Bridal Shower Tips and Advice [ Submit a Tip and/or Advice | Bridal Showers Index | Tips & Advice Index ]

Address Book Submitted by: Tara of Mount Laurel, New Jersey As the guest arrives at the bridal shower, have her fill an entry in an address book which will act as the "sign-in" book. At the end of the shower, the bride has all the addresses and phone numbers she needs!

Pre-Addressing Thank-You Card Envelopes Submitted by: Carissa of Woodhaven, Michigan At the bridal shower, have the guests address envelopes that you supply. The envelopes are used to give the door prizes. Then the envelopes are used to send the thank you cards. This saves time looking up addresses and writing them on the envelopes.

Cake Created out of Towels Submitted by: Cheryl Gabiola Galvez, Woodbury, New York Some people have inquired about a cake made out of towels that will initially be used as decoration but then be given to the bride after the bridal shower. You will need brand new four bath towels, four hand towels, and four washcloths. Fold the bath towels lengthwise, in fourths. With a large safety pin, connect the folded towels end to end. Start at one end and roll the towels up. When you reach the end of the towel, secure with pins. Follow the same procedure for the hand towels and then again for the washcloths. Stack the rolls of towels with the bath towels on the bottom, the hand towels in the middle, and the washcloths on top. Secure all three layers together with pins. Now you can begin decorating the "cake" with ribbons, beads or floral.

Creative Way to Introduce Shower Guests Submitted by: by Catherine of Montclair, New Jersey I recently went to a shower where they made name tags for everyone that stated the person's name AND their relationship to the bride and/or groom. For example "Peggy Smith, Cousin of the Bride." This helped everyone know more than just a name.

Do Not Have Shower Guests Pre-address Thank You Cards Submitted by: by Sarah of Missouri I just read a tip from another reader about having shower guests address their own thank you note envelopes under the guise of using them to draw names for door prizes. Please don't - unless you truly don't care what your guests think, or you're sure they won't mind. The practice was criticized in another web site about etiquette hell to which other guests had been subjected. I'm ashamed to admit a friend of mine also had us do this at her shower. Another "friend" was a little surprised she [the bride] couldn't take the time to address envelopes to her guests, much less the imprinted "thank you" on the front of the notecard.

Do Not Have Shower Guests Pre-address Thank You Cards #2 Submitted by: by Analiza of San Antonio, Texas In response to guests addressing thank you cards to themselves... it is extrememly rude. It not only shows that the bride is too lazy, but it also makes the guests feel unappreciated when they receive a thank you card from the bride addressed to themselves in THEIR OWN HANDWRITING. You can't get much more shallow than that. Please don't do it.

Cleaning Supplies Submitted by: by A Bliss! Reader in Victoria For a simple gift, request in the invitation that each guest bring a cleaning supply. For example, bleach, soap, sponges, etc... Have a large trash can ready and have the guest drop off there cleaning supply when they arrive. It gives the bride something to start off with in her new home. Great for housewarming parties, too.

Collage Picture Frame Submitted by: by Jackie of Bradenton, Florida At my girlfriend's bridal shower that I hosted, I bought a collage picture frame. As each guest arrived at the shower, I had each of them sign the matting with their best wishes for the bride. After I had the pictures from the shower developed, I gave her the picture frame as a memento of her bridal shower. She loved it

Combine Shower and Luncheon Submitted by: by Elyse of Auburn, California When we were planning my daughter's wedding last August, we had a lot of people coming from out of town. So, for the shower since many were coming from the Bay Area (about 3 hours away) and my daughter's maid-of-honor was coming from San Diego (10 hours away) we made sure we had the shower and the "thank you luncheon" for the bridesmaids on the same weekend. Not only was it a great weekend, it was fun and memorable. The shower and luncheon were in June — we made sure we didn't have anything too close to the wedding in August so we wouldn't get overloaded with events, etc. The shower was held on a Saturday — many guests stayed with us or at a motel close by. The bridesmaids "thank you luncheon" was held on the next day, Sunday, and we invited the moms and grandmas along with the bridesmaids. At the luncheon, we had a table reserved on the deck in a cute restaurant in Old Town Auburn, called Awful Annies. We had 13 people. The menus were made by the restaurant (on the menu it read "Congratulations Heather and Chris, August 1, 1999) and we picked 9 items our guests could choose from. We had appetizers, mimosa, and the restaurant also brought in balloons in the color of the wedding — lilac and white. My daughter presented each bridesmaid with the gift she bought her and we also had a bridesmaids cake with a fake gold band in the cake. The restaurant showed us the cake that we were having for dessert, took the cake back, cut each piece (we planned all this ahead of time), and made sure the maid-of-honor, who was single, got that piece. When she was eating it, she saw the ring which meant she is the next one to get married. It was a great surprise for her and everyone got a kick out of it. The restaurant also published their own cookbook, so I purchased a cookbook for my daughter and had that on her place setting when she arrived. One other tip — when we were having the bridal shower, it was in my home (even though the bridesmaids put it on, all were on tight budgest being in college). So, my co-workers who were very involved and caught up in the wedding plans, offered their services. One came over and organized all the foods so that the presentation was so professional and beautiful looking, plus we had fresh flowers all through the house. Card tables were set up on the decks ouside, with table cloths, and flowers. We had a cake made out of towels, and we placed that in an area of the house with my daughter and son-in-laws engagement picture and that is where all the gifts were placed. We even decorated champagne glasses next to the cake to symbolize the event. My other friend from work came and she did all the leg work, making sure the plates were picked up and making sure everyone got what they needed, etc. Two great friends, and all of that helped tremendously, I absolutely was able to enjoy the shower and not have to do a thing once they got there. I did prepare the food, etc. and the girls decorated the house, but once the shower began I was in the background enjoying it.

Memory Book Submitted by: by Mackenzie F. of Los Angeles, California, USA At my shower, rather than just having the guest sign a guest book, I had her sign pages I had pre-made for our memory book. I asked the guests to either sign their name and/or write some advice. I got many wishes of happiness in addition to some heartfelt advice and encouragement.

"Cleaning Supplies" Taboo Submitted by: by Cathy of Deer Park, Washington, USA I have been to too many "bridal" showers where people bring cleaning supplies. This is just a personal opinion, but I think this is tacky. There is more to this woman getting married than cleaning and cooking. I was taught that bridal showers were to bless the bride with personal bridal gifts. For example, nighties, bath supplies, honeymoon outfits, etc. The wedding gifts were for the household. Just my personal opinion.

Pre-Addressed Thank You Cards Submitted by: by Casey of Memphis, Tennessee, USA Regarding the pre-addressed thank you cards -- Why not help out the bride? She's so busy with wedding plans, fittings, flowers, food choices, music, her job outside of wedding responsibilities -- not to mention her own jitters. I doubt she would mind a little help from her "best friends" throwing a bridal shower? Or are these friends so petty that they'll say she is lazy for not addressing her own notes? Great friends. Support the bride during this hectic time. Pre-addressing thank you notes is a thoughtful gesture.

RE: Cleaning Supplies Taboo Submitted by: by Vicky of San Antonio, Texas, USA In regards to the "Cleaning Supplies Taboo", my friends had such a party for me and I loved it. I didn't realize how many supplies were needed for my home and I didn't have to go shopping for supplies for two years! This party proved to be a great time and a money saver.

RE: Pre-Addressed Thank You Cards Submitted by: by Rebecca of New York, New York USA Regarding the pre-addressed thank you notes, a nice compromise could be for someone planning the shower to print up a list of guests (I used an extra copy of the invitation list) with their addresses, and blank spaces between each name so that someone at the shower (a bridesmaid perhaps) can list the gifts received. This way, all the bride has to do is use the list to write out the cards.

Canned Food Submitted by: by Paola A. of Mexico d.f. At my sister's bridal shower everybody gave her a can of food and she hasn't bought a can since she got married! You can ask your guests to bring one can of food in the invitations.

RE: Pre-Addressed Thank You Cards Submitted by: by Katherine of Frederick, Maryland, USA Pre-addressed thank you cards are not a time saver for a hectic and busy bride. Nor should her friends be expected to understand that she is too busy to spend 30 seconds per guest addressing her own thank you cards when they can spend up to an hour or more picking out a gift for her. I think giving the bride the gift of a beautiful new address book with the shower invitation list already in it and perhaps making a notation on the side each gift received and from whom would be a useful tool. As a bride, while I would appreciate the gesture on behalf of my bridesmaids (or whoever hosted the shower) I would dispose of the envelopes and re-write them myself.

RE: Pre-Addressed Thank You Cards Submitted by: Liesl W. of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA For bridal showers, I do NOT suggest having the guests address their own envelopes for the thank you cards. I think that since all of the guests took the time to support you and celebrate the upcoming marriage, not to mention purchase a gift, the least a bride to be can do is address the envelopes. I think that if the guests are asked to address their own thank you card envelopes, it makes the bride seem a little ungrateful for all of the wonderful gestures the guests have made - "Thanks for the gift, now fill this out so I don't have to."

RE: Pre-Addressed Thank You Cards Submitted by: Jennifer B. of Bel Air, Maryland, USA Regarding the shower guests addressing envelopes for thank you notes - the bride IS STILL writing the actual thank you, isn't she? It's JUST the envelope the guests are filling out, not the entire note! I thought it was a great idea to do for my friend when she got married, and it actually helped her correct some slight errors in her address book. No one had a problem with it. The thank you was still hand-written by the bride, and sincere and personal in nature. Who cares if she didn't write the address on the front! I've been to too many showers and even weddings where I didn't get a thank you at all. THAT is lazy. As long as the bride writes a personal message inside the note, who really cares if the address on the envelope is in their own handwriting?!!

RE: Pre-Addressed Thank You Cards Submitted by: Nancy of Bar Harbor I think that pre-addressing thank you cards is a thoughtful guesture to the hectic bride. I have hosted two showers within the last two years and planning another next month and the family and friends in attendance will expect to fill these out to win the "fresh flower" centerpiece as a door prize. Our bride-to-be will still put a personal note to each person with a picture of them with her taken at the reception.

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