SPRING SHOWERS
What to know for planning bridal showers this season By Amanda Koehn
T
he bridal shower is an opportunity for the bride and her friends and family to celebrate with gifts, delicious food and drinks, sunny yet elegant decor and good vibes for the big day.
While some aspects of the parties stay constant across time – like florals as decor highlights – activities, food choices and other trends fade in and out. For those planning a bridal shower this spring or summer, Alison Quinn Cox, event consultant at Joe Mineo Creative in Youngstown, and Marsha Newman, sales and catering manager at the Bertram Inn in Aurora, share best practices for making the day charming and memorable.
12 Celebrations SPRING 2022
PLANNING A wedding shower typically takes place anywhere from two weeks before the wedding to six months out, Cox says. It serves as a traditional way to celebrate the bride, and other than an engagement party is often the first event where the bridal party and other women close to the bride come together in honor of her. “By doing these interactive experiences and having everyone get together, it’s going to be, I’d say, the most important event that they are throwing besides the wedding,” she explains. While historically bridal showers have included primarily women, that’s been much more flexible in recent years,
Newman says. Reasons for the shift include more non-heterosexual couples getting married, as well as wanting to involve grooms, significant others and children in the shower. Simply put, it’s not as rigid and gender-specific as it used to be. The first steps toward planning the shower often include setting a budget, preparing invitations and choosing a venue. Then, you’ll want to envision the scene, decor and planned experiences that make it unique. The shower can often serve as a way to show of some of the bride’s taste and interests that may not stand out at the wedding. “Give it more of a personal spin,” Cox says. “Maybe this decor or your theme is
