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Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Oklahoma City | Laura Eddy
The food, the decorations, the gifts, the games (like trivia!)… Bridal showers are always a fun time!
And as a matron or maid of honor planning one, there are lots of lovely details you’ll get to choose and put together to make it a special day for the bride.
But how far in advance should you start planning for this big day?
What parts of the shower should you plan first?
When should you send invitations, order the food, and buy or make favors?
Here’s our complete bridal checklist for maids of honor planning a shower — from deciding who’ll host to decorating the venue. Plus, we’ve included a bridal shower timeline of what to do when!
Three Months in Advance: Start Bridal Shower Planning
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids | Morgan Newsom
Start planning at least three months in advance, no matter how big, small, or elaborate the shower will be. If the bride has many friends or family members from out of town who'll need travel arrangements, start planning even earlier.
The first thing to decide is who will host the shower.
In many cases, it’s the maid of honor or matron of honor. Sometimes, the entire wedding party or the MOH hosts, along with the mother of the bride.
Next, determine your budget and who will pay for the bridal shower.
Typically, the host pays, but sometimes bridesmaids who aren’t hosting may decide to chip in and share some of the expenses.
It’s also important to narrow down some specific shower details with the bride-to-be. These details include the dates she has available, who should be on the guest list, and if she’d like a particular theme, venue, or event space.
For example, her ideal bridal shower theme and venue might be:
At least three months before the event, book a bridal shower venue that can accommodate all of the invited bridal shower guests.
Related: Bridal Shower vs. Bachelorette Party: What's the Difference?
Two Months Before: Finalize These Wedding Shower Elements
Order and send bridal shower invitations at least 60 days in advance. Ensure the couple has a wedding registry and include registry details on the invitations.
On your invitations, remind guests to inform you of any dietary restrictions they may have. That way, you can prepare yummy food and beverage options to meet their needs.
After sending the invitations, shop for bridal shower favors and décor.
If need be, book additional vendors, such as:
One Month Before: Handle These Bridal Shower Details
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids | Leila Brewster
With just one month until the shower, you’ll need to finalize some nitty gritty details.
About four weeks before the event, hosts should:
Feeling pressed for time in the weeks leading up to the shower?
Enlist the help of other bridesmaids to confirm and finalize some of these important details!
One Week in Advance: Do Some Follow-Up
With just a week to go, it’s time to get super organized. So you’ll want to create a bridal shower planning checklist of to-dos for the day before and the day of.
Your venue and caterer will likely need a final guest count by this point, so confirm RSVPs and let your caterer know exactly how many people are coming.
If you’re hosting the shower at someone’s home, cooking yourself, or having guests bring dishes, contact everyone pitching in. Double-check that everyone has enough time to do what they need to do.
These tasks include:
You can also create a playlist for the shower. If you have a theme, choose songs that go with the theme or compile a list of the bride’s favorite tunes.
Finally, shop or decide on your bridal shower outfit so that you’ll look great on the day of the event. The bride will surely want to take many bridal party photos, so you’ll want to look your best!
Shop event dresses for bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, after parties, and other pre-wedding and post-wedding events!
The Day Before the Shower: Take Care of Last-Minute Details
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Indianapolis | Clayhouse Photo
If you’re hosting the shower in someone’s home, decorate, set up tables and chairs, and cook and prep food the day before (if possible).
For venues, ask bridesmaids or her closest friends to arrive an hour or two early to help set up before the bride and other guests arrive at the designated party time.
Bridal Shower Checklist for the Day of the Bridal Shower
Photo: Bella Bridesmaids Baton Rouge | Claire Smith
If you don’t have the opportunity to do so the day prior, tackle the following tasks on the morning of the shower (or as soon as you have access to the venue):
You’ll also want to decide who’ll track the gifts during the gift-opening process. Usually, the maid of honor or another bridesmaid handles this, but anyone trustworthy can take on this important role.
And don’t forget to assign someone the job of creating a ribbon bouquet made from the ribbons and bows from the gifts. This task is best suited for your most creative bridesmaid or someone near and dear to the bride, such as her favorite aunt or most artistic cousin.
When the bride arrives, and you’ve crossed off everything on your to-do list, there’s just one more thing to do:
Have fun!
The bridal shower is one of the most important pre-wedding events. So take your time with the planning process, curate it to the bride’s personality and personal sense of style, and have fun doing so!
It’s a moment the bride will remember for a lifetime, so as her maid of honor, do her the honor of making it everything she ever dreamed it would be!
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