Jenkins - The everything wedding shower book : thrill the bride and amaze the guests with a celebration to remember

THE

WEDDING SHOWER BOOK

Thrill the bride and amaze the guests with a celebration to remember

Jennifer Jenkins

Copyright 2000, Adams Media Corporation. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything Series Book.
Everything is a registered trademark of Adams Media Corporation.

Published by Adams Media Corporation
260 Center Street, Holbrook, MA 02343

ISBN: 1-58062-188-0

Printed in Canada.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jenkins, Jennifer.
The everything wedding shower book / by Jennifer Jenkins.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-58062-188-0
1. Showers (Parties) 2. Weddings. I. Title.
GV1472.7.S5J46 2000
99-048060

Many of the designations used by manufactures and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations have appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters.

Illustrations by Barry Littmann and Kathie Kelleher.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases. For information, call 1-800-872-5627.

Visit our home page at http://www.adamsmedia.com

S o shes getting married! And you are the dear friend who wants to throw her the perfect shower. You want a shower that is a tribute to the friendship you share, a shower that sheand all the other guestswill remember forever, with fond memories.

This nifty little book will show you how. Its got the right titleit will tell you Everything you need to know. Using the clever tricks and tips you will find here, you will be able to throw her a terrific shower. It will be one that suits your budget, your personality, and your schedule just about perfectly.

The goal of reading this book is for you to get the skills to throw the most wonderful shower with the minimum of expense and fuss. Youll find all sorts of great ideas, tips, secrets, helpful hints, and planning tools to help you pull it all off. Sound too good to be true? Its not. The things you will learn here will make this an occasion to rememberand perhaps rival the fun quotient of the wedding shes working so hard to plan!

Because thats what the shower is really all about, isnt it? Capturing the excitement and the fun of her beginning her new life with him. You want your bride especially to have fun, to take some time off from her hectic schedule, and to know how much you love her. You also want to provide a location where she can celebrate with her friends and give everybody a chance to bring her a gift she can enjoy.

Legend tells us that the very first bridal shower was in Holland. A pretty maid fell in love with a miller. Her father, however, didnt want her to marry this guy. Her dad decided to refuse to provide a dowry, hoping to discourage the young couple. But true love prevails! The millers friends came to the rescue of young love and showered the bride and groom with gifts at the first wedding shower.

Times have changed. Traditionally, bridal showers were a much more meaningful ceremony than they are today. Our grandmothers and their grandmothers really counted on the gifts they would receive. Those gifts helped them set up their new household and embellished whatever dowry their family was prepared to provide. The shower filled out their trousseau. It was critical to a comfortable new life in poorer times that the bride have a shower. Now bridal showers are about giving memories and experiences of love and support, and less about a new bridle for the plough horse or a nice couple of young hens.

Today, the brides friends, coworkers, or colleagues typically host a wedding shower for a group of the brides friends to attend. The guests can include men or children or pets or just about anyone or anything you think will be special for the bride. The idea is you want to send her off to the rest of her life with warm memories of her dearest friends. Its major fun to host a shower, as you are about to discover. It can also be a lot of work. You might find yourself a little overwhelmed by the prospect of planning such an important party in your friends life. Especially if you arent accustomed to planning parties yourself. But youll find everything you need to know here, and together well make it easy and fun. You will find handy checklistswhether its how to track her gifts or a shopping list for the grocery store. Youll find tons of premade sample parties using lots of new, exciting themes. Well talk about everything from a countdown for the arrangements, to how much food the average person eats at a party, to what colors to use in decorating the location. You will also be glad you found such a complete and thorough companion, and your friends will rave at your success.

By the time this is over, youll be a pro! You might just find yourself being hired to throw showers in the future for friends of friends! So heres a toast to the bride-to-be, and one to you, for the kindness youre showing by deciding to host her wedding shower.

The Ws of W-W-W-W-Wedding Shower Planning

Why are you doing this?
What kind of shower should you have?
Where do you want to have it?
When should you have the shower?
Whom should you invite?

C HAPTER O NE

Wedding Shower Basics

Who Typically Hosts the Shower?

One or more of the bridesmaids, usually led by the Maid or Matron of Honor, are the most typical hosts of the wedding shower, although just about any close friend, neighbor, aunt, cousin, or coworker is perfectly fine, too. You can cohost it if you want with any of these people, or you can do it by yourself.

Who Should NOT Host the Shower?

The people who are not supposed to host the shower, according to the etiquette bylaws, are the mother, sister, or grandmother of the bride. However, any of these can hold it at her home, or offer financial contributions to the event. She just is not typically supposed to act as hostess (she doesnt send out the invitations).

Shes Got a Bunch of People Who Will Want to Throw Her a Shower