What You Need To Know To Host The Best Bridal Shower in Toronto!
What Is a Bridal Shower?
Bridal showers are way to get your fellow ladies excited about a wedding. A small event held for the soon-to-be bride that also acts as a way to introduce the two families before the wedding, it's always an event that should be held whenever possible. Whether it's your first time ever throwing one, or you are a master of bridal showers, you are sure to learn at least one thing from this article. So sit back and take some notes.
How Much Will a Bridal Shower Cost?
That much is entirely up to you. But know that it'll definitely cost more than $1000 on the low end. If you think you can't handle all that financial responsibility by yourself, you should host this shower with a few other people so that you can split the cost. Splitting responsibilities and costs also ensures a more smooth experience, there is a better chance of everything going smoothly because you can all focus on one thing. This is all for the bride, so you want to make sure they worry as little as possible about this event. So whatever makes the shower run better, you shouldn't hesitate to do that.
When Should I Start Planning a Bridal Shower?
An event like this requires some time to get ready, so it's best if you give yourself at least 4 months to properly prepare and set up for a bridal shower. You don't want this to take place too close to the actual wedding either, so make sure that the shower is at least 2 months away from when the wedding is actually being held. You don't want the bridal shower to overshadow the wedding.
Who Do I Invite To a Bridal Shower?
The bridal shower doesn't have to be as big or fancy as the wedding, so you don't have to invite too many people if you think that's best. You still want to invite a good number of people, but it is a more personal event, so you can keep the guests more exclusive (close family and friends). But again, it is entirely up to you. If you want to invite all the guests that are going to the wedding, go ahead, no one is going to stop you. Just make sure to invite them at least one month ahead.
Should I Just Invite Women?
Well, you don't have to. Some people hold something called a “jack and jill shower”. It just means it's a bridal shower for both the bride and groom. It's a great way to get everybody involved and excited for the wedding. This way, you can also invite the best man and the groomsmen and divide the workload up evenly upon all of you. It also widens the possibilities for activities, gifts and themes that you can do for the shower. A jack and jill shower is a great option for a shower, it can introduce some guests and make friends (maybe some potential romances too) before the wedding, which will make the wedding a more fun event.
What Should The Theme be?
A bridal shower theme should match or relate to the theme of the wedding somehow. If the wedding is just a traditional black tie thing, then your bridal shower should be the same, but just less formal. But if the theme is more apparent, something like star wars or disney (not actual themes, just examples) then that's what the bridal shower theme should look like. The theme is just there to add ambiance and lets people follow some guide when they are making the food and decoration. Which is not completely necessary, but it is something that is fun to have and makes the job of some people involved, easier.
Where Do I Hold a Bridal Shower?
The best place to hold an event like this is a venue or rental space of some sort. Toronto Event Space Rentals has a great space just for an event like this. While a lot of event space rentals can set you back anywhere from $100-$1000 per hour, Toronto Event Space Rentals would come in at the low end of that price. At a price like that with the same quality as the more expensive event space rentals, Toronto Event Space rentals should be a no-brainer. For more information that you might need just visit their website at torontoeventspacerentals.ca
What Do I Do After Finding a Spot?
You can start putting together the menu for the party once the invites have been distributed and the RSVPs start coming in. The two key pieces of advice for selecting the menu are to stick with dishes that you are confident the bride will enjoy and select dishes that can be quickly served.
Choose a mimosa bar, coffee drinks, and breakfast dishes like tiny waffles or salmon toast if your bridal shower is themed around brunch. A build-your-own-taco station with guacamole and margaritas would be a fun choice for a bohemian-themed shower. Depending on your budget, you can either hire a caterer, prepare the food yourself (preferably with the help of the bridesmaids!), or ask close friends and family members to donate a dish for a potluck (more on that in a bit).
What Do We Do In a Shower?
Bridal showers are usually filled with fun activities and games for all the guests to play. Games like trivia, bingo, mad libs are a great way to get the guests engaged with one another especially if they don't know each other. It's a good way to get your guests to befriend each other so they have more of a reason to go to the actual wedding. Now, bridal showers don't have to be all games, but you should still have some here and there to keep the event fun.
What Activities Do People Have at a Baby Shower?
The possibilities for activities are endless. Most bridal showers have classic games with a wedding twist on it, like wedding trivia or wedding mad libs. But you can make your own games with all sorts of inside jokes. They don't all have to be games however, you can have gifting activities, for example, people make their own special cocktails for the event, make picture books, and even booklets of date ideas for the bride and groom to go on during their time as a married couple. There is no limit to what you can do, you just have to get creative.
What Should the Schedule Look Like?
The schedule should start with a period (30 minutes to 1 hour) where people can come in and relax for a bit while they are waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive. After they all do, you can serve some light refreshments as you mingle with the guests and everybody gets to know each other. After a good period of time doing that, you can head into the games and other activities you have planned, which can be followed by the main gift giving event. After which, you can serve lunch or brunch and let everybody go. This is only a rough schedule and you don't have to follow it at all, but it's a good place to start if you feel you are stuck and can't get started.
What Food Should I Get?
There are many ways to go about bringing food to this bridal shower. If you are willing to spend the extra money, you can get a catering company and cater the whole event. It would be less stressful that way, you would only have to worry about if they will come on time and they can worry about what food to make and serve. But of course, not everyone has money like that. Another way you can ensure that everyone has good food to eat is to make it a potluck. Just assign what food you want to be brought to different people, and you can make the event a self catered kind of thing.
Alcohol and Drinks
Some of you are probably wondering if you should serve alcohol in this event. There isn't really a reason not to, but that's up to you to decide. But a few things to keep in mind, while alcohol is a great way to get conversation started and introduce people to one another, you don't want to get guests completely wasted. So the alcohol should be on the lighter end especially since bridal showers take place around the afternoon, served and drunk responsibly. Getting a bartender just for this event is also not a bad idea if you can afford it. But if you can't, get a trusted adult to run the bar. If there are kids or people who just don’t drink, you want to make sure they have an option for drinks as well.
What GIfts Should I Get?
If you are hosting the bridal party, one could argue you already have given your gift. But if you think you still need to give something or if you aren't hosting and are attending, here's what you should know. You could get something from their registry if they already have that set up, that way you don't have to worry too much about gifting something on the wedding day itself. But if you don't want to get something from the registry so early(which is understandable), you can get something somewhat basic. As long as you know no one else is getting your item as well. Things that a newly wedded couple might want or need, kitchen equipment, lingerie. Or even just items that the bride might want for herself, designer bags, shoes, video games, whatever you think the bride might like. If you are too indecisive about what you can get her, why not just give her money? You can give her a sizable gift card of ikea, leons, indigo, bath and body works, or even just cold hard cash.
Final Notes
You have everything you need, a venue, people to come to the event, the bride (and maybe the groom too) for the event. This event will be a wonderful event when you pull it off. Just remember to have fun and not to burden yourself or anyone else with too much work and things to worry about. Remember to divide the workload evenly between everyone so that even the people who organized the event can enjoy it thoroughly. Now go have fun at your amazing bridal shower!
