A long distance bridal shower

halleykh

I am the matron of honor for my best friends wedding.  She lives in Denver and the problem is that the ENTIRE bridal party (including me) live outside of Denver.  Not only that, but both her family and the groom's family live in other parts of the country.  They have only a small number of friends in Denver.

The question, does anyone have any cute ideas for a bridal shower by mail?  Has anyone ever done this before?  Since we're all coming from out of town there won't be any time before the wedding for all the girls to get together and do something special with her.  I want her to feel like she's getting some kind of bridal shower so any suggestions would be amazing.  Thanks!

AddieCake

I really don't see any way to do this. If everyone is far away, then they would just be mailing gifts to the bride, and that's not a party. Like Retread said, it sounds like a gift grab, and as a guest, I would be thinking, "What? I'm supposed to mail her a gift but not go to a party and then turn around and get her ANOTHER gift for the wedding?" I know some people feel if you give a shower gift you don't also need to give a wedding gift b/c they are essentially the same unless it's a lingerie shower or something, but I could never show up empty handed to either event. 

LiLe422

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_a-long-distance-bridal-shower?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:32Discussion:612cafb3-1f52-4343-b553-3b68f7001f64Post:c3c2c942-47ac-4417-9eff-7417fbd108f8">A long distance bridal shower</a>:
[QUOTE]I am the matron of honor for my best friends wedding.  She lives in Denver and the problem is that the ENTIRE bridal party (including me) live outside of Denver.  Not only that, but both her family and the groom's family live in other parts of the country.  They have only a small number of friends in Denver. The question, <strong>does anyone have any cute ideas for a bridal shower by mail?</strong>  Has anyone ever done this before?  Since we're all coming from out of town there won't be any time before the wedding for all the girls to get together and do something special with her.  I want her to feel like she's getting some kind of bridal shower so any suggestions would be amazing.  Thanks!
Posted by halleykh[/QUOTE]

Hmmm, that's a new one. 

Bridal showers are a gift and are <em>not</em> required.  If it's not possible to get her nearest and dearest together for a shower it's really nbd. 

pengy_wi

My cousin had a baby shower like this and I agree with pp, its awkward and not at all cute.

Jersey Girl in CA

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_pre-wedding-parties_a-long-distance-bridal-shower?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:32Discussion:612cafb3-1f52-4343-b553-3b68f7001f64Post:42987f0a-8ad5-4859-b5bf-076ca4d618bc">Re: A long distance bridal shower</a>:
[QUOTE]My cousin had a baby shower like this and I agree with pp, its awkward and not at all cute.
Posted by pengy_wi[/QUOTE]

I kind of have to deal with this to -- I live on the west coast and but my entire family and best friends live in NJ. My friends pooled their money and flew me home for a weekend -- have you thought about having the bride come to where ever you and the other bridesmaids are?

erinlin25

How far do you all live from Denver?   Is there an easy meet in the middle type location that people could easily travel to so you all can meet up for a small party.  I'm not familiar with CO and far spread out it is.  Even if not every guest can make it, at least you would be inviting them to an event where at least some people can/may attend.  You'd be surprised how many people would travel a bit to go to a bridal shower.  I've driven 2-3 hours to go to a friends shower (my mom and I even flew to New York to surprise my cousin when I was her flower girl).  If you guys can set up a party in a central location that would be cool-- but as other PPs suggested, you cannot have a "party" that doesn't include going to a party.  That is definitely gift grabby.  It's nice that you want your bride to have a party but if a location doesn't exist for people to comfortably travel there, then I'm sure she will understand.