Wedding Shower Help, Please?

Question

I am the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding, and as such, am throwing the shower.

Since I have never been in a wedding (and only gone to one in my life, and never even been to a shower) and the other bridesmaids are as inexperienced as I am, I need a couple questions answered.

1) I have the venue picked out. We are having a wine tasting party at a winery (there will only be one minor there) , but need some suggestions as to what to do to keep the guests entertained after/before the tasting. (The bride DOES NOT want cheesy bridal shower games, she told me.)

2) She told me she knows who she wants to invite. How should I word the invites, and should I send the registry information in the invite?

3) Does she open up presents at the shower or is that tacky?

4) I was going to give away wine glasses with the winery's logo on them as the favor, and a tag with something like "Jim and Jenny Oct. 21, 2006" on them . Would that be ok?

Any other suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.

Answer 1

There are LOTS of helpful options at


http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22throwing+a+bridal+shower%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t403&x=wrt

and

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22throwing+a+wedding+shower%22&ei=UTF-8&pstart=1&fr=FP-tab-web-t403&b=1

including BOOKS which you may find in your library.

Check out general Bridal Shower Etiquette HERE

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22bridal+shower+etiquette%22&prssweb=Search&ei=UTF-8&fr=FP-tab-web-t403&x=wrt

but remember that MUCH of that topic is local/regional, which makes it HARD for us to answer your questions HERE without experientially knowing your locale/community/circle.

Regarding entertainment, however, I think a nice accoustic guitar would sound WONDERFUL in that setting. And if your bride has a favorite charitable endeavor, maybe working together on a supportive project for that organization that was doable in that timeframe/setting would be an upbeat thing for your bride AND her guests! :D

GREAT for you to try SO HARD tho, wish you all the best! :)

Answer 2

I'm not sure about the entertainment before/after but I'll try to help you with a few...You can buy cute wedding shower invitations at card shops or online with different themes on them, I'm sure you could find some with a wine theme and just fill out the info. you should send the registry info with the invitations. Every shower I've been to the bride does open her presents during it, so I don't think it's tacky The wine glass favor idea is a good one and would be fine.
When my cousin got married her shower was a luau themed and she didn't want any dumb games either, but what she did do which I thought was cool, was before each present she opened she had to answer a question about the groom, which my aunt had a big list and ask the groom before the shower for his answers. stuff like favorite food, fav band, fav movie, etc...It was cute and it made watching the gift opening not so boring!! Hope I could help you.

I love the idea of a wine tasting for the shower!!

Answer 3

It's traditional to open presents at a wedding shower. That is usually the main activity. So, have the bride open the gifts after the wine tasting. You might also have cake.

I would leave before the wine tasting open. People will be arriving and greeting the bride and the other guests. Just let them chat.

For the invitations, try to find a pre-printed shower invitation. Then you can just fill in the date, time, and location information in the blanks. It's ok to send registry info in the shower invite. After all, the idea is showering the bride with gifts, so she might as well get the gifts that she really wants from the registry.

The wine glass favors sound like a great idea.

Answer 4

1) Maybe check with the winery and see if they would do a tour and explain the wine making process to your guest's. I am doing this for my wedding in October instead of a normal cocktail hour.

2) There is a great website called www.verseit.com I used it for my wedding invitation's and so has a lot of my friend's they have wording not just for weddings but everything!

3) Of course she opens the presents! It's not tacky. Every shower I have ever gone to they have opened the presents even when it was a 150 person shower... (that took a while) Remember... People want to see the bride open her present from them and see her reaction. It also gives the bride a chance to verbalize her thanks to everyone that brought a gift.

4) I think your gift idea sound's great! You could fill it with some sort of candy and tie a ribbon around it. That way people will have something to snack on while they are at the winery to soak up some of the wine.

I think your shower is going to be great. My friend's for my shower sent a recipe card with all of the invitation's for people to fill out and bring when they come. It's not a cheesy game and it gives the bride something personal to take home with her.

also... the person above me with the condom veil... That is something that you DO NOT want to do!!! Not even for her bachelorette party it is very embarissing for the bride... and is totally unappropiate for a shower.

if you have any other question's you can contact me.

Answer 5

Your venue sounds very nice and I love your idea for favors! (My only suggestion might be to instead of putting the bride and groom's names and wedding date, put "(Bride's Name)'s Wedding Shower ~ Date, 2006")
I throw A LOT of showers for friends and clients, and even though the bride says she doesn't want any "cheesy" games, you may want to get her to clarify what she means. I will agree that you don't want to plan anything that might embarass anyone, BUT especially if there will be guests who don't know one another it's a good idea to have some sort of "ice-breaker" and who doesn't enjoy a good laugh!
One good one is to give everyone a small safety pin with a bow tied on and tell them that they can't cross their legs through the whole shower. If they are caught crossing their legs, whoever caught them can take their pin. Whoever has the most pins at the end of the shower wins! It's funny to see how hard some people try to watch the others. You can do variations on this too, like if someone says the word "wedding" or "bride" they can loose their pin. It's up to you...
Gifts are a big part of the shower as the whole reason showers were started was to replace the tradition of a dowry. It's an occassion where the bride's family and friends "shower" her with the things she needs to set up her home. The shower is the only time it is proper to include the gift registry information (it is VERY poor manners to put registry information in a wedding invitation!!!)
As for the invitations, I'd suggest going to a local stationery store and looking through the books of invitations for some sample wording. Even if you are going to do the invitations on your own rather than having them printed this is a good resource (you may even be able to do this online if you look up wedding invitiation web sites).
Finally, my last tip is in regard to the gift opening. It is the most boring part of the shower for the guests, so be sure to be organized! Have a list with all the guests' names ready, and have another bridesmaid write what was given beside their name. This will be helpful for the bride when she goes to write her thank you notes. Also, have one bridesmaid hand the bride her gifts, and another stationed to take the opened one away, so things keep moving. I was at one shower where the bride opened every box and unwrapped every item and it tooks over an hour!!! You might want to plan for dessert to be served during the gift opening to the guests have something to do while they are watching.
Best of luck!!!

Answer 6

Where your going for the wine tasting do they have like a little room where you could have the shower? You could do like a brunch theme or luncheon theme right there at the winery. Also the present's is up to you and the bride to be. I know that a lot of people like to see you open their gift. Registry put in the invite. Just go to the store get the invitations and put where it is and stuff like you would any other invite. And I don't think that the wine glass would be tacky and I'm sure your friend will love it.

Answer 7

Most showers, the woman just sit around and chat and get to know each other or reunite from previous encounters.
You can use generic shower invites from a card store or you can make up your own. They do not need to be fancy. Just include the brides name, the date, time, location, directions, where to RSVP to, and definitely where the bride is registered.
The bride definitely opens the gifts at the shower. I have been to no less than 25 showers and each and every one of them, the presents were opened.
The glasses sound lovely, BUT--DO NOT put anything on the glass. People hate when something is written on. Attach a ribbon with the brides name and date, but do not put anything else on it or people will not want to use or display in their homes. Try to get away with NOT including the winery's logo, but if you have to that is OK to do.
No music is necessary at a shower. Do take plenty of pictures. And believe it or not, the newest thing is to pre-write out the thank you cards for the bride and give them out at the shower. IT saves the bride from having to do it later on when she has so many other things to do. IT is the newest thing these days.

Answer 8

No, it's not tacky for the bride to open the gifts at the shower. Make sure someone makes a list of who brought what so she can send them thank you cards.

Well, I've never been to a bridal shower where the games are "cheesy", actually the games usually make the shower more fun. Plus, it will help the wine wear off if people are active instead of just sitting around -- unless you have a dance contest -- yeah -- that's a good idea.

Answer 9

There are already quite a few answers here, with many good and helpful suggestions. I'll only add one. If the bride really doesn't want games at the shower, why not have the guests come up with toasts for the wine tasting? They could be full of helpful advice for the new bride, from kitchen hints to the wedding night, and the sillier the better. Have fun.

Answer 10

I can answer two of your questions....yes, she can open presents at the shower. I don't think that is tacky at all. In fact, most of the time it is expected. Plus, it is a way to kill time : )

And I think wine glasses are a good idea. It is something the guests could actually use.

Oh and to answer one of your other questions about how to kill some time....do all the guests know each other well? You could play a game (that is not your typical cheesy bridal game) where all the guests ask get-to-know-you questions of each other. Or you could have trivia about the bride and groom...a way to break the ice if they don't know each other.

It will make the rest of the shower more fun and keeps them from having to do those awkward introductions.

Hope this helps!

Answer 11

First, your idea seems great. After the tasting, open gifts. At a shower, that is not tacky. Cheesy shower games, whether the bride wants them or not, are up to you. Choose a few memorable ones for before the tasting. Including the resistry info is fine, and the wording is truly up to you.