In desperate need of some destination wedding advice! Bridal shower, gift registry, etc! Last minute

LindsayLugan

Ok so I have a few questions that I just can't seem to get answered and am hoping I can find some help here We are getting married May 7th, 2014 in PDC, Mexico and have about 35 guests attending (mostly my fiancé's family) and my maid of honour is desperately wanting to host a bridal shower for me. I feel it's not necessary as only 2 of my girlfriends can actually make it to the wedding and I would feel so wrong asking friends who can't attend the wedding to come to a shower, gifts in hand. I told my MOH to host one if she insists but that no presents are allowed lol, is this crazy? Secondly, we haven't registered anywhere for our wedding either. We feel like it seems selfish to expect gifts from people who are already spending so much to attend our destination wedding. Thirdly, we plan on having a bit of a party when we get back to share the photos and video with our friends and family who could not attend. Should we register for that? And lastly, should I be giving wedding favours to our guests? I've seen ideas such as maracas and beach bags upon arrival but neither of those really appeal to me. HELP! lol I know this is a lot but I didn't want to post 5 different discussions! Thanks in advance!

saric83

You can definitely do a shower, but you can only invite people who are invited to the wedding (regardless if they're planning to go or not).  If you would prefer to have it be a non-gift celebration, I would call it a bridal luncheon or bridal tea or something.  A shower is to "shower" the bride with gifts, so if there are no gifts, there should be no shower. 

I wouldn't register specifically for the after-party, but I don't think there's anything wrong with you doing a small registry and then just not advertising it.  If people want to give you a gift, they'll find the registry or ask you about it.  

As for favors, they definitely aren't required, but I think it's a nice touch for people traveling all that way.  You can do whatever you want though.  We sent luggage tags a few weeks before the wedding, and then we did welcome bags with sunscreen, chapstick, aloe, advil, etc., and then maracas with dinner (as the seating arrangement tags).  But if you're going to do them, I would pick something that is either practical or edible instead of just having something for the sake of having something since it's a hassle to bring down, and everyone needs to be able to bring it back themselves. 

Good luck!

LindsayLugan

Thanks so much for the input! I totally appreciate it. My only concern with the favours is that we totally didn't even consider it until about 2 days ago haha. We leave in a month! I feel panicked about it! My fiancé and I are so uninformed about this sort of thing. I suppose we will need to do a little more research in order to get some ideas! Something that is convenient to travel with. Thanks again!

msuprincess04

My wedding is May 17th in Cozumel.

I am having a shower because my MO also insisted on it. We have a small registry at Macy's. That's it. We picked things all over the spectrum of prices and a bunch of stuff (like an iron) we don't actually expect people to buy us because we get a good discount afterwards. The reality is, neither FI or I care about the gifts. We just want people there to enjoy our happy day.

As pp stated, favors aren't required, but they are kinda cool. You could even do something simple like a starfish orament for a christmas tree. We are doing maracas. Though local chocolates are also always pretty cool (there's a great place in Cozumel).

LindsayLugan

Thanks @msuprincess04!