Hi! I'm getting married at the end of this September and my bridal shower is going to be at the end of July. (I don't like surprises so my mother and maid of honor are keeping me in the loop on everything).
Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to open all the gifts in front of everyone at the shower or request that they are unwrapped. There should probably be about 30-35 people there. I'm going to a friends shower in a few weeks and her invitations asked that guests only bring gifts with a ribbon or bow and that they will be displayed for everyone to see.
I'm debating both. My reason for possibly asking for unwrapped is because I'm an extremely shy person and I'm kind of dreading having everyone stare at me and wait for my reaction as I open gifts. But on the other hand, we have the venue for 4 hours so if I didn't open them I'm not sure if people would get bored. We'd be playing some games but 4 hours is still a long time. I also think the gift opening is the whole point of a shower. I keep going back and forth.
Any opinions/etiquette would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!!
UPDATE: I definitely decided I am going to go with opening the gifts and deal with being a little bit uncomfortable. Thank you all for your opinions!!