Information Bridal
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.
