Bridal Shower Gift Etiquette

A bridal shower is a party that is held for the bride-to-be, weeks or months before the actual wedding day. Traditionally, the responsibility of throwing a bridal shower comes to the bridesmaid. However, nowadays there are bridal showers thrown by the mother, sister or some close relative of the bride. The bridal shower is a small party which does not include more than 20 people and is usually an all women's affair. However, nowadays, more and more people are opting for a coed shower where both the bride and groom are present. Although bridal shower is considered to be a main pre wedding celebration, not many people know how bridal showers actually started.

Once a wealthy, Dutch girl fell in love with a poor man whom her family did not approve of. However, rather than getting dejected, this girl decided to get married without her parent's consent. As she did not get any dowry from her parents, the people of the village came together and gave gifts with which the bride and groom could start their new life. This incident led to the beginning of the tradition of hosting bridal showers. As it started with the idea of providing dowry to the bride, the main event of a bridal shower is the gift giving ceremony. However, just like hosting a bridal shower, even giving gifts for bridal shower has some etiquette. So, if you are not aware of the bridal shower gifting etiquette, here are some things that you have to keep in mind. Read more on bridal shower etiquette.

Gifting Etiquette for Bridal Shower

For Guests
Bridal shower gift giving etiquette involves guidelines that one should adhere to while buying the gift, wrapping it and even while presenting it. Though wedding gifts are usually sent to the couples home, according to the etiquette on bridal shower gifts, the gift should be taken to the bridal shower personally. If the bride has registered somewhere for the gift, the task of selecting one would actually become easy for you. On the other hand, if she has not, check whether the wedding shower invitation mentions any kind of theme. If it has, then the best thing would be to select a gift according to the theme of the party. For instance, if you have to attend a lingerie shower, shop for some good quality lingerie for the bride. However, if it is a coed bridal shower, make sure to take a gift is something that will be useful for both the bride and the groom. The price of the bridal shower gift should also be taken into consideration. According to etiquette, the bridal shower gift can be anywhere between USD 30 to USD 75. On the other hand, it would also be a good idea to gift the bride-to-be a homemade gift at the bridal shower.

Once you have brought the gift, the next step would be to pack it. As you are taking the gift personally to the shower, it is important to wrap it very well. Buy colorful decorative paper from the store and wrap it very neatly. If you think you are not good at wrapping it, you can take the help of a professional to do it. Most stores have people who wrap gifts that are brought from their store. Once you have wrapped the gift, attach an elegant bow to make the gift look grand. Also, do not forget to attach a card with the gift with a small message for the bride-to-be along with your name signed at the end.

For Host
As the bridesmaid is responsible for hosting the bridal shower, she ought to know some gift etiquette that have to be followed during the gift opening ceremony. The gift opening ceremony should be held either after or before the food served. Before the bride-to-be opens the gifts, assign one of the guests to write down the names of the people and the gifts they have given. This is important because the bride may not remember it later when she has to write thank you notes to the guests. Another person should be assigned to collect the ribbons while the gifts are opened. These ribbons should be used to make a ribbon bouquet which should be used as the bridal bouquet at the wedding rehearsal. Another very important thing that brides should remember is that if by any chance the wedding is called off, they should return the gifts back to the guests.

It is important to follow these etiquette to make sure that you do not hurt the feelings of the would-be-bride in any way, unknowingly.