How to Plan a Bridal Shower

Plan a Bridal Shower with these Simple Tips

The bridal shower is a celebration to honour the bride-to-be and an opportunity to embrace the bride's unique personality and taste. While anyone can host the bridal shower, this honour typically is given to the maid-of-honour with help and support from the bridesmaids.

It is up to your knowledge of the bride-to-be to plan this special day. No one knows the bride like her maid-of-honour and bridesmaids. If you’ve never planned a shower or party before this could feel like a daunting task, but don’t worry we’ve included all our top tips and ideas to help make planning this special day for your bride-to-be.

Before you jump into planning the overall theme and decor of the bridal shower, it is important to start at the beginning of planning and set a foundation to work on. Picking a date and time for the bridal shower is one of the first decisions you’ll have to make. Coordinating everyone's schedule can be a little tricky, as long as the guest of honour, the bride, can make it then everyone else will be figured out. Most bridal showers are hosted a few weeks in advance of the bride's wedding day. The closer it gets to the bride's big day, the busier she will be. Make sure you connect with the bride to find a day that feels good for her. Once you have your date set, you should start planning the event 2-3 months in advance. This leaves you plenty of time to iron out all the perfect details and coordinate with everyone.

Once you have a date and time set, the next step in the planning process is to gather a guest list. If the shower isn’t a surprise for the bride-to-be, gather as much input as you can from them around who they want to be there on their special day. Having the bride's input is especially important for remembering to invite people the bride sees as her closest supports and anyone that you may have not thought of inviting. When you have your guest list finalized, it's time to order and send out invitations! Your guest list and the total number of attendees will help you with any reservations you will make and help with setting your budget. Have your RSVP date set at least 3-5 weeks in advance of the bridal shower. Don’t forget to work with the other bridesmaids and set a budget for the event. Setting a budget early is one way to ensure you don’t overspend and to check with the bridal party on contributions.

Now that you have your foundational pieces of a date, time, guest list, and budget set, it’s time to check in with your bride about what she envisions from her shower. This can be a harder task if you are planning a surprise shower for your bride. If it is a surprise you’ll have to get creative in how you gather your information. You’ll want to get a feel for any decor, themes, and activity ideas that your bride-to-be hopes for. It can be hard to plan for someone elses bridal shower, especially if your style varies from the bride-to-be’s. It’s important to remember that the bridal shower is about celebrating the bride-to-be and their specific taste and style. Ask your bride-to-be about location ideas, some of her favourite things (if you don’t already know!), seasonal activities you could do, and anything special that she wants to have there. Creating a Pinterest board is a great way to gather inspiration and ideas, you can share it amongst the bridal team to help everyone stay on the same page for planning. While it’s important to have as much input from the bride as you can, don’t forget to include a few surprises for her.

Don’t feel like you have to take the weight of planning this event all by yourself. Connect with the bridal party and anyone involved in planning and work on assigning tasks to them. Having everyone contribute to planning will help make planning for this event a breeze. Sharing the load of planning takes away the stress and leaves more room for creativity! Create a list of what you need support with and see who can contribute to what. It’s important to make sure you and everyone involved in planning stay connected. Group chats are great for sharing ideas, checking in, and sending reminders to everyone to help everyone stay on track with the planning process. Everyone can support in searching for decorations, menu ideas, venue ideas, shower games, and any other important shower supplies.

When considering food and drink options keep in mind the overall theme of the shower. A tasty variety of buffet style, easy to plate foods, and treats that are perfect for grazing are a simple and easy option for feeding everyone at the event. If you aren’t confident in the kitchen you can always reach out to other bridesmaids or mother figures of the bride-to-be for support in creating the menu. You can also choose to cater the event if you have a specific menu in mind. Be creative with the drink menu! A few options of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are great for ensuring there is an option for everyone who attends. If your bride-to-be has a favourite drink you can create her own signature cocktail to serve at the shower! Another great option is a mimosa bar with options for guests to create their own twists on the classic mimosa.

Games are not necessary to include at the bridal shower, but they are a great way to have everyone interact with each other. We suggest having a few ideas up your sleeve to keep your guests entertained. Including fun prizes with the games are also a great incentive to get everyone interested in participating! If you are having trouble coming up with group activities, we suggest looking online for inspiration. You can always make a twist on a classic bridal shower game to make it fun for you and your guests.

Those are our general tips and tricks to start the planning process for the bridal shower. While planning is a big task, remember that this is a day to celebrate the incredible bride-to-be. Have fun with the planning and don’t forget to enjoy yourself! Don’t get caught up in ensuring every minuscule detail is perfect, as long as the bride feels cherished and appreciated, you did your job.

We’ve included our Bridal Shower Planning CheckList guide for you here to download to help with planning this special day!

Download our Bridal Shower Planning CheckList here.

-J