Bridal Shower

The Tradition of the Bridal Shower

If thoughts of your bridesmaids and friends watering you down with the garden hose is a little frightening, well do not despair, this is not what a bridal shower is about! The tradition of the bridal shower is said to have originated in Holland in the 1800’s. The legend tells the story of a young wealthy maiden who fell in love with a poor miller. The miller, who was of a very generous nature, had spent his years helping others, more needy than himself, leaving him with very little to his name.

Upon hearing the news of his daughter’s intentions to marry the miller, the father of the young maiden was outraged. He refused to pay the customary dowry, hoping that his daughter would change her mind. Much to his disappointment, she decided to follow her heart, telling her father that she would marry her true love with or without his approval. In doing so, she was left penniless.

When news of this spread around the village, friends of the bride and groom-to-be and many local villagers (who had been recipients of the miller’s generosity over the years), came forward to help the couple out. They joined together and ‘showered’ the young maiden with gifts, being items required to set up the couple’s home. In doing so, the bride acquired all that her father had denied her.

This tradition continued to grow over the decades, eventually replacing the customary dowry. The bridal shower has undergone many adaptations over the years, and today, there are various choices when it comes to how you may wish to celebrate. While many showers today are for ‘couples’, some brides prefer to stick with the ‘ladies only’ tradition, allowing them time to bond with female friends and family over a light afternoon tea or luncheon.

Generally, bridal showers are informal and are hosted by the maid/matron of honour, although anyone may do so. The main purpose is to ‘shower’ the bride-to-be with gifts, usually for her home, and to have fun! And on that note, being such a joyful event, shower games and bridal shower themes have become increasingly popular over the years.

With so much planning surrounding your wedding, you will be pleased to know that your bridesmaids are usually the ones to help out when it comes to planning your bridal shower. The information provided within this section should assist your bridesmaids in planning your shower.

When to have a Bridal Shower

Bridal showers are generally held 1-4 weeks prior to the wedding. Often, a bridal shower will be held on the same day as the hens night. Guests usually arrive for the shower either in the morning or the early afternoon, and then venture out for a night of partying later on. The actual shower itself will usually last for 2-3 hours, on average. Obviously, there are no set rules in relation to the timing of the shower, and it will depend upon what is convenient for both yourself and the hostess.

Invitations

Bridal showers are usually informal affairs, so it’s your choice as to whether or not you wish to send invitations to your guests. It is perfectly acceptable to phone them if you’d prefer.
If you do decide to send invitations, you may wish to follow a theme in terms of a colour or style that matches that of your wedding, or the shower itself.
Make sure that you send your invitations out well in advance in order to give your guests enough time to plan for the occasion.

Who is Invited?

Who you choose to invite to your shower is entirely up to you. Generally speaking, most bridal showers have around 20-40 guests, however this will vary, depending upon the size of your wedding and family and your circle of friends.
As mentioned, bridal showers are traditionally a ‘ladies only’ affair, and guests would include both your and your fiancé’s female family members and friends. Today, couple showers are becoming increasingly popular, and it is not uncommon to see the male folk accompanying their female companions to a shower.

An Idea of how the Bridal Shower should Proceed

If your maid/matron of honour (or whomever is organising your shower) has never hosted a bridal shower before, the following may help. Below is a suggestion of the order that things may proceed on the day. Of course, this is a guide only and she may wish to change the order of events to suit.

• Arrival and introduction of guests
• Bridal shower games
• Breakfast/tea/lunch
• Opening of gifts
• Bridal shower cake

Some other ideas for your shower may include:

• As the guests arrive, hand them a name card and have them write down what their relationship is to the bride. For example: Sally – went to high school with ‘the bride’, or Margaret – mother of ‘the bride’.
• Request that each guest bring along a photo of herself and the bride. The hostess may then purchase a special photo album for the occasion, and ask each guest to add her photo inside, while explaining the story behind it. The completed album will be one of the bride's most cherished gifts.

Ideas for 'At Home' Showers

If the shower is to be held at someone’s home, some ideas may include:

• A bridal shower breakfast
• A bridal shower brunch
• A bridal shower lunch
• A bridal shower afternoon tea
• A bridal shower dinner party
• A bridal shower dress up/theme party
• A cocktail party
• A garden tea
• A kitchen tea
• A bathroom tea
• A lingerie party
• A Tupperware party
• A make up party
• Party plan of another style
• Murder mystery party

Ideas for 'Away from Home' Showers

If the shower is to take place away from the home, some ideas may include:

• A winery tour
• A picnic
• Day spa pampering
• Rock climbing
• Theatre restaurant
• Theme park adventure
• Rock climbing
• Hiking
• Girls weekend away
• Horse riding
• Meditation and exercise
• Party bus
• Club hopping
• High tea
• Massage
• Swimming with dolphins
• Ferry/boat cruise
• Picnic at the zoo
• Surfing
• Parasailing
• Sky diving
• White water rafting

The choices are endless!

Whatever the style of bridal shower, you’re bound to have a great day. See the following pages for ideas for bridal shower party games.

Bridal Bingo

Bridal bingo is a great game to play whilst opening the bridal shower presents. Guests are given a card containing a picture of six squares. Within each square is written a description of traditional shower gifts. For example tea towel, spice rack, or lingerie. Depending upon whether there is a theme to the shower will depend upon what is written on the cards. If you are having a bathroom shower tea you would write down items such as towels, face washers and so on – vary to suit your needs.
As the bride opens her gifts, each guest places an ‘X’ in the square on the card that corresponds with the gift. The first guest to mark off all of their listed gifts will be the winner.
A variation to this game is to simply have wedding-related words on the bingo cards. You may include words such as honeymoon, confetti, wedding vows, bouquet or photographer. One of the bridesmaids can read out a list of words until a guest exclaims “Bingo!”

Bridal Darts

Bridal darts is a twist on the tradition of catching of the bridal bouquet, performed at the wedding reception. A small paper bouquet is pinned to the centre of a dartboard. Each guest is given a dart and throws it, aiming for the bouquet. The guest who pins their dart closest to the bouquet is the winner.

Bride and Groom Trivia

This game is played by asking guests questions about the bride and groom. The guest with the most correct answers wins. Questions may include:
“How did the couple meet?”
“How did the groom propose?”
“What feature does the bride like the most about the groom?”
“What feature does the bride dislike the most about the groom?”
The only downside to this game is that those who don’t know the bride and groom very well may feel a little left out.

Famous Couples

Famous couples is a game that is played by giving each guest a piece of paper with a list of famous names on it with a blank space next to each name. Give the guests 5 minutes to look over the paper and write down the famous person’s partner. Names may include:

Sonny and Cher
Bert and Ernie
Sylvester and Tweety
Bonnie and Clyde
Raggedy-Ann and Andy
Cleo Patra and Marc Antony
Napoleon and Josephine

The person with the most correct answers is the winner.

Marriage Recipie

Give each guest a recipe card and pen prior to the commencement of the game. Ask that each guest write down his or her recipe for a good marriage. Upon completion, have the bride read them out and guess who wrote each one.

Missing Ingredient

Select 6-10 simple recipes. Type each recipe out, leaving out one key ingredient per recipe. Photocopy one for each guest.
Each guest is given a copy of the recipes and asked to write down the missing ingredient for each one. The person who correctly identifies the most missing ingredients is the winner.
As a variation, you could play the game with cocktail recipes.

Pin the Tie on the Groom

This game is essentially the same as ‘Pin the Tail on the Donkey’ with a slight twist. Buy a poster of a ‘hunky’ guy and then glue a photo of the groom’s face over the ‘hunky’ guys face. Cut out paper bow tie shapes and give one to each guest. Whilst being blindfolded the guest is required to attempt to pin the tie on the picture of the groom in the appropriate position. The guest who places her bow tie closest to the correct position is the winner.
You can vary this game if you want something a little naughtier by replacing the bow tie with paper ‘privates’! This is great for a hen’s night activity and bound to produce a great deal of laughs.

Pin the Bouquet on the Bride

This game is exactly the same as ‘pin the tie on the groom’, except that the picture is replaced with one of the bride and the bow ties are replaced with paper bouquets.

Play Doh 'Privates' Game

Another amusing game is ‘Play Doh Privates’. Each guest is given a piece of Play Doh of which they must create a man’s ‘privates’ from. Upon completion, each guest places their masterpiece in a row on a table. The bride must then go along and choose the best. The guest with the most creative and life-like design is the winner. This is another great one for a hen’s night activity.

Purse Bingo

Purse bingo is a fun shower game and is sure to get everyone involved. Prior to the guests arriving, make a list of common items that are likely to be found in a lady’s purse. Have either a bridesmaid or the bride randomly select items from the list. Items may include a nail file, lipstick, tissue etc. You may wish to start with simple items and then become a little more obscure to spice things up a little. Include items such as, sewing kits, dental floss etc. The first guest to produce an item (or a few at a time) wins a prize. You may wish to play this game in one hit or in instalments throughout the day to make it last a little longer. You’ll be amazed at what women keep in their purses!

Revealing 'Fold Over' Poem

On a very long sheet of paper, write the first line of a poem referring to the bride and groom. For example, “Jane and Matt met at a bar….”
Attach the piece of paper to a clipboard and pass it to a guest. Ask the guest to compile the next line of the poem. For example, she may write, “Matt was instantly in love….”. Once the guest has added their line to the poem have them fold over the paper so that only the newest line of the poem (that is, the one that they have written) is revealed. The paper is then passed to the next guest to continue the poem in the same manner. Once each guest has added her line, have a bridesmaid collect the paper, unfold it and read the crazy, haphazard poem to the bride.

Scattergories

Scattergories is a great, challenging game that will get everyone thinking. Hand each guest a piece of grid paper with either the bride’s name (or a wedding related word such as ‘BRIDE’, ‘BOUQUET’, or ‘WEDDING’) written across the top of the grid/margin. Down the left hand side of the paper, list several categories such as, flowers, countries, colours, dog breeds etc.
Allow the guests five minutes to list as many words as possible for each category that commence with each letter of the bride’s name or the word listed at the top of the grid. For example, if the word across the top of the grid is JANE (the bride’s name) and the first category down the left margin is ‘flowers’, the guest may write in the corresponding grid: Jasmine, Azalea, Nasturtium, English Lavender … See example below:

The Clothes Peg Game

Upon arrival, each guest is handed 2 clothes pegs, which she affixes to her clothing. Throughout the day, if she mentions a pre-determined word such as “wedding”, or “honeymoon” for example, then one of the other guests if free to ‘steal’ one of her clothes pegs (whoever is the quickest). Instead of a selecting a predetermined word, you may wish to change the rules and have guests steal pegs from another if she is caught crossing her legs, or something similar. At the end of the shower, the guest with the most clothes pegs wins.

Toilet Paper Bride

Have guests divide into groups of 3-4 with one person allocated to be a bride and the remaining members of the group, the bridesmaids. Give each group 1-2 rolls of toilet paper and have them dress each other in toilet-paper gowns. Allow 10minutes for each group to put their creative designing talents to the test. Finish up with a fashion parade and have the bride be the judge of the best designs.

Wedding Night Preview

This game is guaranteed to leave the bride blushing and be a winner at every bridal shower.
While the bride is opening her gifts, have one of the bridesmaids secretly write down all the comments that the bride makes. For example, as she opens her first gift, she may exclaim, “Ooohhh, this is just what I’ve always wanted!” and for her next, “It’s beautiful, can you show me how it works?” When the bride has completed opening all her gifts, the have the cheeky bridesmaid read the brides comments to the guests whilst implying that these will be the (sexy) comments that the bride will make on her wedding night.
This is hilarious!

Who Knows the Bride?

Prior to the shower, meet with the bride and write down 10-20 questions about her. Questions may include things such as:

1. How old will the bride be on her wedding day?
2. What colour are the bride’s eyes?
3. What is the bride’s favourite colour?
4. What type of car does the bride drive?
5. How did the groom propose to the bride?
6. What date is the wedding?
7. How many tattoos does the bride have, where are they, and what are they?
8. How many pets does the bride have?
9. What size shoe does the bride wear?
10. Does the bride have a nickname?