When throwing a shower for a friend of relative about to be married you need to be aware of certain wedding shower etiquette to avoid making any mistakes. One question that is asked often by the person giving the shower is does she have to buy a gift for the bride or should the fact she is throwing the shower be enough of a gift. The answer is that the person throwing he bridal shower, often the maid or matron of honor, is supposed to purchase a gift just like the guests she invites. It is the right thing to do no matter how elaborate a shower she throws.
What if you want to organize a group gift for the shower you are planning on throwing? How do you go about getting money from everyone instead of them bringing a small gift each? Generally bridal shower gifts are small things which the guests spend in the range of twenty to thirty dollars on. If you think that an appropriate gift for the bride is an appliance that you know they need then getting everyone to contribute what they would otherwise spend might enable you and your guests to buy a washing machine, dryer or other large useful appliance as the wedding shower gift. Guests often put in a little extra when trying to buy a large group gift. This is especially thoughtful for a couple who will be setting up their first home together. In cases like that this kind of gift would be greatly appreciated.
There are always people that must be invited to these events even if they are people that you, as the one throwing the bridal shower, do not like. Your personal opinions must be left aside for the event to ensure that the right people are invited for the bride. To start with the mothers of the bride and groom should be invited as should the grandmothers. Some people want it to be a young people’s bridal shower, so that it will be more fun, but wedding shower etiquette says that there are certain women who you must invite. Aunts and women cousins are next on the list. Once their names have been added the next group to put on is all the bridesmaids and attendants. Do not forget the bride’s close friends and any other female relatives like her sisters, sister-in-laws, his sisters and, if she has been married previously, any female children who are not too young. Depending on what she does for a living it may be appropriate to invite some of her female co-workers. You may see that some of the people you are inviting live too far away to attend the wedding shower. Even though you know they cannot come because of the distance it is a nice gesture to invite them anyway. You never know who might surprise you.
As the hostess you will have many responsibilities aside from merely inviting the guests and picking the food to serve. It will be your job to make sure everyone knows each other as they arrive and providing some type of ice breaking entertainment to make the wedding shower more than simply a place to give the bride to be a few extra gifts. There are many places where you can find bridal shower games that can be used for the purpose of making everyone feel comfortable together. Another thing that you need to do is make sure the bride is aware of what gift came from which guest so she can send thank you cards. This can be done by making a note on the back of the card that accompanied a gift. But, if there is not a card then a note on posted will do just as well.
