Ultimate Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party Planning Guide
Hosting a bridal shower party is a great way to celebrate and pamper a loved one who’s going to be a bride soon.
It’s typically an all-female gathering, where her close female friends and relatives, including older ladies, meet and mingle, and ‘shower’ her with presents.
A bachelorette party is a way for the bride to bid farewell to her single days and is usually a little wilder than the sober bridal shower. The party could be a night out on the town or a whole weekend, and only includes her closest friends or bridesmaids. The goal here is to have a wonderful time with the bride, celebrate the upcoming nuptials, and have a lot of fun.
It is crucial to plan these Bridal showers and Bachelorette Parties well in advance so that there is no confusion at the last minute. Let’s see how you can plan these two events.
Bridal Shower Planning Checklist
A bridal shower may be planned by the bridesmaids and the maid of honour, the bride’s mother, or her fiance’s mother.
It’s the host’s responsibility to choose the venue, draw up the guest list, send the invites, organise the food, activities, and more. This gives the bride enough time to relax before the wedding, while also being close enough to build excitement.
1. Setting a Date and Budget
The one who hosts normally also pays for the event. Ideally, you should have this event between 2 months to 2 weeks before the big day. So you can decide the budget after seeing what’s affordable for you.
If you want low-cost bridal shower planning ideas, our expert team of event planners at LuxAus can help you. Set a date in the range we mentioned, making sure all those who should be there, will be free on the day.
2. Determining the Budget
It is completely up to you to see how much you can afford to spend – all the bridesmaids and the maid of honour can pitch in and see what funds you have, and plan the bridal party accordingly.
Make sure you stick to the budget.
LuxAus can help you find destinations and ideas that will fit your budget.
3. Choosing Bridal Shower Venue
The venue for a bridal shower can be someone’s house – if you have the space for it so that you need not shell out cash for a hall or hotel; but if you have the budget, you can do that too.
Just make sure there is enough space to accommodate your guests, you will have sufficient privacy, and you have the freedom to put up the bridal shower decorations.
Pic Courtesy: Pinterest
4. Creating the Guest List
Draw up the guest list after getting information from the bride about who she would absolutely want to be present.
Pic Courtesy: Wedding Wire
5. Selecting a Theme and Decor
Next, plan a Bridal shower and Bachelorette party theme – do you want a classy, formal do with a brunch or tea, and pastel decor, or a fun event with games that even older ladies can join in. What would the bride enjoy? After all, the day is about her! For more ideas about bridal shower themes, consult with our creative team at LuxAus.
Pic Courtesy: Natalie Nichole Photos
6. Planning Bridal Shower Games and Activities
Have about 4-5 games ready, and make sure you get whatever props you need beforehand. Here are a few ideas for bridal shower games:
- Date night jar – let the guests write their suggestions for date nights for the couple and put them in a jar. The bride picks the winner
- Flower Bar – let guests try their hands at flower arrangements; keep all materials on a long table
- Wedding-themed Pictionary
- Trivia related to the couple
Pic Courtesy: Brides
7. Catering and Menu Options
Plan the bridal shower menu keeping in mind not only the bride’s favourite dishes but also the dietary requirements of your guests.
LuxAus can help you select the right caterer and help with setting the menu too.
8. Gift Ideas for the Bride
Gifts given to the bride during the bridal shower can be something the bride has recorded in the registry, something that will be of practical use in her new home, or lingerie.
9. Bridal Shower Invitations
It’s a good idea to send out bridal shower invitations about 4–6 weeks prior to the date, as this gives sufficient time for people to RSVP, and for you to get the right count and plan accordingly.
Be sure to include the date, venue, bride’s name, registry information, host’s name, and details of the bridal shower theme.
This is very different from the bridal shower. This is usually a get-together of just the bride and her closest friends, and is informal, hinging in the wild, and all about having fun. We will talk about bachelorette party ideas and how to plan them.
Pic Courtesy: Wedding Wonderland
10. Selecting a Date and Destination
Ideally, bachelorette parties should be held between one and three months before the wedding. Usually, the bride’s friends are the ones who decide the destination, keeping it a surprise for her.
You can choose a classy lounge, a noisy pub, or a weekend away at the beach, with a spa session thrown in.
Pic Courtesy: Pinterest
11. Choosing the Bachelorette Party Themes
You can have a beach getaway, have a spa weekend, go on a wine-tasting tour, go pub hopping, take a proper holiday to someplace you’ve never been before, or have an old-fashioned pyjama party.
The last bachelorette party theme will help you save more and have all the fun you want.
Let the slumber party go on all night; just ensure you have enough food and booze so that you don’t have to leave the house!
Pic Courtesy: Pinterest
12. Organising Transportation
If you’re going pub-hopping, find a car service to drive you around; if you’re leaving town, you need to book tickets!
You will also need a car or taxi at the destination.
Ask the experts at LuxAus to help you with these details.
Pic Courtesy: West Coast Weddings
13. Fun Activities and Games
Truth or dare, and the drinking game, are popular at such parties.
You can also have some naughty trivia questions! Charades are always a hit.
Try your hand at mixing cocktails, painting actual models, talking about your best memories with the bride, and so on.
Bachelorette party decorations often involve balloons, streamers, flags, and often, naughty pictures.
Pic Courtesy: Pearls and Twirls
Difference Between a Bridal Shower and a Bachelorette Party
Both are pre-wedding events for the bride and the women closest to her, but the similarity ends there. Bridal showers are delicate, intimate, sophisticated, family affairs, typically held in the daytime or early evening. You will find women of all generations at this event.
Bachelorette parties on the other hand involve a lot of drinking, and something naughty as well! This is attended by a select few – only the closest friends and perhaps a few cousins of the bride. Bridal showers are a way for the bride to celebrate with her family members who won’t be comfortable at wild celebrations that happen during bachelorette parties!
How to Plan a Bridal Shower And Bachelorette Party Together?
You can have both together if the bachelorette party is going to be a quiet one. You can join some elements of both events.
Bridal shower: pull-up cakes, champagne with brunch
Bachelorette party: charades, trivia, etc., wine tasting, spa day
It is important that every bride has unforgettable pre-wedding celebrations, and it’s your duty as her friend to make it happen. Every bride is unique and has her own ideas of how her party should be. Base your decisions on the money available, bride’s preferences, the number of guests expected, and other important factors. Try to see that the party reflects the personality of the bride or the couple’s relationship – apart from that, it’s your baby! You’re free to decide how it should go.
Planning a Memorable Bachelorette Party in Sydney?
As a top wedding Planner in Sydney, Luxaus understand that you may be too busy to work out all of this by yourself – it can be exhausting! No worries. Our experienced team can help you with each and every aspect of planning both a bridal shower and a bachelorette party. From theme and decor ideas, menu and catering suggestions, and arranging transportation to finding the ideal destinations and venues, printing invitations, and finding the right entertainment, our team will help with everything.
So, what are you waiting for? Give us a call right away – let’s plan the most awesome bridal shower and/or bachelorette party in Sydney you’ve ever seen!