Bridal Showers

So I was chatting to my friend and neighbour recently who informs me that bridal showers are 'an American thing'. It seems it's not the norm for UK brides to host such an event but ididjeridoo predicts they're set to become the next best thing here in the UK.

Traditionally the event is all about 'showering' the bride with small gifts but it's also an opportunity to invite all your girlfriends, neighbours, work colleagues and family members (female only of course) to mingle and get to know one another.

They are no hard fast rules, but the structure needn't be formal. In contrast to a hen night, bridal showers tend to be held in the afternoon with a relaxed, girly atmosphere. It should also be a relatively easy to plan affair and are often hosted in the Bride's home.

There are endless options for hosting a bridal shower but here are just a few ideas to get your brains ticking.

Food is the important! Serve a combination of hot and cold finger foods. You don't want your guests balancing plates of food on their laps while trying to carve into meat and potatoes, instead opt for skewered foods that can be eaten with one hand with the greatest of ease and mixtures are limited only by imagination. Marinated fish skewered alternately with pepper and served with a chilli dip is a treat as is skewers of cherry tomatoes with stuffed olives. Dessert options are endless such as mini cupcakes but my signature dish for gatherings is chocolate cups filled with berries and cream. Easy to make and a favourite every time!

Games are the best part of any shower and it's customary to incorporate them into your shower so here's a few of my personal faves.

Wedding Pictionary
Everyone writes down a word related to the wedding theme and puts it in a bowl. The bride starts by picking a word and attempts to draw it on the white board, and all the guests have to guess what it is, beating the one minute egg timer. If successful, the guest gets one point.

How well do you know the bride?
Each guest must answer 20 questions about the bride and when everyone has finished, all the guests read out their answers one by one, and then the Bride can correct them! The person with the most correct answers wins. All questionnaires should then be put into a folder for the Bride to keep!

Memories
This is a sentimental and emotional game. All the guests have to sit around in a circle and starting from the person to the left of the bride everyone states what they most fondly remember about the first time they met the bride or they're most cherished memory about friendship or the happiest memory or even something to embarrass the bride.

Of course just because showers are traditionally held at home, that doesn't mean you can't host one anywhere you please. For a soiree with a difference why not have a bit of retro fun at All Star Lanes private bowling alleys or indulge in a spa day with a few of your closest girls.