Etiquette Guide Article
What Information Should You Have on the Invitations to Your Bridal Shower?
Depending on the size of the bridal shower you are having, you could have a lot of time and money invested in your bridal shower invitations. Whether you are the bride taking matters into your own hands, or the hostess trying to throw a killer bridal shower, it is well worth your time to make certain the bridal shower invitations are done correctly, the first time. If you don’t have the needed information on the invitations, guests will start calling either the hostess or the bride for more information, and with many guests, this can be time consuming, to say the least. Guests need accurate and complete information to plan and adjust their schedules for the event as well, so if you want the invited guests to attend, you should take the time to make certain this is right, especially for out of town guests. Guests will need time to shop for and purchase a gift, arrange for time off work if needed, find childcare, and make travel plans, which cannot be done if the information provided them about the shower is unclear.
The most obvious piece of information that should be included on the bridal shower invitation is the name of the bride and groom. Traditionally, just the bride’s name was put on these invitations, but it is more common now for both names to be used. If you are the bridal shower hostess and are unsure about this, you might want to find out what the bride prefers.
The next thing that needs to be on the invitation is the date the shower is going to be held. Your guests must know what day the shower is going to occur, so that they can arrange their schedules to attend. For guests that will be traveling in from afar, this information is doubly important, as they will need to know when to make their travel reservations, such as airline tickets, hotel accommodations, etc.
Along with the date of the shower, you also should list the time that the shower is going to take place. If you want people to show up as expected, you must give them a set time, or else guests will straggle in all day long.
Another obviously important piece of information that guests will need is the address where the shower is to be held. Just like listing the time of the shower, you can’t expect guests to show up if they don’t know where the event is to be held. Remember, that not all guest may be familiar with the area, so it is important to list the full address of the location, not just the name of the building. Don’t say the shower will be held in my home, because all of the guests may not even know who you are.
Your name, the hostess, and your home telephone number should also be printed on the bridal shower invitations. Guests are sure to have questions, no matter how much information you include in the invitations, so you do need to supply this information.
If you need to get an accurate head count of how many guests will be attending, for planning purposes, then you should include an RSVP line, with a date and time. This way, people will know to contact you if they are planning to attend by this time, so that you can plan the remainder of the shower accordingly. It is always good to plan for a few extra, as not all guests will RSVP.
If you are having a themed bridal shower, then you should include this information on the invitation as well. Some bridal showers are meant to be household showers, where gifts will be related to the home, while others may be more risqué, even lingerie showers are popular nowadays. If you have a theme, your guests should know about it, so that they can shop and plan accordingly.
There are other pieces of information that don’t have to be included, but that can be helpful for guests, such as a map leading them to the shower location, as well as the name of any merchants that the couple has registered at.
