If you are like many of the couples we work with you already have all of the stuff you need for your home. That said, you still want (and deserve) a bridal shower! So here are a few fun and creative ideas for “non-traditional” bridal showers … Here’s your chance to do something different and get things you really want!! Be sure to send this link to your bridal party, mom(s), and anyone else who might be throwing you a shower.
Entertainment Shower
Truly for the bride and groom that have everything. Your guests will enjoy thinking outside of the box while getting creative and the happy couple will enjoy utilizing all of these fun gifts! Each guest brings a gift that entertains, such as CD’s, DVD’s, magazine subscription, theater tickets, board/card games, movie passes, books, passes/memberships to museums, video games, tickets to sporting events … Or anything you can think of that the couple is interested in and will entertain them! Consider suggesting guests pool their resources and purchase a larger item like a subscription or even airline/hotel gift certificates.
Linen Shower
We are keeping it clean with this one! Here is your chance to finally get those bed linens like DreamSacks bamboo sheets (trust me you will never want to sleep on anything else again), beautiful new towels, or those place mats and table cloths you have not been willing to buy for yourself … This is a fun and easy shower that even your grandmother can enjoy!
Four Seasons Shower
No, we are not talking about hosting a shower at Chicago’s five-star hotel … This is a shower where each guest is asked to bring a gift for a certain season. For example if the guest had winter, a slow cooker, a warm blanket, mugs with spiced apple cider or hot chocolate; for spring, a picnic basket with supplies, an umbrella stand or a variety of cleaning supplies (hit spring cleaning head on!); for summer, beach towels and flip flops, a lemonade pitcher and glasses or grill tools; for fall, dishes for a holiday meal, an apple peeler/corer, pie pan and rolling pin.
You can either indicate the “season” on each invitation (I suggest having them printed with all four and then circling or highlighting – perhaps with glitter – the season for that specific guest) or tell them their season when they RSVP.
Lingerie Shower
Get the girls together! This one is not for the groom to attend, save those surprises for the honeymoon! A lingerie shower can be romantic and a little risqué, but no doubt a lot of fun! Each guest is asked to bring some type of lingerie and they can be as creative (think wedding night) or traditional (warm cotton pj’s) as they want.
This type of shower is normally hosted at someone’s home but if you are looking for a fun alternative consider a local lingerie shop that rents their space for private parties like G Boutique in Chicago (where they also feature a sex ed class) or Baubo’s Garden in Forest Park (where you can explore their “tool shed” during the event).
I think this is a fun shower to pair with a “question and answer game.” This requires a little effort upfront but the pay off is fantastic! Simply “interview” the groom on camera and ask him loads of funny (and perhaps tricky) questions. Then at the shower you ask the bride the same questions and see how many of their responses match. If you are pairing this with a lingerie shower I say go for it and make the questions a little racy!
Holiday Shower
Everyone loves to have special things to pull out at the holidays. This is a great opportunity to help your friends stock up on their holiday ware! Simply assign a holiday to each guest and have them bring a gift appropriate to the season. Be creative when thinking of the holidays and don’t leave any out … The guests will have fun picking out something for their specific holiday. Example: Fourth of July – A picnic basket decorated in red, white and blue, and, inside the basket red, white and blue plates, cups and napkins.
Gift Card Shower
This is a great shower for people who live out of state (or the country) and are not able to travel with a bunch of gifts. I suggest guests purchase gift certificates from the local shops in the Bride and Groom’s hometown so they can be utilized throughout their first year of marriage (i.e. grocery store, department stores, specialty shops, restaurants).
A fun spin on this is the “#10 Envelope” shower. A #10 envelope is a standard mailing envelope (the long one). The rule is that every gift has to fit in the envelope. Hopefully the guests will get really creative in fitting larger gifts in the envelope.
Basket shower
The concept here is pretty simple … guests are asked to bring their gift in a “usable” container. While it is called a “Basket Shower” encourage the guests to think outside of the basket so to speak (think luggage, hat boxes etc…)
Some examples are “Kitchen Basket” – which is filled with things for the kitchen, “Bath Basket,” “Bedroom Basket,” “Entertainment Basket,” “Movie Night Basket,” “Romantic Basket.” Use your imagination and come up with all sorts of “Baskets!”
Around the Clock Shower
Yes, this is exactly how it sounds but there is a lot of opportunity to have fun and get some seriously unique items here. Each guest brings something for a certain time of day. Example: for 8 a.m., a coffee maker with mugs that match their dishes; for 7 p.m., cookware and a jar of spices; for 9 p.m., a popcorn maker and some movies … Don’t forget about late night, those are the gifts that are really fun to watch the bride open!
Around the House Shower
Not unlike the Around the Clock Shower, each guest brings a gift for a certain room of the house. You might bring towels for the bathroom, a vase or picture frame for the living room, a teapot for the kitchen, or lingerie for the bedroom. The Bride and Groom need help with every room in the house, so don’t leave anything out (including the backyard)! Obviously you will have more than one guest with each room (unless they have a really large house!) but that works out perfectly … Who needs only one set of dishes?
Wine and Cheese Tasting Shower
This is a great couples shower. Arrange for an elegant afternoon or early evening of wine tasting (wine, cheese and finger foods, what more could a guest ask for?). Ask the guests to bring a gift that is fit for entertaining (wine glasses, cheese markers, cocktail plates). Have some fun with this and consider these wine line reviews, they will keep your guests entertained all night. If you are really ambitious consider having a wine tasting contest!
Stock The Bar Shower
Invite the guys because they’ll want to be included! Have guests bring a bottle of wine to share, and a gift to help stock the couple’s bar. Encourage them to bring bottles of the couple’s favorite liquor, bar mixes, glassware … Anything you would use when cocktailing!
Alphabet Shower
I love this idea! On the invitation spell out the Bride and Groom’s names and assign each guest a “letter” from their names, the gift must start with the coordinating letter! At the shower, serve cookies with letters on them (this is a great guest favor). For a game idea, ask the guests to write down an attribute of marriage that begins with the same letter – something they would like to share with the bride.
Kitchen / Cooking Shower
Clearly the gifts are easy to figure out here but I love the idea of asking guests to email you recipes, then create a cookbook for bride (you could even make copies as favors for all the guests). If you simply do not have the time to coordinate an actual cookbook, enclose a blank recipe card with every invitation and ask that each guest write down a favorite recipe on the card to bring to the shower. Then present the bride a recipe box which filled with “tried and true” recipes. Suggest that the guests write a personal note on their recipe card for the bride to enjoy through out the years. For the bride this is much more practical than receiving a cookbook of recipes which no one has tried before and, at the same time, it adds a very personal touch! If you really want to take this one over the top hire a personal chef to come to the shower and give a cooking lesson!
The Pampered Wife Shower
Sometimes you have a bride who truly does have everything they need. If you’re sure the bride doesn’t need (or want) more housewares, then shower her with items to really pamper herself with like spa gift certificates, candles, bubble bath, and wine. I am sure she will thank you for it for a long time to come!
Another fun and eco-friendly thing to consider is a “display” shower … Ask your guests not to wrap their gifts. When the guests arrive set the gifts out for all to see and enjoy. It is also a great way to avoid the awkwardness of gift opening!
