I have been very fortunate to attend and organize several bridal showers for friends throughout the past few years. But to honest, they are all the same and somewhat… boring. Whether the bride is surprised or not, similar things happen. The same types of food are served - salads (while they are always quite delicious), pasta dishes, fruit, and cake - and we all watch as the bride opens all her gifts while she tries to look surprised (even though she’s the one that picked it out for her bridal registry and we bought her gifts from the registry!).

 To break the mold, I decided to now plan showers with creative themes. Last year, my twin sister got married and I was given the idea to have guests decorate mini-wedding cakes. While it involved a lot of planning, it was a great success! With the help from friends, I had around 30-40 mini cakes baked (each cake had three different sized layers), a few tubs of frosting in different colors made, purchased different toppings for the cakes, and had cake plates bought as well. And to ensure that the cakes will leave the shower safely, I provided saran wrap and tooth picks for girls to safely wrap their cakes. This was definitely something different and I received several compliments because this was an activity that was fun and people could take something home with them from the shower.

 Another idea which my friend and I devised for a shower that I am in the midst of planning is to have a manicure party at the shower, and since the bride loves chocolate and peanut butter, this will be the theme of the foods served at the shower (in addition to salads and fruit). While I know that the latter idea isn’t particularly nutritious, it was fun formulating of the menu. Such items included chocolate peanut butter pie, chocolate cake, peanut butter ice cream, brownies, and to be creative - peanut butter and celery!

If you have any other creative ideas for bridal showers, please feel free to share them with me!