Bridal Shower Thank You Cards
May 14th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
The bridal shower can be a lot of fun for the bride that is until it comes time to do the thank you cards! You will probably end up wondering why in the world anyone would have ever invented the tradition of thank you cards by the time you get done. The realty of it is that there is really no written rule that says you have to send out thank you cards, but it is something that is really expected, and that bridal shower guests appreciate.
Many brides make the mistake of waiting until after their wedding to do the thank you cards, but they really should be sent as soon as possible after the shower is over. If you wait too long, it looks as though you are only doing them because it is expected, rather than be genuinely appreciative of the gift you received. It is possible to take some of the monotony out of writing your thank you notes, so that it isn’t such a droll time.
To make the job of doing thank you cards easier, ask the hostess of your bridal shower to have two envelopes made for each guest when she does the invitations, and that way you won’t have to spend a lot of time addressing envelopes. All you will then have to do is write a little thank you notes to each guest, and then send it out in the already pre-printed
envelope.
If you would rather not put anymore work on your hostess, then you take over the invitations yourself, so that you can make certain this gets done. If you don’t want to go this route at all, you could get a copy of the guest list, and create mailing labels using your word processing program on your computer, so that all you have to do is print them out and affix them to the envelopes.
This is also a good way to add that extra personal touch, as you can decorate the labels as you wish, using clipart, colorful fonts, etc. It seems like a lot of trouble, but you will likely find that addressing the envelopes for your thank you cards will take up more of your time than actually filling out the cards, by using some of the above tips; you can make the process go by much faster.
Related sources : Bridal Shower Thank You Poems and Bridal Shower Phrases
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Paying For Bridal Shower
May 13th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
When we think of a bridal shower, we typically think of a group of close family and friends sitting around with the happy bride or couple, giving gifts, having fun, and enjoying each other. What we don’t think about is just how much the event is actually costing, and who is footing the bill. There is a lot of money behind the average bridal shower, you may not realize just how much until you have your own.
If the bridal shower is being held in a rented location, such as a reception hall or conference room in a hotel, you can expect that someone has had to pay to rent those facilities. If the event is being catered, there is also an extra expense, not only for the food, but for the servers and staff.
There are also decorations to purchase, party favors for the guests, thank you cards, invitations, cake, etc. Who is traditionally supposed to bear the cost of these items?
The good news for the guests is that they don’t have to worry about any of these concerns. They merely have to show up, gift in hand, and have a good time. That being said, if you have your bridal shower at a local dining establishment, you should be prepared to pay for your guests food, no matter how much it is. Typically, whoever hosts the shower pays for the related expenses, but that often may not be the case. Sometimes, members of the bridal party will host the shower, bearing the costs as their gift to the bride, and in some cases, the bride’s parents will also chip in, which is nice, but not
expected.
To save money, the bridal shower can be held at a private location, such as the parent’s home, church reception hall, etc. You can save even more money by serving finger foods, fruit and veggies, rather than hiring a caterer.
There are some standard rules surrounding bridal showers, all not relating to money. Typically the biggest one is that you should never, ever, expect any of your guests to chip in in anyway, whether it be for the food, rentals, catering, etc. This falls to the hostess of the shower, and no one else.
If you are the mother of the bride, it is better to leave the bridal shower on the shoulders of someone else. In most cases, the maid of honor takes this responsibility on with the acceptance of her position. Of course, if no one wishes to step up to the plate, and you want your daughter to have a shower, then feel free to toss something together.
It is much better to have one large event, than many different showers. Guests cannot afford to attend several different functions all for the same couple and it will be much easier on the hosts to chip in together for one big shower, rather than funding several smaller ones.
Typically, the bride is expected not to use any of the gifts that she receives until after the wedding ceremony is held and if for some reason the wedding doesn’t occur, etiquette says that the gifts should be returned. Your groom is allowed to take part in the shower, if there are other males also present.
No one says that you have to follow the above rules, but if you are planning on having a formal event, it would be best. If you are the maid of honor or a bridesmaid, know that the responsibility of the bridal shower, and all the expenses related to the shower; really do lie on your shoulders!
Related sources : Bridal Shower Planning and Hosting A Bridal Shower
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Choosing the Perfect Bridal Shower Gift
May 12th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Choosing the perfect bridal shower gift is not always easy, as you want to choose something that will be useful and appreciated, as well as serve as a good memory of the event. You want the bride to think of you whenever she uses your gift, and you want her to know how much you really do care, and how happy you are for her. You can’t go wrong with a personalized bridal shower gift.
One gift that most brides will love to receive, in the right atmosphere of course, is lingerie. Not only will it make the bride happy, but the groom will likely appreciate the gift as well. To add a personal touch, have the brides initials, her new initials, embroidered on. If you are interested in purchasing a gift that both the bride and groom can use, you might consider getting them some nice, fluffy bathrobes, and then having them personalized with their names, initials, or even a cute or funny appliqué. You could do the same with pajamas as well.
Candles are rapidly gaining in popularity, and make a perfect bridal shower gift. If you choose wisely, you can get candles that serve a decorative purpose, add that special romantic feel to a room, and even infuse wonderful fragrancethroughout the home whenever they are in use. Candles come in many different varieties, sizes, and colors, so you can have fun taking your time picking out the perfect ones! You can also go the traditional route with crystal wine glasses or silver photo frames, which can be personalized with the couples initials or wedding date.
And of course, personalized gifts are easy for the person who has some artistic talent. You can take some time to handcraft an item for the new couple, which shows just how much you care for them. Some common handmade gifts are scrapbooks of the wedding, a hand-painted mailbox, a personalized quilt, etc. You may even inspire the couple to
pursue their own artistic sides as well, you never know!
Related sources : Bridal Shower Gifts and Creative Bridal Shower Gift
Information For Bridal Shower Invitation
May 8th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
What Information Should You Have on the Invitations to Your Bridal Shower?
Depending on the size of the bridal shower you are having, you could have a lot of time and money invested in your bridal shower invitations. Whether you are the bride taking matters into your own hands, or the hostess trying to throw a killer bridal shower, it is well worth your time to make certain the bridal shower invitations are done correctly, the first time. If you don’t have the needed information on the invitations, guests will start calling either the hostess or the bride for more information, and with many guests, this can be time consuming, to say the least. Guests need accurate and complete information to plan and adjust their schedules for the event as well, so if you want the invited guests to attend, you should take the time to make certain this is right, especially for out of town guests. Guests will need time to shop for and purchase a gift, arrange for time off work if needed, find childcare, and make travel plans, which cannot be done if the information provided them about the shower is unclear.
The most obvious piece of information that should be included on the bridal shower invitation is the name of the bride and groom. Traditionally, just the bride’s name was put on these invitations, but it is more common now for both names to be used. If you are the bridal shower hostess and are unsure about this, you might want to find out what the bride prefers.
The next thing that needs to be on the invitation is the date the shower is going to be held. Your guests must know what day the shower is going to occur, so that they can arrange their schedules to attend. For guests that will be traveling in from afar, this information is doubly important, as they will need to know when to make their travel reservations, such as airline tickets, hotel accommodations, etc.
Along with the date of the shower, you also should list the time that the shower is going to take place. If you want people to show up as expected, you must give them a set time, or else guests will straggle in all day long.
Another obviously important piece of information that guests will need is the address where the shower is to be held. Just like listing the time of the shower, you can’t expect guests to show up if they don’t know where the event is to be held. Remember, that not all guest may be familiar with the area, so it is important to list the full address of the
location, not just the name of the building. Don’t say the shower will be held in my home, because all of the guests may not even know who you are.
Related sources : Bridal Shower Invitations and Bridal Shower Thank You Phrases
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Find The Bridal Shower Games
May 2nd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
What is the bridal shower game that anyone can play? Try the memory game. Gather a lot of common, everyday items like a garter, a ring, an invitation, a cake knife, a veil, and the like. Arrange all these items on a tray. Bring the tray into the room with a towel or cover over it.
Then let guests look at the items for a short period – 60 to 90 seconds, depending on how many items you use. Now cover the items back up. Give each guest a pad of paper and a pen, and let them have two minutes to write down all the items they saw. The guest who accurately writes down the most items wins the game.
What is the easiest bridal shower games? The jumble game! Pass out preprinted sheets of lots of scrambled wedding words, 30 or 40 words if possible. These puzzles are going to be fairly easy to figure out, so it has to be a time trial. Give the guests a very short amount of time to complete these scrambled words, so adding a time limit will make the game competitive.
Bridal Scramble
Use about 20 words ( could be less ) that have something to do with “wedding”. The words are scrambled and everyone has 10 minutes to unscramble them. The person who unscrambles the most wins the prize. Some examples of words: bride, groom, bridesmaid, maid of honor, limousine, garter, tuxedo, flower girl, rings, shower, honeymoon, church, reception.
The Bridal Shower Alphabet Game
The host starts with a sentence using the letter “A” to describe a bridal shower item or or tradition. In the sentence she describes that she went to a bridal shower and brought an album. The next guest must repeat this sentence and add another item at the end of the sentence, and it starts with the letter “B”, such as “I went to a wedding and brought an album and bubbles.” The next guest does the same thing and adds an item starting with the letter “C”. Anyone unable to add a wedding related item must drop out of the game. The person who stays alive the longest wins the prize.
Famous Couples Charades
This is a very popular bridal shower game. The guests separate into groups and write down the names of famous couples from current times or past. Usually it’s only necessary to get one name and you’ll guess the couple (Brad Pit might become braid and pit is pretty easy!) Each team then selects a person to act out the charade and they draw from the opposing teams list of names. From here, we all know how charades work, so your team members must guess who the couple is as the appointed team member silently acts out the clues.
The Bridal Bouquet
Each player draws a bouquet on a small piece of paper. The players name is written on the paper, and a piece of double faced tape is attached to the back. A large piece of paper with a bride picture is put on a card table and the player is led blindfolded to the table, where she must try and put the flowers in the brides hand. The winner is the one who gets the closest to the brides hand.
Related sources : Bridal Shower Games and Bridal Shower Activities
Bridal Shower Games
April 21st, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Bridal shower game is an interesting part of bridal shower party. Hostesses and guests are still playing bridal shower games. Guests who go to a bridal shower just expect that at some point during the shower they will be asked to play a game. Most guests are good sports and go right along with the bridal shower games.
