planning a shower

amongthelilies25

So my friend recently got engaged and is getting married in early September. I will be planning a shower for her in early august. I would like some ideas. (: 

How were your showers? My shower is a week before hers. hehe. My sister (MOH) is putting it on... and mine will be very very elegant.. because she can afford that. With me paying for my wedding... i dont have a HUGE budget for this shower... but i would like my friend to enjoy it. 

i would appreciate suggestions or advice. (:

fpaemp2011

My aunts hosted my shower and had a tea party theme.  They scoured thrift stores for cup & saucer sets for each guest and sent those home as favors.

They also asked each guest to send a recipe and my grandmother put together a recipe book.  She added the ones that a few guests brought to the shower. 

Since DH and I were long distance, they did sort of a "newleywed" game where they videoed asking him questions and then he would answer them.  When they played the video, they would play the question being asked, pause it, the guests would guess, and then I would guess, and then they played his answer. 

Points were given for guessing the correct answer, guessing what DH was going to say, and guessing how many times our answers would match.  My dad was able to do the visit when DH surprised me for my birthday (they sent me out of the room and swore him to secrecy), but they also had a plan to have someone from the Kansas church to do the video.

iamjoesgurl

My shower was pretty low key (perfect for me).  DH and I were also long distance so most of my friends and family didn't know him well.  They made up a quiz with questions about him and he had answered them in advance of the shower.  I didn't know about it so it was fun for me to see how well I'd do.  And everyone learned more about him (including me!).  Nobody from his side of the family attended so it was pretty fair.

We also had food/drinks and I opened gifts.  Just being with everyone was the best part for me.

I think Emily's idea sounds pretty fun too.  Most shower games seem hokey to me but that would be fun.

I've also heard of theme showers where guests bring gifts to fit with a theme (like kitchen, rooms of the house, etc.).  I don't know how I'd feel if I was told what type of item to buy but it might be fun.

Just have good food and make sure to have everyone introduce themselves and how they know the bride-to-be if there might be any guests who don't know each other.

yodacub

We did a tea party for my sister's shower, but in addition to finding tea cups and sending them home as favors, my mom challegned the ladies there to put the cup somewhere where they would see it from time to time, and when they see it say a prayer for my sister and her H.  I have that tea cup sitting on a bookshelf, and it helps me remember to pray for their relationship

kitkat610

I had two one with friends and one with family. Both were very low key, and didn't cost a lot.

1st was at a local restaurant, Blue Mesa, during happy hour. They have cheap, pretty drinks and a free quesadilla bar. My friend provided some trail mix kind of snacks and  cupcakes for desert. The table was decorated really fun with Party City kind of stuff so it didn't feel like a restaurant. While we were getting seated and getting food. She had everyone write advice for bride and groom on colored paper.

As for games, she had a matching game with the years of marriage on one side and the traditional gift on the other. Then later a  word scramble with different words related to us. ex/ ekta  = kate   And of course small prizes for the winners. 

Also, and this made me BLUSH, she wrote down what I said when opening each of my gifts and read it back as a "preview of the honeymoon." Everyone got a really big kick of out of that lol.

2nd was at my grandparent's house. It was family and my MIL's friends. It was a brunch so each of my aunts brought a breakfast casserole (so cheap to make and delicious, I have the recipes). Then my grandmother provided a green salad and some strawberries with powered sugar. In the invitation, they asked each guest to bring a recipe, which they put in a photo album like book. 

AshNoel8

My shower was coffee-themed. "A Perfect Blend." The centerpieces were vases filled with coffee beans and a few fake flowers and some ribbon around the rim. The favors were biscotti. We ate lunch and dessert was cupcakes. The bridesmaids had each guest bring a recipe (MOH provided the recipe cards in the invitations) and then I put the recipes in a book. They also made a packet for each person. The first page was a thanks kind of note from me. Then there was a page listing the bridal party of my wedding. Next there were 2 games. The first was "How much do you have in common with the bride?" (ex. "Ashley is a teacher. Raise your hand if you are a teacher too.") Every time someone raised their hand, they got a ticket for a chinese auction basket. The next game was "Ashley, Ryan or Both?" (ex. "Who drives a Hyundai?" and guests would circle if it was me, him or both of us. Whoever got the most right at the end got a prize. Also, the bridesmaids had each guest fill in advice for me and while I was opening my gifts, every so often my cousin pulled a random advice card, read it to me, and the person who wrote it got a prize. It was a great shower! (PS- make sure you arrange for her FI to come at the end and surprise her with flowers, if he is in the same area and is able to come. That's a nice touch). 

joie424

My shower didn't have a "theme". We had it in a restaurant and there were flowers and balloons everywhere in my favorite color... purple We played some games 1. How well do you know Joy's FI (since no one knew him!), 2. Guess how many jellybeans in the jar - and the clue was it was the same amount of days we had been together, and 3. Shower bingo. I recommend shower bingo because women get super competitive and it makes opening the gifts loads of fun

amongthelilies25

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_christian-weddings_planning-shower?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:464687ae-7bc1-4360-9aea-999e11f1e1adDiscussion:84d57842-eb20-4735-ae92-f4a20b628998Post:aac25c85-5e70-44e5-8dff-f8ff920ef959">Re: planning a shower</a>:
[QUOTE]I had two one with friends and one with family. Both were very low key, and didn't cost a lot. 1st was at a local restaurant, Blue Mesa, during happy hour. They have cheap, pretty drinks and a free quesadilla bar. My friend provided some trail mix kind of snacks and  cupcakes for desert. The table was decorated really fun with Party City kind of stuff so it didn't feel like a restaurant. While we were getting seated and getting food. She had everyone write advice for bride and groom on colored paper. As for games, she had a matching game with the years of marriage on one side and the traditional gift on the other. Then later a  word scramble with different words related to us. ex/ ekta  = kate   And of course small prizes for the winners.  Also, and this made me BLUSH,<font class="Apple-style-span" color="#800080"> she wrote down what I said when opening each of my gifts and read it back as a "preview of the honeymoon." Everyone got a really big kick of out of that lol.</font> 2nd was at my grandparent's house. <font class="Apple-style-span" color="#ff00ff">It was family and my MIL's friends. It was a brunch so each of my aunts brought a breakfast casserole (so cheap to make and delicious, I have the recipes). Then my grandmother provided a green salad and some strawberries with powered sugar. In the invitation, they asked each guest to bring a recipe, which they put in a photo album like book. </font>
Posted by kitkat610[/QUOTE]

<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#800080">I love this!!! haha.... that is such a cute idea with the opening of presents reaction to the preview of the honeymoon. haha!</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#800080">
</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#ff00ff">My friend wants to have a Brunch Shower. (: cheaper on food and i will be traveling there so i can get back home sooner.</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#ff00ff">
</font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000">thanks ladies for all the suggestions! this helps! </font></div>

ochemjenn

My first shower was thrown by one of MIL's friends.  She had mimosas, tea, juice, and brunch foods like quiche, plus some desserts.  We played a game like Emily described, except DH's answers were on note cards.

My second shower was thrown my my MOH.  All my girlfriends are from OOT (as was I), so it was the day before the wedding at the hotel more of us were staying in.  The hotel had a rooftop pool.  We played a game where there were three teams, and each was given a roll of toilet paper to make into a wedding dress for one of the team members, and I decided on the winner.  After opening gifts, we went to MOH's room to eat b/c food wasn't allowed by the pool.  We had lunch meats, cheese, and strawberries.  She also had rolls and lettuce, but they were kinda frozen - the minifridge in her room was really cold!  Then we went back up to the pool.  One of my BMs came up w/pool games, but half of us didn't get in because it was cold, so we didn't play.