Apr 27
22 Fun Bridal Shower Ideas Everyone Will Love
By Wedding Spot
Bridal showers have been a common pre-wedding event for ages, and there are hundreds of different ways to make yours completely unique. In this post, we’re going to offer 22 fun bridal shower ideas for any type of bride-to-be. Plus, we answer frequently asked questions about bridal showers so you can feel more prepared for what it is and how to plan. And while you may not be able to have a bridal shower at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope that these ideas will inspire you — and help you start planning — for when that day comes!
Explore 22 fun bridal shower ideas for any type of bride-to-be:
Traditional-but-fun bridal shower themes
Serve French champagne and Parisian-inspired treats with a pop-up patisserie. Add fun fashion-themed games, like paper doll brides where guests create wedding dresses to put on a mini bride cut out. Decorate with parasols, bicycles, and lace details.
2. Beach themed
This classic party theme lends itself well to bridal showers because of the array of decor and food and beverage options. When planning your color scheme for the shower, stick with blue, white, and wood details for a more nautical theme. If you’re opting for a tropical vibe, throw in vibrant pops of green and coral shades. For party favors, buy everyone a pair of flip-flops that they can put on at the beginning of the party to get everyone in the beach mood.
3. Color themed
Take a tip from P. Diddy and throw a white party for the bridal shower. Or choose the colors from the couple’s wedding palette. Whatever colors you choose, using them to theme your food and beverage as well as decor is an easy and affordable way to incorporate a theme into a shower.
Whether you choose to go out to a restaurant or bring the champagne brunch to your living room, this theme is all about sipping cocktails, nibbling treats and toasting to the bride. Opt for buffet style and lay out your food and beverage in sections. You can have a mimosa bar, complete with fresh berries and various kinds of juices, a doughnut bar, and towers of tasty appetizers. You could even throw in a bloody mary bar for some heat.
5. Tea party
We love this idea because you can make it more formal and request guests wear fascinators, or keep it casual and laid back. This shower should revolve around the tea so make sure you have an array of flavors with both caffeinated and decaffeinated options. For food, tea sandwiches of course! Some traditional sandwiches are egg salad, cucumber, and smoked salmon. Party favors can be an assortment of tea cookies, loose leave tea, or candles and soaps.
6. Roaring 20s
Choose a color palette of black, white, and gold with art-deco style decorations and tablescapes. Add pearls, rhinestones, and feathers for some extra glitz. A champagne tower is a must for this theme, and make sure you have a playlist of all the best 1920s music. As far as activities go, a murder mystery game would be perfect, or even a dance class to learn some signature 1920s moves like the Charleston.
7. Rustic
Rustic showers are all about creating a warm, homey, and inviting feel. For decor, use mason jars, bottles, and cans jazzed up with twine and burlap to act as vases. Bring in lots of wood whether that be in the form of tables and chairs, palette backdrops, raw wood centerpieces and more. For food and beverage, keep it simple and fun. A waffle or biscuit bar, vegetable tray, fruit kabobs, and a naked cake for dessert. If you’re looking to add an activity, these traditional card games printed on wood cards are perfect.
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If the wedding is a destination wedding or if the couple plans to take an exotic honeymoon, consider making the location of the wedding/honeymoon the theme of the shower. Use maps, luggage, globes, and postcards as decor. Give guests a taste of what to expect on the big day with food/beverage, decor, and games all in the line with the destination.
9. Destination
If you and your guests have it in your budget, have a destination shower! You can even double up and also have the bachelorette party the same weekend. Consider places like Palm Springs, Las Vegas, New York City, and Miami. Theme the shower to match the destination utilizing local food and beverage as well as activities so you can get a real taste for the city you’re in.
Modern ideas
10. Flower bar
Create a flower bar where guests can choose florals of their choice, then everyone together will create a beautiful arrangement to take home at the end of the shower.
Check with your local bakery to see if they offer any private cake decorating classes, whether they come to you or you host the shower at the bakery. Each guest will leave the shower with a gorgeous cake decorated by themselves as a creative and delicious party favor.
12. Mixology
For a shower with an activity attached, take a mixology class. Either have a bartender come to your venue or house to teach you some fun cocktails or if your city has a bar or business that does this, you can host your shower there! Elevate the night by pairing the cocktails with foods to enhance the flavors of your meal.
13. Self care
When we think of self care, we think of relaxation and unwinding. Nothing says unwinding more than a day at the spa. You can either include treatments or let guests know if they’d like to book one for themselves if you’re on a tighter budget. If you’re looking to save even more, have a spa day at home with face masks, foot soaks and sugar scrubs. You can even make your own scrubs together as a party favor for each guest.
Backdrops are gorgeous, show-stopping decorations, but they also make fantastic photo booth backgrounds. You can either construct the backdrop ahead of time or have everyone work together to create a backdrop as an activity for the party.
15. Stock the bar
A stock the bar party is where guests bring alcohol, bar tools, glassware, etc. for the couple to stock their bar at home. If the wedding itself is at a BYOB venue, have shower guests bring alcohol that the couple can use to stock the bar on their wedding day. That way they don’t have to pay for it out of their wedding budget.
16. Photo booth
Create a photo booth at the shower. Whether you use a tripod and iPhone or hire a photographer, this activity is so much fun and is a hit every time. You can even make or purchase fun photo booth frames and props to elevate your photos.
If your couple is crafty and loves DIY, have the shower activity be creating centerpieces for the actual wedding day. This will take some coordination with the couple and/or wedding planner to make sure your centerpieces are in line with the wedding decor, but is a great option to take one task off the couple’s plate and help them to stretch their wedding budget.
Instead of having a bridal shower that’s just for the bride and her female friends and family, consider having a wedding shower where the groom and his friends and family are invited as well. Having a wedding shower where everyone is invited may be non-traditional, but it’s such a lovely way to celebrate the couple together and add to their wedding memories.
Budget-friendly ideas
Using a cost-free venue for your shower will cut major costs. Consider a backyard BBQ or a if you’d rather stay inside, opt for a tea party or champagne brunch. Not only is hosting the shower at a home cost-effective, it always allows you to customize your event completely, making it as formal or as informal as you’d like.
20. DIY decorations
From flowers tied to branches with twine to spray-painted bottles for vases to paper doilies and lanterns, there are so many incredible DIY decorations out there to try, and our favorite place for sourcing them is Pinterest.
Skip the caterer and make the food yourself. We love the idea of having a bunch of smaller bites rather than a full fixed meal. You can also consider making the shower a potluck where each guest brings a food or beverage item or do a dessert bar filled with sweet treats. Another budget tip is having one signature cocktail as opposed to a multitude of beverage options.
22. Combine crafts with favors
Set up a crafting station at the shower where guests make something that they can take home as a party favor. Some of our favorites are DIY hair accessories, bath bombs, tea cups, and succulent pots, but the possibilities are endless.
Frequently asked questions about bridal showers:
What’s the difference between a bridal shower and a wedding shower?
Bridal showers are more traditional parties that are thrown during the day for an all-women guest list to celebrate the bride’s upcoming nuptials. Wedding showers are a more modern party that can take place at any time of the day and include both partners and their friends and family. For this reason, the guest list for wedding showers is usually much larger than bridal showers. Regardless of which type of shower you choose, guests should be from your wedding guest list.
What do you do at a bridal shower?
Traditional bridal showers include food, drinks, games and gifts taking place usually at someone’s home, but can also be the bride’s favorite restaurant or venue. As far as specific games go, bridal showers can have more customary games like building a wedding dress out of toilet paper, various versions of bingo, and recipes for a lovely marriage. Some more modern games include creating a date night jar, how well do you know the bride quiz, newlywed trivia, and pen the mustache on the groom. If you want, you can plan a more activity-based bridal shower — consider a pottery class, calligraphy class, wine tour, or spa day.
Who plans the shower?
For a bridal shower, it’s usually hosted by the bridesmaids, the bride or groom’s mother, or any other close female friends and family.
For a wedding shower, anyone from the wedding party or the couple’s families can host. Just be sure to communicate so no one drops the ball or multiple showers are planned by mistake.
Who pays for the shower?
Whoever hosts the shower should be paying for it. So if the bridesmaids host, they should divide the cost equally. Same goes for whoever is hosting if you opt for a mixed gender wedding shower.
When do showers usually take place?
On average, showers take place between four months and two weeks prior to the wedding. Choose a date that is convenient for the bride/couple, wedding party, and close friends and family. If convenient, you can have the bridal shower during the day and the bachelorette party at night.
A bridal shower for every type of bride-to-be!
Whether the bride wants a traditional mid-day bridal shower, a weekend getaway, or a shower where everyone is invited regardless of gender, there’s a shower for everyone. Remember to customize it to really fit the personalities of the couple.
Now that you have an idea of what you want to do for the bridal/wedding shower, learn step-by-step how to plan the bridal shower, complete with a three-month timeline.
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Wedding Spot
The Wedding Spot blog is designed to help couples navigate every step of the wedding planning journey. From before the engagement to after you say “I do,” our goal is to give you the tips, ideas, and inspiration to prepare for your big day — and all that comes with it.