Planning the bridal shower

Tonysgurl020406

Hey Ladies

I'm getting ready to start planning my sisters bridal shower and I'm looking for some ideas.

If you have already had your shower or if you planned an amazing shower for someone -

Did it have a theme?  If yes, what was it and how was it incorporated.  Pics would be great.

What made your shower wonderful (besides having friends & family there).

Was something done that you disliked or wished had not been included?

Thanks!

JessAndTrav

Old ladies planned my shower. There was good food, no theme. I really have no relevant information to give here.

angned

I think there is probably a board for this.

But since it's here, I will answer.  I think you should have a superhero theme.  And be like "(Brides name) is our hero of the day" and tell everyone to dress in their best superhero outfit. 

SarahPLiz

I have been to "Stock the Bar" showers, co-ed hadnyman/kitchen showers, and Recipe showers, as well as those with the generic tissue paper decor. The games can make it lame, but it has been my experience that they rarely make it fun. The fun comes from the guests. Good food is a must.

mwhitson14

Themes are totally not necessary. My hostess did use my wedding colors for the cakes, invites, and food (like brownies with pink peppermint icing, mmm!) but otherwise no theme.

Just pick good food, skip the games (we did do one game, How well do you know me kinda game, that was ok, hostess gave out a prize at the end), and don't make it last forever. Oh and one thing that did super irritate me was the hostess had every body "sign in" and write down their addresses so "it would be easier for thank you notes." I don't know why it bugged me, but I already had their addresses, they got an invite, didn't they?!

Brie2010

My favorite shower thing is when you include a recipe card in the invite and have everyone bring their favorite recipe to the shower and put it in a recipe box or binder for the bride.  I really hope my shower-throwers do this for me! 

mwhitson14

Brie, we totally tried to do that and it was an epic fail, not a single recipe got brought. I was super sad

tigger9922

My SIL planned an amazing Luau Co-ed shower for my H's family and some of our friends.  It was great and much more laid back than most showers.  They had 2 really fun and creative games, one of them being a version of the newlywed game.  A variety of couples played and everyone had a blast, even those who weren't playing.  It wasn't required that people wear specific attire, but most of the guest embraced the theme and dressed in grass skirts, or just Hawaiian style sundresses.  One of the best parts was opening the gifts.  It was much less awkward with my FI there with me and many of the gifts were not from the registry which I actually liked because they were more personal.  HTH

Catwoman708

If you want themes, it's best to stick to decorating themes, not gift themes.   Because it goes against ettiquette to tell/suggest to guests what type of gift to buy - unless all the guests are willing, and asking about gift themes. 

To have a successful party/shower:

Send timely and mannerly invitations.

Make guests feel welcomed and comfortable.

Have good food and drinks, alcohol is a plus in most situations.

Games are optional, some people like them some don't.  (I find that for those that don't care for "silly" games, they prefer more brainteaser type games, like word games, or "mad libs"). 

Some other touches that are nice but not necessary, are cute invitations, decorate in the bride's colors, a small "wedding" looking cake or cupcake tiers, small favors, prizes for games or door prizes are always popular if they are useful (or edible).  Save all the bows or ribbons from gifts to make a ribbon bouquet, and save it to use for the rehearsal, or make it into a mum type corsage for the bachelorette.

dancr214

We played the toilet paper game, where teams use toilet paper to dress up a member of their team in a wedding dress.  It sounds old fashioned and lame, but it was a huge hit!  I highly recommend it, especially if your shower is all women.