Alternatives to Traditional Bridal Showers

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The bridal shower is a wonderful tradition, and yet they are not always appropriate in every situation. More and more often these days, the friends of the bride are getting together to plan a party or outing in celebration of the bride that is not the standard bridal shower. Here are some fun ideas for alternatives to traditional bridal showers, as well as the reasons for choosing to do something a bit different.

One of the main reasons to do something other than a bridal shower is when it is not the bride's first marriage. The purpose of a bridal shower is really to help a young couple just starting out accumulate some of the basic items needed to set up a household. For this reason, it is not customary to throw a shower for a second time bride, as she normally has all of that stuff already, not to mention that it is rude to ask the same group of people to keep giving gifts for the same occasion to the same person. (Yes it is true that most guests will give a wedding guest to a second time bride, but the difference is that a wedding gift is technically optional, where if you attend a shower, bringing a present is pretty much mandatory.)

Another reason why some people prefer to have a non-shower type of party is that they cannot get enough enthusiastic guests together. These is not a reflection of anyone's feelings towards the bride; it is more like a group case of bridal shower fatigue. This is most often seen among groups of friends in their 30s who have already attended so many bridal showers that they simply cannot stand the thought of making yet another toilet paper wedding dress. For this situation, a non-shower party in honor of the bride-to-be is the perfect solution.

A very fun way for a group of ladies to spend an afternoon together is to have a spa day. Book a private room in a salon or spa and have the bride's closest friends, sisters, bridesmaids, and the mother of the bride and groom get together for a relaxing time. Pedicures tend to be a favorite spa treatment, as they leave everyone's hands free to sip mimosas or Champagne. Presents for the bride can be optional at this type of party, as long as everyone is on the same page about it. If the guest list is limited to only the moms and the wedding party, the bride might want to take the opportunity to present the bridesmaid gifts at this time. It is the most fun to give out the bridesmaid gifts when the entire group is assembled, after all, and it is very sweet if the bride takes a moment out of her special party to thank those who are a part of her wedding.

Private cooking lessons or wine tastings are another great alternative to a regular bridal shower. Everyone can gather at the home of the hostess and just have fun trying something new together. This type of event combines well with gift giving, if you are looking to host a sophisticated non-traditional shower for a first time bride. If it is truly a celebration of the bride, but not a shower with presents, the cooking or wine class could be hosted by the bride's mother or future mother-in-law.

For a friends-only all-in-one celebration-bachelorette party, pole dancing lessons are a popular event. This risque type of party will certainly result in a lot of laughs and some interesting memories! Just be sure that the bride would find a pole dancing party amusing, rather than embarrassing. The idea is to have a fun bonding experience, not to make the bride cringe in shame.

There are as many other alternatives to traditional bridal showers as there are types of brides. Simply pick a type of gathering that is a good group activity, and that matches the bride's interests. Whether the bride-to-be in your life is sporty, girly, or intellectual, you are sure to find a way to celebrate her in style.

Look to Bridget for advice on planning your wedding. Check out how we can help with your bridesmaids jewelry at SilverlandJewelry.com. Custom wedding jewelry makes wonderful bridesmaid gifts.

Thank You Cards For Bridal Showers, Wedding & Bride Party Celebrations

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There is a lot of stationery involved when planning a wedding. This is due to the numerous events that surround the wedding itself and each event has it's own set of stationery. One of the most important pieces is the thank you cards, and there are lots of them. These are for bridal shower, wedding showers, marriage announcements, bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, elopement announcements, engagement announcement and engagement party and last but not least, wedding thank you cards.

Depending on the event, the bridal shower and wedding cards will each state something different. There are some notes that are only used to thank the guest for coming to the event, as gifts are not generally given at the event. Other events will bring many gifts and in these cases, the guest needs to be thanked both for their attendance and for the gift that was received.

The tone of the cards sent will depend on the theme of the event. Generally weddings will be the most formal, as they are often the most formal. Bridal cards can be a bit more casual but these too, usually lean towards a more formal tone with formal verses, sayings or wordings. Some are a bit more casual but will always keep with the tone of the event.

The sayings, verses and wordings should reflect the mood of the event. For a bridal party that's held during the day at someone's house could have quite casual wordings. Something such as "Thanks for attending my shower and helping me celebrate the big day!" would be appropriate. For a lingerie party, the thank you notes should say something fun. "I can't wait to knock Robert's socks off with your lovely present that I am so grateful for!" could be something written.

The wedding thank you cards should also reflect the tone of the event. For formal ones, you may want to include "You're generous gift will be of great help to us as we start our lives together." But for more informal, you may want to make it very personal such as, "We loved the dinnerware that you gave us! We can't wait to use it!"

Whatever event you're sending thank you cards for, it should always keep with the tone of the event's invitation or theme of the party.

About the Authors: Sarah Porter and Patti Paz are authors of several articles including Bridal Shower Thank You Cards, Thank You Shower Cards, Thank You Bridal Shower Cards and more.

Bridal Wedding Showers For Bride to Be

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As the host of an upcoming bridal wedding showers, your chief responsibility is to make sure everyone who attends is going to have a great time. To make sure you accomplish that goal, you'll have to start early and making guest-focused decisions early on. And that begins with the invitations.

Invitation for the Wedding Bridal Shower

Choosing a theme is one of the first things you should do, if you're going to have one for the shower. That's because the invitations you choose should reflect that theme. For example, a lingerie wedding shower should have invitations which will immediately give guests a sense of what to expect from the event. The good is you'll find plenty of choices to make any theme by shopping online.

Because you want to have as many guests as possible at the bridal wedding shower, you'll want to get them to the post office in a timely fashion. Give guests at least two weeks to make their arrangements. That's a pretty standard cushion for most events. After all, guests make have to make some big changes in their own schedules in order to be able to attend the event.

Finally, be sure you give the appropriate RSVP information. Either you or one of the bridesmaids can keep track of which guests will be attending the formal wedding shower. Make sure you only choose one or the other so guests won't have to feel confused about who to contact or where to mail their RSVP response. Incidentally, allowing guests to RSVP to a shower via phone or email is perfectly acceptable and can cut down on your postage costs.

Wedding Showers & Favors

Even though guests are the ones who normally bring gifts to bride showers, you should always consider having something they can take home with them as well. Having party favors available for your guests will ensure they think highly of you as a host and will have loads of praise to offer. That will not only make you happy but will also please the bride since most of the people attending will be her friends and family.

One cut idea for a shower favor are rose petals. If the wedding is going to be based around a certain color scheme, choose these colors and purchase the petals yourself online. You can then place them in decorative containers and pass them out to guests. Some online shops even sell petals in containers, such as small purses, which is even more convenient.

If you're on a tight budget, you could make some candy, buy small picture frames, create miniature potted plants or give out candles as favors. The choice is yours. Do remember though that you want to keep the favors consistent with the rest of the bridal wedding showers theme. That means if you're having wedding showers with a kitchen theme you might want to pass out tiny packets of fresh herbs or small muffin tins with a great morning muffin recipe.

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About the Authors: Sarah Porter and Patti Paz have written several articles about Unique Bridal Wedding Shower, Customized Wedding Bridal Showers, Printed Bridal Showers Invitations, FREE Bridal Shower Invitations, Affordable Bachelorette Party Invitations, Printable Bridal Invitations, Unique Bridal Shower Cards, Engagement Party Invitations, Custom Lingerie Bridal Shower, Cheap Rehearsal Dinner Invitations, Inexpensive Shower Invitations, Help with Bridal Shower Wordings and lots more for CardsShoppe, Cards-411, Birth-Cards and Express-Invitations