Ideas For Bridal Shower Invitations

Bridal shower planning is an all inclusive process which can, at times, be incredibly fun to plan out and at other times, prove to be an out and out pain in the neck (and some other places). It is for this very reason that the shower organizers should go about setting the bridal shower guest list about three months in advance of the wedding, with accordance to the wedding guest list. And after deciding on the definite bridal shower guest list, the inevitable next step is sending out bridal shower invitations to each individual on the guest list.

Kinds of Bridal Shower Invitations

In the days of yore, bridesmaids would send fancy or formal shower invitations by post to everyone invited, not really expecting a reply from about 75% of the expected guest list.

Nowadays, however, with the advent of the internet, one has to just mail the invite to the guest list either through her email account or Facebook account and receive replies instantly from almost everyone. A click of the mouse button can send invites to multiple people in one second. Of course, that is a bit of an exaggeration as it is traditionally expected to at least include the name of the receiver of the invitation in the invite itself, so you can't just send a general, non-personalized bulk email to the entire guest list at the same time. It really looks like you are halfheartedly trudging your way through the shower planning. So yes, even the electronic kind of bridal shower invite requires you to put some effort behind it. Don't worry though, softwares like Photoshop and even MS Word and PowerPoint make these additions and corrections far less time consuming. Not to mention eliminating the need for scratching and tearing up previous, mistake riddled invites.

Of course, even now not everyone is savvy with technology, be it due to age or an eccentric mistrust of all things new and advanced. It is for these reasons that some invites still have to be sent through the post. But don’t worry, even if buying/preparing invitation cards and their respective envelopes plus sending them with appropriate stamps and postage may be more time, energy and cost exhaustive than e-card mailing, hard copy invites are also a lot more enjoyable in preparing, especially if someone in the organizing committee has funky art and craft skills. Also, the joy of receiving an authentic hard copy invite is something else altogether. Total memento material, folks!

Customizing bridal shower invitations

For a lot of folks, customizing their bridal shower invites is a lot more awesome and creatively challenging than any other aspect of bridal shower planning, including games planning and decorating the venue. It is not all that tiresome a job nor as time consuming. And if the shower is theme based, preparing the invitations in the same tone as the theme gives you the very first feel of how the theme will come across in the actual shower. This is when you decide whether to move on with the theme or dump it immediately as ideally you should still have time for basic changes in the planning during the putting together of invitations.

Best ideas for bridal shower invitations (theme based)

Well, you should have a huge selection of readymade invitation cards for bridal showers in your local card shop or online, depending on whether you are going for traditional cards or e-cards. Some of them are even theme based and if you fall head over heels for a particular stack of themed invites, you are free to base the entire theme around those cards. However, if you are dead set on a particular idea and want to give the invitations a personal touch, then here are some suggestions, listed theme wise:-

• For a beach themed shower, take a simple invitation template from MS PowerPoint or create one in Word (choose a background of a sandy, grainy yellow or a sunset-y orange). Superglue tiny sea-shells or mock shells along the borders of the invites. Buy or prepare matching yellow or orange envelopes and you may give them the same sea-shell treatment. Makes for one pretty invitation

• Similarly, if the shower is taking place on a front lawn, garden or backyard, follow the same procedure. Just substitute the yellow/orange background for any floral print or shade of green , preferably a lighter one, and instead of sea-shells you may stick tiny flowers, leaves, petals et cetera (if you don’t want the plant parts to wilt, you may have to wrap the invites with paper towels but we suggest picking perfumed, artificial flower parts as a better, less trickier-to-mail option)

• A romantic, February based shower calls for some pink and red and white. However, we strongly suggest you rule out throwing in heart shaped candy as that is tacky

• Similarly, an All Girls Affair may include a lot of delicate red and blue ribbons tied neatly around white invites (we suggest tying two ribbons of the same color vertically around the envelope, each one positioned a few inches from each breadth edge of the envelope)

• For a more formal themed shower, we strongly recommend going for something entirely in black and white. Recently, one of my friends had a black and white themed shower for her sister with black and white customized invitations (more printing cost effective as well) with each card displaying a black and white photo of the bride with the card’s respective recipient along with the rest of the invitation( if she didn’t have a photo of the bride exclusively with the guest, she sent in a group photo having both of them). The guests were bowled over with this simple but elegant PowerPoint creation and couldn’t stop going gaga over it

Messages for Bridal Shower Invite

So the theme, tone, aesthetic ideas for the invitation have been covered. Now, what do you actually write on the invitation? Throwing a bridal shower can be a bit embarrassing as by its very name, it is meant to be a gift-grab opportunity for the bride. So you have to be careful while wording a shower invitation. Don't make a direct, desperate plea like Please bring a present for Bride To Be So and So. You are asking for an investment from the guest, so you should at least have the courtesy of doing it in a flowery way. Here are some ideas:-

• For a more formal, traditional shower- As D-Day approaches swiftly for our dear Sarah, we invite you to participate in a showering of love and blessing, all for a girl we treasure so very much, our dear, lovely Sarah..

• For an exclusive Ladies' Affair- Calling every girlfriend of Jenna D’Agosto, As our lass prepares to take the plunge, Make the transition a sweet one for her, Open your hearts and offer some kindness, Some tokens of memory, For Jenna’s trip from maiden to lawfully wedded

• For a Couples' Shower (alongside a cute photo of the loving couple)- The two of you are invited to join us, We celebrate the union of Courtney and William, As they embark to create a whole world together, Shower them with tokens of love, wisdom and support, That they may use in their brave, new world

• For a beach themed shower- Join us amidst the waves, at the time of the setting sun, For what could be more appropriate, While bidding Helen’s singlehood farewell with warmth and a whole lotta fun!

You may also send simple 'Save the Date' cards and e-mails prior to posting the actual invitations if you have decided on the date and guest list for the shower much before the theme and particulars of the shower. Gives the guests a sense of anticipation and ensures maximum turnover for the shower. You may also enlist the help of a graphic artist while designing the invites (we suggest otherwise though unless you get a good deal or are ready to shell out some bucks just for some fancy invites)

You have a whole range of ideas and choices to choose from while selecting invites. Just make sure that it suits the tastes of the bride, clear about details like the shower date, time and venue, gracefully or humorously worded and mail them well on time with correct receiver address info. So come on, put your skills to the test and come up with the most refreshingly unique and exciting bridal shower invitations which will really give guests plenty to look forward to.

More Bridal Shower Invitations &  Bridal Shower Planning Ideas