Plan Wedding Showers Like a Pro...

How to make sure you send out an impressive bridal shower invitation.

The bridal shower is such an important part of the wedding and every bride wants her bridal shower invitation to reflect how important this day is. If you want the bride to be happy with the bridal shower invitation, you'd better be sure it's impressive.

Impressive Does Not Mean Expensive

First things first -- it's important to note that impressive does not mean expensive. Just because you're aiming for an impressive bridal shower invitation does not mean that you have to find the most expensive one.

An inexpensive but well-made bridal shower invitation will work just as well as the most expensive invitation on the block.

A Little Thought Goes a Long Way

Sometimes hand-made bridal shower invitations mean more to a bride than purchased ones. Put a little time and thought into the bridal shower invitation and the bride is sure to acknowledge and appreciate it.

Avoid Store-Bought Bridal Shower Invitations

Avoid a cheap, store-bought bridal shower invitation. You know the kind I'm talking about. They're not customized except for the blank lines where you write in the party information.

While these types of invitations do have their time and place (like a 3-year-old's birthday party), a bridal shower is not the time or place for this type of invitation.

Try Unique Invitations

Try invitations that are creative and unique. For example, many people give out customized candy bars as bridal shower party favors, but why not give out a customized candy bar as a bridal shower invitation? Customized lollipops make great bridal shower invitations too.

Regardless of which type of bridal shower invitation you choose to send, just make sure it's made with quality and care. After all, just like the bridal shower party, the bridal shower invitation should be something the bride can be proud of.

Posted by Patti at 1:11 PM | Permalink

Wedding shower favors that are sure to make an impression.

So you're working hard at throwing a great wedding shower and you're just not sure what wedding shower favors to give to your guests?

I'm Patty the Perfect Party Planner and I'm here with the answers to your party planning questions, including the question of which wedding shower favors to give to your guests. Here's a list of wedding shower favors that are sure to please your guests.

Personalized Lollipops

Many wedding shower supply stores have personalized lollipops available. If you can't find personalized pops at your party supply store, you can definitely find them online.

Simply search the web for ''personalized wedding shower lollipops'' and see what options are available. Lollipops that have the name of the bride and the date of the wedding shower are sure to be a hit.

Personalized Candy Bars

Personalized candy bars are always a hit when it comes to wedding shower favors. Not only are they creative wedding shower favors, but they taste great too.

You can have a professional prepare your personalized candy bars for you or you can make them yourself. Simply download one of the many available candy bar wrapper templates from the Internet and glue them to Hershey candy bars.

Individually Wrapped Mints

Individually wrapped mints are yummy treats that are great to give as wedding shower favors. Especially when you're planning your wedding shower on a budget. You can get the mint wrappers personalized or you can just purchase pre-packaged mints with pretty designs on the wrapper.

Hand Lotion

Little bottles of hand lotion personalized with a cute saying and the date of the wedding shower make great wedding shower favors. Not only are they cute, the guests will make good use of them too!

Bath Salts

Every woman loves bath salts. Especially aromatherapy ones that will soothe away the stress at the end of a day. What better time to hand them out than at a wedding shower? Not only do they smell good, but they make great wedding shower favors too!

Wedding Shower Cookies

If you're on a budget and you want to give a tasty treat, wedding shower cookies are sure to be a hit. Look for cookie cutters shaped like hearts, bells and wedding cakes. After baking the wedding shower favors, allow them to cool and decorate them with icing.

No matter what you decide to give to your guests as wedding shower favors, if given with care and thought the wedding shower favors are sure to be appreciated.

Posted by Patti at 5:28 PM | Permalink

Printable invitations take shower-planning convenience to a whole new level.

It used to be that you had to go to a professional printing company to have your bridal shower invitations printed but nowadays, thanks to the Internet and printable invitations, that's no longer the case.

Printable invitations are taking bridal shower convenience to a whole new level and I, Patti the Perfect Party Planner, am going to tell you just how to get your own printable invitations and how to make them look their best.

Step 1 – Locate Printable Invitations on the Web

First things first. You need to find your printable invitations on the Web. Simply do a search for ''printable bridal shower invitations'' and scan the results to find what you're looking for.

Step 2 – Download the Invitation Template

Once you find the printable invitations that you want to use, you're going to need to download the template to your computer so you can edit the template.

Step 3 – Edit the Template

Once you have the printable invitations template downloaded, it's time to customize the template with the information for your bridal shower. You'll be adding the date, the time, the place and the bride's information.

Make sure you note if the bride is registered at any gift registries as well.

Step 4 – Print out the Invitations

Once the printable invitations have been downloaded and customized, it's time to print them out. Make sure that you've purchased quality invitation paper for this step. Many office supply stores and craft stores have decorated paper just for this purpose.

Step 5 – Add Your Personal Touch

Once the printable invitations are printed, you'll want to add some personal touches. Try running ribbon through two holes at the top or gluing lace hearts to the invites. Personal decorative touches add a lot of class to printable invitations.

Step 6 – Prepare the Envelopes

Once the invitations are all ready to go, you'll want to prepare the envelopes as well. Make sure that the envelopes match the invitations. Try decorating the envelopes too (with stickers, not glued-on lace, etc.)

Step 7 – Send Em' Out!

Now that everything is ready, it's time to send the printable invitations out. Take them to the post office to see how much postage will be required and the invitations will be on their way!

Posted by Patti at 7:12 PM | Permalink

How to create your bridal shower invitation wording.

Creating bridal shower invitations can be a blast but oftentimes the invitation wording is what has people stumped. How do you word the invitation? What should it say?

While the answer to these questions has eluded many a party planner, I'm more than happy to share the answers with you. I'm Patti the Perfect Party Planner and I'm going to tell you how to create the invitation wording for your bridal shower invitations.

The Message

The message of the invitation wording itself can be either traditional, casual, or general. Which type of message you use will depend on the type of bridal shower you're throwing and your personal preferences.

General

A general message will usually just state, ''Please join so-and-so for her bridal shower.'' The message will then be followed by the details of the party such as the date, time and location.

Traditional

A traditional message will state, ''Please join us for a bridal shower in honor of our bride to be'' and will state the bride's name, the time of the party, the date and the location.

Traditional invitation wording will also usually state the attire required and will name who the party is being hosted by.

Casual

A casual invitation will have a cute little note such as “A wedding day is on the way, please attend our bridal shower day!” and will give the name of the bride, the date and the time and location of the party.

Themed Parties

If the party you're throwing is a themed party, the invitation wording should definitely include this information. Especially if want people to come in costume.

Gift Registry

If the bride is registered at a certain store, the invitation wording should also include where the guests can buy the bride gifts. Letting them know where the bride is registered will save them time in their bridal shower gift shopping.

RSVP or Regrets Only

In addition to the bridal shower message and the date, time and location of the party, the invitation wording needs to include who to contact in regards to party attendance.

If you want people to contact you whether they are attending or not, you will put in RSVP and then the phone number that you want people to call. If you want people to call only if they're not attending, you'll put Regrets Only instead of RSVP in the invitation wording.

Posted by Patti at 3:19 PM | Permalink

How and where to find free invitations for your bridal shower.

Every great bridal shower starts will great invitations, and if you're planning your shower on a budget or if you just want to save some dough free invitations sound like a great idea. But where do you go for free invitations?

When it comes to finding free invitations for your bridal shower, you need to be a little creative. After all, good things come to those who are willing to work for them. If you're looking for free invitations for your bridal shower, try these ideas.

Make Them Yourself

Making your free invitations yourself can be both fun and rewarding. You can go to any craft supply store or even some office supply stores to find supplies to make your bridal shower invitations.

Construction paper or invitation paper, a hot glue gun and calligraphy markers are pretty much the essentials when making your own invitations. While the supplies aren't free, they won't cost too much and you'll have them on hand for future projects.

Surf the Web

There's a plethora of invitation templates available on the Web, all you have to do is search for them. Perform a search for ''download free invitations for bridal showers'' and you should get quite a bit of results returned to you.

Simply download the templates for the free invitations, customize them on your computer and print them out on your computer.

If you really want the invitations to be free and you don't want to pay for paper and ink, you can email the free invitations to the invitees.

Make a Party Out Of It

If you like the idea of making the invitations yourself but you don't want to make all of them all by your lonesome, enlist the help of the bridal party or other friends. Plan a party night where you and your friends will all make the free invitations and mail them out the next morning.

Enlist School Children

Young school children are always working on craft projects. If you don't mind your free invitations having an elementary look to them, ask the art teacher at the local school if he or she would be interested in working on your bridal shower invitations as the next art project.

You'd be surprised at how many teachers are willing to help out with your bridal shower project.

Posted by Patti at 11:07 AM | Permalink

Free bridal shower games to help with the fun and budget of your wedding shower.

Entertainment is an integral part of the bridal shower and if you're planning your shower on a budget, free bridal shower games are a must! Free bridal shower games will help people get to know each other and will keep the party rolling.

I'm Patti the Perfect Party Planner and I know the best free bridal shower games to play at your party. I'm going to go over a few of them with you.

Bridal Shower Bingo

Bridal Shower Bingo is probably the most popular of all of the free bridal shower games. For this version of bridal shower bingo you'll need to create bingo cards with bridal shower-related words like the name of the bride, the date of the wedding, the name of the groom, etc. Then create bingo balls (actually little pieces of paper will suffice) for the game pieces.

You play the game just like you would play regular bingo. The first person to get bingo wins a prize!

Memory Game

Memory games make great free bridal shower games. For this game you will need to put a number of the brides personal possessions on a platter and cover it with a towel. Uncover the platter and let everyone look at it for one minute. After the minute is up cover the platter with the towel again.

After the platter is covered back up, the guests try to remember what was on the platter and they write all of the items down on a piece of paper. The guest who remembers the most items wins the game.

The Collage Game

Collage games are also great free bridal shower games to play. To play this game you will separate the guests into several teams of 3 or 4 people. Each team will get three or four magazines, an 11 x 14 piece of cardboard, scissors, a glue stick and a list of a dozen words of things they need to find in their magazines.

The teams will then search through the magazines to find the items on their list. When they find an item on the list they cut it out and glue it to their cardboard. The team who finishes their list first wins.

The above free bridal shower games are sure to be a blast and will keep everyone entertained throughout the party.

Posted by Patti at 2:31 PM | Permalink

5 great ways to make beautiful bridal shower invitations.

You want your bridal shower invitations to be unique and beautiful, but you don't know where to start? Don't fret. Patti the Perfect Party Planner is here to tell you five great ways to make sure your bridal shower invitations are beautiful, whether you're making them yourself or having them done professionally.

Tip Number 1 – If You Are Going with a Professional, Pay For Quality

Did your mother ever tell you that you get what you pay for? If she did, she was quite right. When it comes to bridal shower invitations, if you're having them done professionally make sure you're going to a true professional.

To make sure you're going to be getting what you pay for, ask to see samples of work. A true professional should have no problem providing you with sample bridal shower invitations to choose from.

Tip Number 2 – If You're Doing Them Yourself, Use Calligraphy or Stencils

If you're creating your own bridal shower invitations and you know how to write using calligraphy, then by all means do so. However, if you don't know how to write in calligraphy and your handwriting isn't flawless, you're going to want to buy some stencils to use.

Tip Number 3 – Use Ribbons or Lace

Ribbons and lace always add a nice touch to bridal shower invitations. Whether you're having your invitations done professionally or you're making them yourself, make sure the use of ribbons and/or lace is incorporated into the bridal shower invitations.

Tip Number 4 – Make Sure the Envelopes Match the Invitations

Nothing is tackier than sending out bridal shower invitations without matching envelopes. While you might save a few pennies by going with a generic envelope, don't opt for it. Spend some extra money and make sure the envelopes go well with the invitations.

Tip Number 5 – Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

There's no point in passing out a bunch of bridal shower invitations if they're going to have the wrong date on them. If you don't proofread the bridal shower invitations, you might not catch that the invitation says July 9 instead of July 19.

Thoroughly proofread your bridal shower invitations and make sure there are no errors or typos before sending them out.

They don't call me Patti the Perfect Party Planner for nothing! By following my advice you're sure to send out great bridal shower invitations.

Posted by Patti at 11:46 AM | Permalink

Tips to make the wedding shower you plan stand out from the rest.

When you're planning a wedding shower, you want to do it right. With all the work that goes into planning a wedding shower, it's no wonder you want it to be something you can be proud of. But how do you achieve the perfect wedding shower?

Patti the Perfect Party Planner is here to give you some great tips on how to make sure your wedding shower is one to top all others.

Invitations

Each wedding shower starts with an invitation. Make sure your invitations are unique and attractive. Try making them yourself for some added personalization.

Décor

What's the first thing guests see when they arrive at the party? The décor. If there's one thing you should go all out on when planning a wedding shower it's definitely the decorations. Try unique decorations like chocolate fountains and ice sculptures. They're sure to be a hit.

Themes

Many great wedding shower parties start with a great theme. Whether it be renaissance or 80's punk, a great theme is a great way to start a great party. Make sure the invitations note to come dressed in costume for added fun.

Menu

When you're planning the wedding shower, plan a great menu. Everyone will agree that if there's good food at the party, there will be good times too. Make sure there's a wide array of finger foods, desserts and beverages.

Games

Of course you want people to have fun when they're at the wedding shower, so games are an important part of the party. Play games that everyone can enjoy like Pin the Veil on the Bride and First Kiss.

Entertainment

Think about hiring live entertainment. While live entertainment is often hired for wedding receptions, it's often overlooked when it comes to the wedding shower. A wedding shower with live entertainment is sure to be one that will be remembered.

Party Favors

Since you're throwing such a good party, you're going to want to give guests a little memento of the wedding shower. Whether you buy the gifts at a store or you make them yourself, make sure you give party favors that stand apart from the rest.

Do It with Passion

Of course the key to throwing the wedding shower is to do it with a passion. As with all great things, when the hostess throws a wedding shower with all she's got, it's bound to be a blast.

Posted by Patti at 2:09 PM | Permalink

Five wedding shower uh-ohs you want to avoid at all costs

Okay girls, Patti the Perfect Party Planner usually tells you what to do when throwing a great wedding shower. However, I think it's time we went over some of what not to do when throwing a wedding shower in order to avoid the wedding shower uh-ohs that I've heard about.

First Things First

First things first. Don't forget to send out the invitations. One poor girl had absolutely no one show up to her wedding shower.

Was it because she had no friends and was completely unloved? No, absolutely not. It was because her frenzied maid of honor forgot to send out the wedding shower invitations! This mistake is a big one, so don't make it.

Anyone Up for Swelling and Itching?

Make sure that no one at the party has allergies to the foods you're serving at the wedding shower. A number of people are allergic to peanuts, so if you're serving something with peanut products in it, make sure it's labeled.

You can ask the guests beforehand if anyone is allergic to anything and steer away from those ingredients when planning your wedding shower menu.

Oh Tell Me She Did Not Come!

I know it sounds like a no-brainer, but it's happened before. Do not invite the groom's ex-girlfriend to the wedding shower unless she's a close friend of the bride. No matter how nice she is or how hard she tries to weasel her way in, it's just not a good idea.

A Big, Handsome No-No

While many people do it for wedding showers, don't hire a male dancer for entertainment without checking it with the bride first. Depending on how modest she is, she might not appreciate the entertainment and the party is about her. And if it's a unisex party, the groom definitely won't appreciate it.

Organization Is Key

Keep things organized. Many a wedding shower has fallen apart due to the neglect of last-minute details. Keep a schedule and make a checklist. Check it ten times if you have to, but make sure that all of the details are being looked over and know who's handling what at all times.

The day of the party, touch base with everyone who is helping out with the wedding shower and make sure that everyone knows what they're supposed to be doing.

Check the food and make sure the menu is accounted for or check in with the catering service if you're having the party catered.

By following these tips and avoiding these big wedding shower uh-ohs, you'll be able to save yourself embarrassment and headaches and you'll be on your way to planning one great wedding shower.

Posted by Patti at 5:16 PM | Permalink

Five secrets to help you plan the perfect wedding shower without any hassle.

So you want to plan the perfect wedding shower but you don't want any of the headaches that usually go along with it? While most people would tell you you're dreaming, I'm here to tell you that you can throw the perfect shower without running into big-time headaches.

Secret Number 1: Keep the Nut Cases Away

They don't call me Patti the Perfect Party Planner for nothing. When I throw a party I do it right and the first thing I do is keep those that I like to call the nut cases away from the party planning process.

You know the type of person I'm talking about. The ones who insist you're booking the wrong banquet hall, hiring the wrong caterer and serving the wrong food. When it comes to planning a bridal shower, you need to exercise your backbone and tell those people to just back off.

Secret Number 2: Serve Great Food

Everyone, no matter how skinny they are, loves great food. If you want to throw a great shower your menu had better be spectacular.

A spectacular menu doesn't mean that you have to hire an expensive caterer. You can even prepare the menu yourself. Just make sure that the food you serve is great and that there's plenty of it.

Secret Number 3: Great Entertainment

If you want to throw a great shower, you're going to want to keep the guests entertained and that means planning for games and maybe even live entertainment. If the guests are having a good time, the party is bound to be a success.

Secret Number 4: Prepare a Thank You List

The party isn't over when the guests go home. The bride needs to send thank you notes to all of the guests who gave gifts. While the bride is opening her presents, prepare a thank you list of who gave what so she'll know how to thank them later.

Secret Number 5: Perfect Party Favors

Remember when you were a kid and you used to look forward to the goodie bags you got at your friends' birthday parties? Everyone likes to get presents and the guests of your bridal shower are no different.

When you throw a shower make sure that the party favors being given are worthy of your guests. Cheap little throwaways just won't do. Put a lot of thought and a little bit of money into the favors that you give to the guests.

Giving gifts to the guests is the perfect way to end the party and the shower guests are sure to appreciate it.

Posted by Patti at 10:04 AM | Permalink

The latest trends for planning bridal showers.

Bridal showers are truly special events and everyone wants their bridal shower to be one to remember. To many people, that means having a bridal shower that is the epitome of the latest in bridal shower trends.

With trends and fads changing all the time, it's hard to figure out what's hot and what's not anymore. However, as usual, Patti the Perfect Party Planner can give you the inside edge as to what's hot in bridal showers.

Themed Bridal Showers

Themed bridal showers have always been popular and that popularity isn't going away. If you want to throw a bridal shower that's sure to be a hit, go with a themed party.

The theme you chose doesn't have to revolve around romance, weddings or love. It can be a 70's theme or a rock band theme, just make sure the theme you choose is interesting and fun.

Men Allowed

While it used to be a big no-no, bridal showers where men are allowed are becoming increasingly popular. Since lately men have been taking a more active role in the wedding-planning process, it only makes sense that they would be attending the bridal shower.

Chocolate Fountains

These tasty decorations have been becoming increasingly popular at all major parties, including bridal showers. Available in different sizes, the chocolate fountains serve as giant, flowing fondue pots for fruits and pretzels.

Bridal Shower Games

Bridal showers aren't complete without bridal shower games being played. With a little bit of research and planning, you can have the hottest bridal shower games at your party.

Bridal Showers Thrown by the Bride

Lately it's becoming more common for brides to throw their own bridal showers. If you really want the bridal shower to be cutting edge, have the bride throw her own party.

Live Entertainment

While it used to be reserved for the wedding itself, live entertainment is becoming more and more popular at bridal showers. Hiring a band or even a stand-up comedian for the bridal shower isn't unusual nowadays.