Bridal Shower Themes: Fun Tips and Ideas

In the past, bridal showers were created to ensure the bride would be fully prepared for marriage, with guests offering gifts centered on the kitchen, wedding planning, and other home necessities. Fast-forward to the twenty-first century and you'll find that most brides and grooms have well-stocked kitchens and more furniture than any single household can contain. That's why many of today's showers are meant to prepare couples for romantic honeymoons, trendy game rooms and bars . . . even complete sets of tools and lawn equipment.

Showers should be creative and reflect the personalities of the bride and groom. Here are just a few fun bridal shower themes:

Lingerie shower
Gifts for this party will, of course, be lingerie. If it will be a couple’s shower, sexy lingerie for him is a must as well. As far as themes go, have all the guests come dressed in pajamas!

Mehndi shower
Practiced by Indian brides, mehndi bridal showers bring together the bride’s friends and members of her family the night before the wedding to apply bridal henna. During this ritual—which is an integral part of a traditional Indian wedding ceremony—a henna paint is used to draw special designs on the bride from head to toe.

Honeymoon shower
Gifts for this bridal shower will center on the couple’s honeymoon. If the couple goes on a cruise, gifts could include suntan lotion, beach towels and coordinating bathing suites. If they are touring Europe, some great gifts would be travel books and journals, travel alarm clocks, adapters for electronics and foreign language phrase books. Serve food from the countries the couple will visit.

Making Memories shower
Picture frames and photo albums are some of the most popular gifts to give. Close friends of the bride and groom can bring famed pictures of the happy couple to help decorate their new home.

Stock the Bar shower
This is another great couple’s bridal shower theme. Guests can bring various types of beer, wine and liquor. Glassware, blenders and other bar equipment is also good.

Spa shower
Brides and guests meet at a local day spa or have a mobile spa come to the shower venue to treat everyone to massages, manicures and facials.

Kitchen shower
Guests bring kitchen and cookware items for the bride to stock the kitchen. At this shower guests often bring over homemade dishes and recipes for the bride to use.

Allow your imagination to run wild when coming up with your own fun bridal shower themes. Also, remember to consider the couple's hobbies and backgrounds to cater a shower just right for their needs.