Kitchen Bridal Shower

Chances are, soon-to-be newlyweds need just about everything but the kitchen sink. Get their lives started right with a kitchen or house-warming shower.

INVITATION:

A microwave party invitation opens up to reveal the details about the shower. There's room for the time, date, place, etc. -- plus where the bride and groom are registered.

GUESTS:

Showers can be intimate gatherings with just the bride and her entourage. They can also be a great way to celebrate with friends and acquaintances who might not be close enough to attend the wedding itself. Include them in the festivities; a low-key open house is a great way for lots of people to stop in and share good wishes.

Our shower was an open house that included neighbors and church friends. About 35 were invited which kept a nice flow of 8-10 people coming through to visit with the bride throughout the night.

ACTIVITIES:

Bridal shower games can be fun with a smaller group. Should you have an open house (or people who'd just rather visit with each other), get everyone involved by sharing some advice or a favorite thought or memory about the bride. We had people write something they loved about the bride (so her groom would remember how lucky he is!) on pre-designed pages that match the invitation. At night's end, the pages were collected and bound into a book along with pictures of the evening. The bride received the book as part of her wedding gift.

FOOD:

Good girly stuff (can you say, chocolate?). A selection of homemade and store-bought treats can go a long way without too much effort. Our menu:

Homemade chocolate cake, cashew cookies, slush punch (easy but fancy)

Purchased cream puffs, pastries, sugar cookies shaped and decorated as bridal dresses

Fresh fruit

DECOR:

Pick something the bride loves:

Seasonal -- our shower was close to Valentine's Day, so we leveraged the holiday theme of hearts and love. It was easy to transition pink, red and white decorations into shower decor without feeling like a Valentine's party. Think blushing bride and use any of your seasonal decorations to give your shower a relevant feel.

Interests -- What does the bride love to do? At a previous shower, our bride was well envied for her closet's fabulous contents. We raided her shoe selection and decorated with them. Shoe boxes were wrapped in black paper and her colorful heels displayed on top of them. Inexpensive mini "glass slippers" came from a party supply store and served as decorations as well as favors.

Gift Specific -- Try keeping with the party theme of kitchen/home and decorate using gifts the bride may have already received (place a new toaster on a pedestal, arrange flowers in a blender, make a display of her dishes).

THANK YOUS:

As part of the bride's book with wishes from the guests, a few pages served as a record of gifts received. Not only could the bride look back at her friends' generosity, she can use the list to write thank you notes. Matching thank you notes were given to the bride as part of her shower gift from the hostesses.