Plan Wedding Showers Like a Pro...

Planning a wedding shower menu can be a little unnerving. Even if you have the perfect theme, great gifts, beautiful decorations... really, everyone except the bride is there for the food. That can put a lot of pressure on the unwitting host.

Fortunately, finding bridal shower menu suggestions isn't as tricky as you might think. With a little bit of searching, we've rounded up some of the best recipes on the internet for wedding shower food and drinks -- recipes you'll use again and again.

The Perfect Wedding Shower Menu

Depending on the time of your wedding, you might want to serve appetizers or a full meal. Regardless, any of these wedding shower menu ideas will work just fine: it's all about quantities. And of course, you'll always want drinks and desserts!

Appetizers and Main Dishes

These go together because if you have enough appetizers, you don't really need a main course. And main courses are easy because you can always do sandwiches. That might not sound very special, but if you use star shaped cookie cutters (or any cutters, really) you can make simple sandwiches something special.

Some other great ideas for wedding shower food and appetizers include:

-Chicken skewers: Cut chicken breasts into strips and marinade in your favorite sauce, spear on bamboo skewers, and bake until done. You can also serve this with plum sauce or peanut sauce.

-Stuffed tomatoes: cherry tomatoes full of any type of sandwich spread makes an elegant but delicious addition to a wedding shower menu.

-Wonton wraps (put wonton wrappers in muffin tins, then stuff them with any combination of vegetables and cheese) look difficult but whip up quickly and taste great!

Desserts

Desserts tend to be a bit easier -- most people have their favorites. But if you're stuck for ideas, here are some bridal shower menu suggestions to work with.

-Mini cheesecakes: create a regular cheesecake mix but bake them in muffin tins for individualized treats.

-Chocolate dipped fruit: Dip any combination of fruit in melted chocolate and refrigerate it until you're ready to eat.

-Stuffed strawberries: cut the tips off strawberries, then create a mixture of cream cheese and whatever flavorings you like. Slice the strawberries in half from the top to about 3/4 of the way down and pipe the filling inside.

Beverages

You can always go basic with soda and fruit juice -- add a few ice cubes and some frozen strawberries and people will beg for the recipe. If you want to get fancier, though, try some of these wedding shower food ideas.

-Fruit lemonade: puree fresh fruit with sugar and lemon juice, then mix into lemonade.

-Mix coffee, sugar, and chocolate sauce. Chill, then pour over vanilla ice cream to create a decadent punch.

As you can see, planning your wedding shower food isn't all that difficult! These recipes and ideas will make your wedding shower menu come together easily.

Posted by Patti at 10:46 PM | Permalink

I used to hate deciding on wedding shower themes. What will the bride like? Is that too cheesy? Will I be able to find decorations and party favors to match? It was like trying to plan the wedding itself!

Fortunately, I've realized since then that with a bit of tweaking, there are a couple wedding themes that suit just about any personality. It's fun and easy to make food and decorations to go with each one, and you don't have to do a lot of work. Dying to know the secret to the perfect bridal shower theme? Here are a few you can choose from, anytime, anywhere.

Simple bridal shower themes

1. Start with the packaging

Visit your local department store and you'll find tons of plates, napkins, and decorations organized by theme. If you're feeling lazy, this is a great place to start. They usually have coordinating invitations, too. One stop and your work is done: theme, décor, invites, and colors, all in one stop.

2. Find the bride's colors

Let the wedding shower ideas mirror the wedding with colors that match the bride's choice. If her wedding colors are red and gold, have a red and gold themed wedding shower. Buy inexpensive streamers and focus on recipes involving appropriate colored foods (lots of strawberries and cookies decorated with gold sprinkles). It's easy, fitting, and lots of fun.

3. Choose a room

An easy way to start is to go with a single room of the house. Even a bathroom themed party can be elegant if you refer to it as a 'spa theme' and give away little bottles of bath salts as favors. Guests then bring gifts specific to the theme, so the bride gets all the bath related items on her registry in one go.

4. International theme

Choose a country the bride loves (or, if appropriate, one that reflects her cultural heritage). You can easily decorate with items from that country (Japanese fans, for example) or colors that reflect the mood (bright red, blue, and gold streamers for India, for example). Serve ethnic foods and inexpensive party favors (chopsticks, jewelled boxes) that reflect the theme.

As you can see, any of these wedding shower themes is simple and affordable. You can adjust them to suit any mood. If the bride's wild and crazy, go all out with unusual recipes, wacky games, and bright décor. If the bride is more conservative, stick with decorations and simple food that reflect her personality. Any wedding shower ideas can fit into these four easy themes.

If you use these as your base, it takes all the stress out of planning the bridal shower theme, and it makes you look like a party planning whiz! So next time you're putting on a wedding shower, think about using these wedding shower themes as your starting point and going from there.

Posted by Patti at 9:13 AM | Permalink