A recent trend in the practice of bridal showers are themes. Themes are a fun, creative way to spice up a traditional event. Bridal showers are most than just a day for bride to help her prepare for the big day, they are also a time to enjoy the company of family and friends. It is important that the bride use the shower as a way to express her personal style and tastes. that’s where bridal shower themes come in. Here are some wonderful theme ideas:

1. Wine Tasting Party
This bridal shower theme is a great idea for wine lovers! It is also a way to include all of your guests in the event. If you have your wine tasting shower at a winery, the staff can choose which wines should be tasted. If you would rather have your party at someones house, you can pick the wines yourself or have guests bring their favorite wines to try.

2. Pajama Bridal Shower
Having an all-girls shower? Why not throw the party in the evening and have all guests come in their pajamas! Instead of traditional games, let your guests relax with facials, manicures and pedicures. These wonderful, relaxing activities will help alleviate the stress that the bride is feeling during this time.

3. Hawaiian Themed Party
Say Aloha to the bride with this fun bridal shower theme! Hawaiian themed parties are great for any bride who loves to go to the beach. Decorate your shower with tiki torches and bright colors and give each guest her own lei as she walks in. You could also hire a professional to teach guests how to hula dance!

4. Pink Bridal Shower
For the more feminine brides, “shower” the entire party with the color pink! Use pink decorations including flowers, tablecloths or dishes. Give guests a pink-colored candle as a favor. Also, no pink bridal shower would be the same without a pink cake!

5. Room of the House Bridal Shower
Another great bridal shower theme is a Room of House shower. Each guest is assigned a particular room of the house, such as kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, and they must buy a present that would be used in that room. For decorations, you could separate the party area into different “rooms” and have the bride move from “room to room”; while she opens her presents!

Eight crucial steps you must add to your wedding shower checklist:

Who should host the shower?

The maid of honour is normally the person who plans and hosts the wedding shower. However, if someone else can devote more time for the preparation, then by all means let them do it. This could be any friends or family members of the bride.

When should you hold your shower?

The norm is to host the party about 4 to 6 weeks before the wedding date. This is because the bride and her family members will be very busy to the lead up to the big day.

Therefore it is necessary to include the bride in the planning when it comes to setting a date and time. A traditional ‘girl-only’ party could be a Sunday brunch, a midweek lunch or an afternoon tea garden party.

Who to invite

Relatives and close friends including neighbours and work colleagues. It is wise to keep the numbers low as large parties tend to split-off into smaller groups.

You see, the idea is to have all the party members to interact. You will be playing shower party games and you need everyone to get involved, no-one should be left out. For this reason, a good number will be approximately between 10-20 people.

Decide your shower theme

It’s more fun to have a theme for your shower. It can be more fun than your wedding theme. Use this theme throughout the rest of your shower planning as outlined in this checklist.

Choosing a theme should not be difficult. Did you know that the kitchen theme is the most popular. This being because there are so many kitchen accessories to choose from.

It really shouldn’t be that hard when deciding on a theme. You will know the bride well and know her likes and dislikes. Are they into fitness and health regimes? Then the option of a health/fitness theme could be adopted.

The food, favors, shower games & thank you cards

Food: The location and theme of your shower party would determine the type of food you will supply. Are you having a garden tea-party? Then scones and sandwiches blend in with that theme. If you were having a wine party, then cheese, crackers and small nibbles would suffice.

Favors: These aren’t that necessary really. My guess is that your having favors at your wedding anyway. Nevertheless, some people like to give shower favors to their guests as a way of saying thank-you.

Games: Everyone should be included in the shower games. Shower party games are a great ice-breaker for people to get to know each other. Games can include bridal shower bingo as this is always a big hit as is ‘what’s in the bag (memory game).

Thank-You Cards: If you want to let your guests know that you are truly appreciative of their generosity, then a simple thank you note is a great gesture.

To summarize

A lot of planning and organising is involved in preparing for a bridal shower party. However, it is always worth it for your guests to have a great fun time and the bride and groom receive lovely practical gifts for their hobby or their home.

Wedding lore differs on the origins of the bridal shower. One has it that back in the days when weddings were arranged by families, a poor Dutchman fell in love with a girl whose father refused her a dowry. So, her friends showered her with enough gifts to help the couple start a household.

It was the end of the 19th century, another story goes, and a soon-to-be-married woman was at a party, during which friends surreptitiously placed small packages inside her parasol. When she opened it up, she was ‘showered’ with the gifts.

For the modern couple, “Jack and Jill,” or coed, showers are becoming increasingly popular; gifts and games should be geared to both genders. (Hey guys, that ‘s not so tough. What man wouldn’t enjoy opening a box of sexy lingerie to be worn by his new wife on their honeymoon?)

Because lifestyles are so varied, so too are the showers. For the bride and groom who already have their basic household needs, for example, a shower could be focused on services – gift certificates to restaurants, beauty or health and fitness salons.

These days – gourmet food, garden and recipe showers are among the more popular themes for prenuptial celebrations.

For a sophisticated couples shower, wine tasting is recommended. Guests bring bottles of wine and champagne as gifts; the hosts serve wine and cheese at the party.

One couple hosted a shower with a Las Vegas theme. Their house was decorated like the inside of a casino, with the entrance to one of the rooms adorned as a wedding chapel. It didn’t mention gift ideas. But board games, theatre and lottery tickets, restaurant gift certificates, satin sheets and cosmetics would be in keeping with the Las Vegas scene.

“Just for You” is a shower that features gifts that are personalized: engraved, initialed or monogrammed. They can include stationery, jewelry, desk and vanity items and linens. Gifts can include luggage, auto accessories, sports equipment, travel books, maps and picnic baskets.

I recently attended a shower for a friend with a “Through the Year” theme. Each guest was assigned a month and asked to give a gift appropriate to that month. One guest, who was given August, packed a beach bag with a towel, sunblock, water bottle and other sun-and-fun items for the bride-to-be. The December guest bought the future newlyweds their first Christmas ornament.

In conclusion, traditionally, wedding showers have been intimate home-based affairs for the bride with close friends and family. But the current trend reflects larger, more elaborate events. And shower themes can be as varied as hosts’ imaginations.

If you want to give the best bridal shower you can and make it a truly unique event which everyone will remember over the years, then you might want to take a look at the following Bridal Shower Ideas, as we have made a short wrap of the most popular and somewhat unique ideas to help you choose the best theme for your and the brides taste.

One of the most fun Bridal Shower Ideas is the Chinese theme topped with the fortune cookie. Now, this is not about ordering out and having fun with the fortunes that each one gets. Try going to a Chinese restaurant or decorating your home in the Chinese style with a couple of lanterns, a Chinese table set and maybe cooking a homemade Chinese meal. It will not be as good as that of luxury restaurants, but many recipes can be easily done at home and you can even cook them together which is a great plus. As for the finishing touch, the fortune cookies, replace the existing messages from ones which you have bought with other, more personal and more fun such as: ‘You are the best friend of the Bride’ or ‘Uncle Nathaniel will ask you first to dance’ or ‘At the wedding you will find your price’. The trick is to wrap the fortune cookie in a damp paper towel and hold it for a couple of dozen seconds, 20 or 30 at most, until the cookie becomes malleable. Now you can open the cookie and replace the messages.

“It’s tea time” is one of the best Bridal Shower Ideas. We might not be in Britain, but this does not mean that you cannot enjoy a fine cup of tea and some biscuits in a nice décor. Simply give your house a bit of tea parlor feeling or rent out a room at a tea house for a Tea House Wedding Shower. A great idea is to create different tea bundles with colorful tea cups and assorted teas so that everyone can get the tea treat that is most suited for her. Top it off with some tea biscuits and some great music and everyone will get in the mood to chat away.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream, yup, another one of the great Bridal Shower Ideas is to follow with an ice cream scoop and toppings bar. This is one of the best ideas for summer bridal showers and one of the less expensive. Simply top your fridge with numerous cartons of ice cream flavors and look for different popular toppings such as chocolate sprinkles or skittles. Then all you need is to let the guests make their own combinations into different size bowls and just chat away with crazy flavor combinations.

Probably the most popular of the Bridal Shower Ideas is the Beauty Bridal Shower. You can go all out with a day at the spa for some relaxation or simply go for a home treatment with different homemade masks and creams. You can even purchase the services for a professional massage for a plus of relaxation. Top this with a glass of wine and some chocolates and you will be in heaven.

And last but not least on our Bridal Shower Ideas list is the picking basket idea. This is a great idea for a wedding shower in any warm season. Simply follow with a large array of sandwiches and drinks in nice plates in the sun and you will surely have great success. And if you like, you can ask guests to come with their own sandwiches and drinks and simply mix them together, it is less expensive and much more fun as diversity will simply go through the roof. And if you have your own garden, simply put in some lanterns and you can enjoy it even in the evening for a plus of starry sky.