I’ll admit, the first things that came to mind when I thought of “Bridal Shower” were endless gift opening and inane games. ‘Do people even like going to bridal showers?’ I wondered. ‘Do I even need one?’ Like many couples these days, my fiance and I have been living together for a while and already have a house full of stuff.
And yet… Maybe I’m just a sucker for wedding traditions (or I just really like parties), but I wanted to have one. I wanted to have brunch with my gals and open pretty boxes and wear a silly hat made of ribbons. I wanted to drink mimosas in a nice dress, and maybe play one, one, not terribly involved game (I may like parties, but I’m still an introvert). So, my mom and I booked a shower at the lovely Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, a place I’ve loved since I was a kid.
With a venue settled, it was time to create a registry. My married friends suggested using this as an opportunity to assess and possibly upgrade our stuff. Things that wear out after a while like sheets and towels are good to add. We’d never gotten a “nice” matchy comforter set for the bed, so we picked one out. We were all set on most kitchen appliances, but after taking stock of what we had, there were little kitchen things that I always wanted or needed and had never gotten around to buying: reusable food storage bags to cut down on ziploc use, extra Pyrex containers, chip clips, a meat thermometer that actually works, a pie server and so on.
Pretty soon, we had a respectable list of things in various price ranges, and I created the registry online from the comfort of my couch. Doing this from home also allowed me the opportunity to walk around my house and ask myself questions like, ‘Do we really need this? Do we have the space for it?’ I tried to be mindful of not going overboard and talked myself out of cute but unnecessary things like a large, cat-shaped basket and a pretty but very breakable turquoise vase.
So I guess when it comes to showers, you do you. Traditional or modern, at a venue or in your home, gifts brought wrapped or unwrapped (or honeymoon funds), games or just mingling, there’s lots of options. For me, the shower will be the first time my family and my fiance’s family will be meeting, and the first time all my bridesmaids will be together. It’s the first official “event” of my wedding, and I couldn’t be more excited.