PLANNING
Okay, so most important part is getting organized. Then make sure you have friends to help you out. You can even plan it together. But I made a sort of planning list to try and help out. Make sure to communicate too, don't assume that your friends who you are planning it with can read your mind.
1. Decide what you are going to do
The point of the shower is that it affords the friends a way of giving the Kallah a gift. So you can do a few things.
1. A Bridal Shower
This is the most common thing to do. First of all because everyone can come and it is the most fun. It is also the hardest to do, so choose wisely ;-)
*I'll go much more into detail with the shower
2. A Private Dinner
Basically the closest friends collect money from everyone, pay for gifts and for a small dinner for only the Kallah's closest friends. The good part is that it is easy to do, but on the other hand all the girls who chipped in never get to say "Mazel Tov" or see what they chipped in for! There are times though when this is a good idea. Summer time is very hard for people to find time, so if you have very few RSVP's for the party, changing it to a small dinner might be a better idea.
3. Gifts & No Party
This is usually done when it is simply too hard to get everyone together and the friends do not want to exclude people by doing a private dinner. The friends use the money to buy the gifts and shtick. I would recommend taking a picture of the gifts when you finally buy them and emailing it to all the girls that chipped in so that they feel a part of everything
4. Anything else you decide to do ;-)
Be creative, there are tons of things you can do to celebrate with your friend and give her gifts!!
1. A Bridal Shower
This is the most common thing to do. First of all because everyone can come and it is the most fun. It is also the hardest to do, so choose wisely ;-)
*I'll go much more into detail with the shower
2. A Private Dinner
Basically the closest friends collect money from everyone, pay for gifts and for a small dinner for only the Kallah's closest friends. The good part is that it is easy to do, but on the other hand all the girls who chipped in never get to say "Mazel Tov" or see what they chipped in for! There are times though when this is a good idea. Summer time is very hard for people to find time, so if you have very few RSVP's for the party, changing it to a small dinner might be a better idea.
3. Gifts & No Party
This is usually done when it is simply too hard to get everyone together and the friends do not want to exclude people by doing a private dinner. The friends use the money to buy the gifts and shtick. I would recommend taking a picture of the gifts when you finally buy them and emailing it to all the girls that chipped in so that they feel a part of everything
4. Anything else you decide to do ;-)
Be creative, there are tons of things you can do to celebrate with your friend and give her gifts!!
2. Find out who to invite to chip in
Okay, what you have to do is get the list from the Kallah of who she is inviting for the whole wedding. All of those girls should be given the option of chipping in to the wedding. I recommend that for the girls you don't know get the Kallah to give you their numbers or emails so that you can contact them. You can invite via post or email or evites.
3. Buy the Gifts
So there are a bunch of things to keep in mind. First of all the amount you spend depends on how much you actually collect :-) You need enough money for Gifts and
Shtick. If you have leftover it will go to the expenses of the shower.
REGISTRY: If your friend has a registry, you can either buy it straight from the registry, or print the registry and go to a local store (the Buzz, Amazing Savings) and get some stuff for less, so you can ultimately get her more. This is time consuming thought, so if you are strapped for time, just buy it straight from her registry.
If she doesn't have a registry: TELL HER TO GET ONE :-1, without a registry you are really wandering in the dark
Shtick. If you have leftover it will go to the expenses of the shower.
REGISTRY: If your friend has a registry, you can either buy it straight from the registry, or print the registry and go to a local store (the Buzz, Amazing Savings) and get some stuff for less, so you can ultimately get her more. This is time consuming thought, so if you are strapped for time, just buy it straight from her registry.
If she doesn't have a registry: TELL HER TO GET ONE :-1, without a registry you are really wandering in the dark
4. Pick a Date
The HARDEST part. If you are inviting using an online site (Punchbowl ect.) it might be worth it to use the feature they have called "Date Planner", but if not just pick a date that works for you. You are planning it, so do something that works for you and daven that enough people can come then too :-). There really isn't any trick, hope for the best! If you chose to do Gifts & No Party, this date is simply when you delvier the presents to her. Usually the best time to do it is a few weeks before the wedding so that the couple has time to organize themselves with all the gifts you bought.
Bridal Shower5. Pick a themeNow I highly highly highly recommend this. I'll tell you why: It takes the choice out of a lot of things. You can do a surprise shower as well, but be prepared to get caught. I don't think any of my friends were really surprised, but it is a nice gesture anyway. When you design the invitations, pick colors for anything if you have a theme it makes things easier. Don't pick something really hard, and if you have a limited budget don't pick something hard to get. You also choose if you want to have an entire meal, just desserts, milchig, fleishig ect.
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Gifts & No Party5. Buy the giftsOkay, so buy the gifts and bring them over to her. Now, since there is no party and not "unwrapping" thing going on, you can get her a gift card to the place her registry is from, or something along those lines. I've seen debit cards too.
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Private Dinner5. Pick a PlacePick a place that has a back room, or somewhere that you can be semi-private. Don't invite too many people because it will lose the intimate feeling that you are trying to cultivate.
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6. Figure out the guest list
Okay so now in order to figure out food and stuff you have got to know how many people are showing up.
Did you invite his/her family? If you did you can usually rely on them to show up.
Did you get any RSVPs? Count those for sure, and if you got very few, feel free to text or call people to find out.
If you are really having a hard time figuring out the number of people, make more than you need. You don't want to be strapped for food!!!
Did you invite his/her family? If you did you can usually rely on them to show up.
Did you get any RSVPs? Count those for sure, and if you got very few, feel free to text or call people to find out.
If you are really having a hard time figuring out the number of people, make more than you need. You don't want to be strapped for food!!!
7. Get the food organized
Now is the time to rely on the Kallah's friends. Make a list of food that you need and ask friends to make stuff
8. Go Shopping
Now you have to buy the stuff you need, tablecloths, plates, cups, cutlery, ect. I would start at the cheapest place you can and then go more expensive. Amazing savings is great, and Party City has everything (but triple the price).
9. Plan the Shower Activities
This is the most versatile part of the shower. It is really up to you. Typically everyone circulates for a while, then the bride will unwrap her presents as everyone "oohs" and "ahhs". I have been to showers where they did not do that. The friends displayed the gifts, but the Kallah did not open them. I have been to showers where they have played the cutest games.
(game ideas)
(game ideas)
DO WHAT YOU WANT :)
