As anyone and most will agree, the bride to be may be accustomed to handling things for herself, but custom dictates that someone else must host many of the events surrounding the run-up to the wedding, including the bridal shower and the bachelorette party. If you're a friend or family member of a future bride and you'd like to throw her a shower, let this article be your guide to the customs, etiquette, and planning of such a pre-wedding party. Our website is offered support by Apple Tree Dental, Stoney Creek
Contrary to popular belief, the point of a bridal shower is not to furnish the couple's home in preparation for married life. The bridal shower custom actually originated in Europe in the late 1800s among poorer families who either could not afford to give their daughter a dowry or refused to give her one because of who she was marrying. The object of the party was to collect enough gifts to allow a woman to marry the man of her choosing.
Bridal showers are traditionally hosted by the bride's friends, co-workers, or future in laws, not the bride's family. In fact, if a sister, mother, aunt, or even cousin hosts the bridal shower it can seem too much like they're angling for art prints of Canada for their own kin, which is traditionally their responsibility. Therefore it is usually the bridesmaids or the brides' friends who throw her bridal shower. She may even have more than one thrown on her behalf.
Guests who are invited to attend a bridal shower at someone's home are expected to bring a gift for the bride. Traditional gifts include lingerie, small appliances, dishes, bedding, and towels because of the bride's traditional role as homemaker, but modern bridal gifts can include anything the bride can use when she becomes a wife, so they often depend on the proposed structure of the new marriage - i.e. whether the bride will be staying home or working, traveling, staying in town, etc.
While early bridal showers were spontaneous affairs held at private homes, over the years they have grown more elaborate, involving hall rentals and hiring catering services. Not all bridal showers need to be expensive to throw. You can still host at home, serve finger foods, and play a few card games for prizes rather than throwing an our and out soiree. Traditional times of day for bridal showers are evening and afternoon and they usually do not include lunch or dinner, only snacks.
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