Bridal Shower Etiquette: From Shower Invitations to Wedding Gifts

The purpose of a bridal shower is to give the bride time to kick back and relax, and have fun with her female relatives and friends. Often many different games are played at a bridal shower, and gifts are often bought for the bride. Some of these gifts may be intended as housewarming presents or items that the bride and groom can use together, but other times the gifts are more for the bride herself to enjoy and pamper herself with. If you plan on following bridal shower etiquette, then you should know that traditionally, it is the duty of the maid of honor to organize and host the shower, while the bridesmaids should all pitch in to help with the planning and setup of it.

Shower invitations are an integral part of any bridal shower theme. In the planning process, once a date and a time is set, then it is time to consider a bridal shower theme, and immediately select matching shower invitations to send out to all of the invited guests. Regardless of the type of shower being held, invitations should be sent out six to eight weeks in advance, so that those guests who are invited have time to plan out their schedule accordingly and purchase a gift, if they would like to do so.

Wedding gifts are something entirely separate from the gifts that are given at a bridal shower. While bridal shower presents may focus mostly on the bride, with only some of the wedding gifts having any function for the bride and the groom, and/or the home they will have together, the presents given at a wedding are definitely intended for both the bride and the groom. Most of the time the bride, or the bride and the groom will get together and create a store or online registry that contains many of the items they would love to have when beginning their life together with. Because it is considered tacky and in poor taste to include bridal shower registry information with wedding invitations or bridal shower invitations, it is generally relied upon word of mouth to get the word out about those registries.

If there is no wedding registry to work off of, then relax and know that any of the following items will make for a perfect wedding gift: pots and pans, dishes, kitchen appliances, home decor items, spa and luxury bathing center gift certificates, gift cards to home furnishing stores, electronic items, towels, curtains and bed linens.