A Bridal Shower Fairytale

By Jennifer Clark
Toronto, July 4, 2007

Once upon a time
Many, many years ago, the classic love story of rich girl meeting and falling in love with poor boy was played out. As playwrights would have it, the father of the bride refused her choice of a life partner and withheld the bride’s dowry in a show of anger and disfavour. With little money to call their own, all would have been lost if not for the bridal couple’s close friends who got together and ‘showered’ them with items they needed to start their housekeeping with. From then on, the concept of a bridal ‘shower’ germinated.

 

Of fire-breathing dragons and other whatsits
Bridal showers have come a long way since then. Although practical, household gifts are still a part of the agenda, today’s showers have taken on a whole different life of their own. From ethnic-themed showers and pajama nights to genteel tea parties in English garden settings, nothing is impossible. The closest semblance to any form of certainty a bride has is if she has signed up with a wedding gift registry. In that case, she can at least know more or less what to expect in terms of the types of gifts she will likely receive. Other than that, anything goes, really!

Traditionally, showers are organised by the maid of honour in keeping with her leadership position amongst the other bridesmaids as well as her role as the bride’s right hand ‘man’. This is still the norm among today’s wedding parties but the sky is the limit as far as the other elements of the event are concerned. For instance, where showers used to be held mostly in private homes, one can now opt to have them at restaurants or day spas. Service establishments are open to being roped into the planning crew and often contribute significantly in delivering a hiccup-free event. Some even have special packages catering to such needs.

Bridal showers are conventionally all-girl affairs but another inspired thought for an imaginatively different shower would be to hold a co-ed one. This could serve as a great way for the wedding party to get to know one another better, especially when it comes to friends of the bride and the groom who may not have had many prior opportunities to interact. Think of it as a mini gathering before the main event itself, a sort of rehearsal dinner for the rehearsal dinner if you will.

Tell me more
If these ideas are beginning to sound intriguing, wait till you hear some of the latest suggestions bandied about. Themed showers are still firm favourites of course. Many call for the guests to come dressed accordingly and as we all know, girls of all ages never decline an invitation to play dress up! Once a befitting menu and decorations are thrown in, everyone will soon be clamouring for an invite. And yes, the chosen theme can also be incorporated into the invitation card designs.

Furthermore, themed showers are great if you want guests to come with distinct gifts for the wedding couple. For instance, an inspired move is to have a ‘time of the day’ theme where each guest is designated a particular time slot and is requested to bring a gift suited to that time of day. As such, guests allocated the 8am slot may choose to bless the bride with toiletries for her morning beauty regime while those who are given the 5pm slot may decide to bear gifts pertaining to tea time treats instead.  

It gets better…
…both for the bride as well as for the guests. Although the proverb has it that it is better to give than to receive, it is now possible to be on both ends, thanks to three little words: bridal, shower and favours. Put it all together and what do you get?

Yes, favours for the guests are the latest on every shower hostess’ must-have list! These serve as lovely tokens of heartfelt gratitude selected by the bride herself or by her maid of honour. The choices available as bridal shower favours are astounding, to say the least. These run the gamut of edible favours to practical ones such as baking utensils, photo frames, magnets and packets of plant seedlings. Jewelry, handmade soaps, body butters and other luxurious and pampering products are always a hit too. Most items can also be further customised by including the guest’s initials.

But all this talk about monogrammed cosmetic pouches and silver bracelet charms need not get the men worked up since in the case of co-ed showers, there are bound to be separate favours for the male and female guests!

While on the subject of favours, hostesses have also been known to throw showers with a ‘craft night’ theme. Guests come ready to either make their own bridal shower favours or to provide a helping hand in the making of the actual wedding favours.

And they lived happily ever after
Whether it be a lavish Indian Maharani theme or a simple dinner get together at the neighbourhood café, bridal showers look like they are here to stay. With each passing year, more bright ideas are bound to be unearthed but the notion to bear in mind remains unchanged: it has been and always should be about celebrating the coming together of two whole individuals who are about to embark on the next step of their journey through life.

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