Wedding Registry : Tips & Advice

Parties and Showers

As strange as it may seem, almost as soon as you become engaged people will come out of the woodwork offering to host parties on your behalf. And this is where it gets fun - Engagement Parties, Wedding Showers, and Bridal Luncheons etc.

Engagement Party:

Traditionally, the family of the bride offers to host (sometimes hosted by friends of the bride's parents) an engagement party for the couple to officially announce the couple has become engaged. This is the perfect time for the families of the bride and groom to officially meet and launch off the wedding season for the couple. It's typically held in the home town of the bride. If the bride's family does not intend to host an engagement party it is acceptable for the Groom's family to offer to throw one.

Showers:

When thinking about wedding showers, start by determining how many parties you would like to have. This will help you organize those offering to host into groups that make sense. Depending on the two of your home towns, some may be in town and some out of town. So, keep a list from the beginning of those who have offered and assign them to specific showers. Showers are held anywhere from 3-6 months prior to the wedding date. Couples can have as many or as few showers as they like but keep guests in mind. Outside of immediate family and wedding party, try not to invite guests to more than one shower. Guests usually will bring gifts to showers (though not required) and to the wedding. Inviting them to more than one shower can become financially overwhelming.

Showers of the past were "ladies only" events where tea and petit fours were served and ladies adorned in their Sunday's best. But let me tell you, times have changed and so have showers. Some showers remain ladies only but the ever-more emerging trend of the "couple's shower" has brought a level of fun and creativity to the shower scene.

Many times wedding showers will have a theme, identified to meet specific gifting needs of the couple and this is where it gets fun.

Popular Shower Themes:

Around the House: On the invitation, guests are assigned a room of the house and the gift they bring represents the room.
Time of day: Guests are assigned a specific hour of the day and the gift is an appropriate symbol of things the couple might do during that time of day.
Stock the Bar: Need I say more?
Night on the Town: Guests bring gift certificates or tickets to specific places around the couple's home town the guest also enjoys. Gifts can range from gift certificates to restaurants to theater tickets.
Lawn and Garden: Guests bring gifts to support activities done in the yard. Gifts range from shovels and hoses to grills and lawn mowers.

Bridal Luncheon

A bridal luncheon is held on the morning of the wedding or the morning of the rehearsal dinner as a small gathering of the bridal party and some close family. The Bridal luncheon is hosted by the bride's family (many times by Aunts of the Bride) as a thank-you to the bridal party for participating in the event as well as a send off to the bride as she approaches her wedding hour. The luncheon can range from a formal lunch in a fine restaurant to as informal as a drop-in breakfast served in the Bridal Suite or at the Bride's parent's home. If you choose to have a bridal luncheon, it is a great time to say a few warm words to the female participants of the wedding about what the participation in your event has meant to you.

No matter how many or few, how formal or informal these parties are designed for family and friends to celebrate the soon-to-be union between the couple and the two families. So remain organized to ease the planning process for those hosts but most importantly, relax and HAVE FUN!