Guests reserved their best efforts for the wedding gift, which was traditionally fine china, crystal, or silver.

These days, the traditional bridal shower gifts are still perennial favorites. However the idea of what makes an appropriate shower gift has expanded somewhat to include more personal items for the bride, not just homegoods. This would explain the origin of the lingerie shower, as well as the idea of gifting the bride something lovely for the wedding, such as jewelry or a headpiece. The more taste-specific gifts like wedding jewelry are best left to those who know exactly what the bride wants, like her mother. Other guests would be smart to stick to the more classic household items, like picture frames and tablecloths. Bridal showers have evolved a little over the years, but they remain one of the most special parts of a wedding.

A Scrapbooking Bridal Shower

Scrapbooking is very popular because it is a way to preserve your memories and express your creative side at the same time. It is also something that even a novice can do, which makes it a good idea for a bridal shower. You will need to do a little bit of advance preparation to pull it off, but it will be well worth it. To make it really special, have each guest create a page during the shower that will be bound into a scrapbook for the bride to take at the end of the party.

The first place to start when planning a scrapbooking bridal shower is with the invitations. Ask each guest to gather photos of the bride to bring to the party. Friends can bring pictures of themselves with the bride. Family members can gather everything from baby pictures to graduation and birthday photos to pictures of the bride and groom together. It would be really cute if the groom’s mom brought a few of his baby pictures along as well. Also ask each guest to come up with a special memory or quote to add to her page.

The host of the bridal shower should supply the guests with the supplies that they will need. For starters, you will need loose scrapbook pages, scissors, and glue sticks. Other things to provide include scissors or cutters that create decorative edges, patterned origami paper, stickers, and other decorative motifs. It would be a good idea for the host to have one page made up in advance that can be used as the first page in the scrapbook. Put it on display so that newcomers to the craft will have an example in front of them.

Finally, wrap up your scrapbooking shower by assembling the pages from the party into an album for the bride. If there is room left in the book, put in some blank pages so that she can add to her memory book with pictures from her bridal shower, wedding, and honeymoon. A scrapbooking party is a fun and unique bridal shower idea that will leave the bride with a very special keepsake at the end of it all.

Bridal Shower Etiquette

Whether you are a bride, a bridesmaid, or the mother of the bride, you will likely be attending a bridal shower in the near future. Before you get started on the planning, though, there are some important things that you should know. Getting familiar with the proper etiquette of bridal showers in advance will help you to have a lovely event that everyone will enjoy.

An important thing that the bride should remember is that you cannot ask a friend to have a shower on your behalf. Planning a bridal shower is time consuming and expensive, and although one is usually organized by one or more of the bridesmaids, it is not one of their obligations. Chances are that one of your close friends will step up and offer to host a party for you anyway; just make sure that she does it willingly, not under pressure.

The guest list of a bridal shower should consist only of guests who are actually invited to the wedding. It is the height of rudeness to ask guests to come to a party and give you a gift without including them in the main event. The only possible exception to this is if you work in the type of office that has a cake for every imaginable event. If your co-workers want to get together and toast you before your wedding, that it their prerogative.

After the wedding, there is one final piece of etiquette to be observed: writing the thank you notes! It is the bride’s duty to handwrite a thoughtful note for all of her wedding gifts, from the most stunning piece of jewelry down to the lowliest potholder. And don’t put it off – this is a task that is easiest when it is tackled in the week after the shower. A good tip is to have someone make a list of the gift and the donor’s name during the shower. That way, you will be sure not to forget to thank anyone. After all, showing your heartfelt appreciation is always good etiquette!

Surprise Bridal Showers

Bridal showers are always a lot of fun. The close friends and relatives of the bride all get together to celebrate her upcoming nuptials and give her presents – what could be better? For a really terrific bridal shower, consider throwing a surprise shower.

Since the element of surprise is what makes a surprise bridal shower so much fun, the key is to make sure that no one blows the secret. The invitations should make it very clear that the party is a surprise, and have very explicit instructions about things like when to arrive and where to park so that the bride doesn’t see all of her family’s cars and guess what is happening.

As for the party itself, it will be the most enjoyable if you try to make it fit the style of the bride. If she is a funloving sort, why not try a great theme like a Hawaiian luau? This makes an especially good idea for a co-ed party. A very girly-girl will love a pink themed party, whereas a bride who loves vintage would be delighted by a Victorian tea party.

There are lots of great gifts that you can give the bride. The hostess might consider gifts that are of a more personal nature, like wedding jewelry. If you know that the bride has been eyeing a particular set of wedding jewelry, it surely be one of her favorite gifts of the day. Other great ideas include monogrammed items for the home, or a beautiful picture frame to hold a wedding picture.

Lastly, don’t forget some nifty favors for the guests. After all, they helped to keep the secret and make the surprise party a success. A surprise bridal shower will be one party that the guest of honor will never forget!

Planning a Lilly Pulitzer Themed Bridal Shower

When planning a bridal shower, it is important to come up with a festive theme. If the bride is a dyed in the wool preppy who loves all things pink and green, then your choice is easy. Naturally, you will want to throw her a bridal shower with a Lilly Pulitzer theme!

Throwing a Lilly Pulitzer themed shower will be a lot of fun, and actually will be quite easy to pull off. With pink and green as your color palette, it will be quite simple to coordinate all of the elements to make one fabulous party for the bride. Having a great theme also helps when it comes to choosing the food, flowers, and favors.

For décor, you can use Lilly Pulitzer fabric to make a tablecloths for the table where the food will be served. The flowers will be easy: big bunches of pink lilies, of course! If you are using heavily scented flowers like stargazer lilies, though, do not put them on the table with the food. Display them in other parts of the room, and use something unscented like tulips for the food table.

Speaking of food, think pink! Pink cocktails are a must, preferably served in a stylish glass like a martini glass. Silver mint julep cups would also be a great choice, and they could double as the favors for the guests to take home.

After the bridal shower, the bride might want to consider using the same theme as inspiration for her bridesmaid gifts. It is a great way to show the attendants how much she loved the bridal shower. A really sweet bridesmaid gift that would tie in with the Lilly Pulitzer theme is a set of bridesmaid jewelry handcrafted with pink and green Swarovski crystals – adorable! To make it even more special, present the jewelry in a monogrammed pink and green makeup bag.

Bridal showers are such a pleasant and memorable time for the bride, her friends, mother, and sisters. Make it even better by planning a party with a great theme, like the designs of Lilly Pulitzer. And make sure to take lots of photos of the whole group decked out in their finest pink and green dresses!

Bridal Showers

Bridal showers are a very fun part of the celebrations surrounding a wedding. Traditionally, bridal showers were all-female affairs, which were held to help a young bride set up her household. It was popular to have themes for the shower, such as a kitchen theme where all of the gifts should help stock her kitchen.

Modern wedding showers tend to be co-ed affairs that are more like cocktail parties + presents. Barware is a common gift theme for this type of shower. To get the groom and male invitees to attend, avoid cutesy names like “Jack-and-Jill” showers!

And brides, please remember that being the center of all this attention does come with a few (minor) responsibilities beyond just showing up and looking gorgeous (your main job). Do be sure to send thank you notes for each gift received. Also, don’t neglect to send a little thank you gift to your hostess after the shower (this would be in addition to her bridesmaid gift if she is one of your attendants). Everyone loves a gracious bride.