UK bride wondering; what are bridal showers all about?

English Ro

I constantly see people talking about baby showers and bridal showers. In the UK we don't have these. We don't really have engagement parties, we have a hen do, and then the wedding. Most don't have a rehearsal dinner. So I have a few questions:

* Can someone tell me what the idea of a shower is and what happens at one? Who is invited? Just family, just bridesmaids, or just girls?

* From what I understand, it's similar to a bachelorette party, but you have one of those too, so how is it different?

* And you give gifts at a shower? But then you give gifts at a wedding too?

* And what's the difference between an engagement shower and a bridal/wedding shower? Is it me, or are you expected to give couples three sets of gifts (engagement shower, bridal shower and the wedding itself)?
- - -
I'm not trying to be rude, and I'm certainly not implying that US brides are greedy in regards to gifts, so please don't be offended. I just don't understand, but I'd like to. Please explain?
So if you give something at the shower, are you expected to give something else at the wedding?

Answer
God bless the british! soo practical that they don't have the added frills!

A shower is all about presents. Typically unexpensive household stuff. Some showers have themes, like, lingerie shower, ABC shower (a guest get assigned a letter and they are supposed to bring a gift that starts with that letter), time of the day shower (guest bring a gift accordingly to their set hour, for example 10 pm, then you should get a night gift, a robe, massage oils) etc.

Traditionally, the shower is hosted by the wedding party and is only for women. relatives and close friends that are attending the wedding are invited. They play silly games and drinkand have light appetizers.

Nowadays, people have more than one shower which is acceptable under certain circumstances. For example, co-workers may do that at your work place.

Newer trends include showers for both men and women and it's a couple's shower (called jack and Jill shower) and both women and men can attend. I've even heard of men-showers but I find this idea shocking and disturbing.

Shower no-nos: The mother of the bride or the bride/couple themselves cannot host the shower,. It's in poor manners. May you have more than one shower, the same people should not be invited to more than one. Also, shower atendees should be wedding guests as well, and it's not an excuse for gift-grab and not invite them to the wedding. Also, if you gift on the shower, you should gift for the wedding separetly. The WP sends inviations via mail and sometimes registry information is included in the invitations for the shower. Second marriage showers are acceptable only if there has been at least 5 years or more in between weddings, otherwise it is rude. In any case, family members/friends should be spared of second marriage showers if they have already gifted you on your first wedding shower.

A shower is different than a bachelorette party. In those, you party witth the BM and may a few female friends and typically ther are no gifts involved. The wedding party also host the bachelorrete party.

There is no such thing as an engagement shower. There are engagement parties in which the wedding date is annouced and the WP is announced to close family members and guests, Typically there is a champagne toast and light appetizers and is held as soon as the engagment has taken place. Anyone can host the engagment party. Gifts are not expected/required, however, some guests choose to bring a card, wine, flowers or a potted plant.

With that said, yes, if you attaned the shower you are supposed to gift, and if you are attending the wedding, you must gift separetly. No gifts are expected/requested on bachelorette parties or engagment parties.

I think that I have it all covered.

Good luck

What to wear to a party? Please help ASAP?

Allie xoxo

Tonight I'm going to my friends party and I think it's a quincenera. On the invitation it says dress to impress. What should I wear? I'm a teen girl btw.

Answer
A quincenera! You have to dress to impress for these - everyone wears puffy ballgowns and it's basically a really big celebration - I think you should wear a really pretty dress, even a prom dress. Or if your going for a more casual look then maybe some heels, a strapless dress or a "marylin" dress. But if you really want to dress to impress than a halter with train:
http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDodonGHZPlRkAzFJNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dhalter%2Bwith%2Btrain%26n%3D30%26ei%3Dutf-8%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dcrmas%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D11&w=600&h=800&imgurl=www.mltailor.com%2Fproduct_images%2Fq%2Fmlfo0003_1_82974__83696.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mltailor.com%2Fproducts%2Fpurple-halter-hi-low-prom-dress-with-train-mlfo0003-_10485.html&size=51.3+KB&name=Click+to+View+Purple+Halter+Hi-low+Prom+Dress+with+Train+%28MLFO0003+...&p=halter+with+train&oid=b0370782ec6339bb1d62a8bbc61d896a&fr2=&fr=crmas&tt=Click%2Bto%2BView%2BPurple%2BHalter%2BHi-low%2BProm%2BDress%2Bwith%2BTrain%2B%2528MLFO0003%2B...&b=0&ni=112&no=11&tab=organic&ts=&sigr=13028iqh1&sigb=13lefosse&sigi=11tmuhfr5&.crumb=kE0AP2.ZKoB
or for a more casual look:
http://uk.images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDodonGHZPlRkAzFJNBQx.;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fuk.images.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dhalter%2Bwith%2Btrain%26n%3D30%26ei%3Dutf-8%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dcrmas%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D11&w=600&h=800&imgurl=www.mltailor.com%2Fproduct_images%2Fq%2Fmlfo0003_1_82974__83696.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mltailor.com%2Fproducts%2Fpurple-halter-hi-low-prom-dress-with-train-mlfo0003-_10485.html&size=51.3+KB&name=Click+to+View+Purple+Halter+Hi-low+Prom+Dress+with+Train+%28MLFO0003+...&p=halter+with+train&oid=b0370782ec6339bb1d62a8bbc61d896a&fr2=&fr=crmas&tt=Click%2Bto%2BView%2BPurple%2BHalter%2BHi-low%2BProm%2BDress%2Bwith%2BTrain%2B%2528MLFO0003%2B...&b=0&ni=112&no=11&tab=organic&ts=&sigr=13028iqh1&sigb=13lefosse&sigi=11tmuhfr5&.crumb=kE0AP2.ZKoB
And here's what a quincenera is and people do:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

yellow party theme?

Amaryllis

i'm turning 16, so this party has to be extra special. my favorite color on this earth is yellow, so i decided i wanted to have a "yellow" party instead of the celebrity, "white party." i want to write on the invitation something about making sure you wear yellow, things like that. i'm going to wear purple so i'm noticed, since that's another favorite. i want to have all kinds of yellow foods: pineapples, bananas, deviled eggs, cheese, mustard, anything yellow. but i'm having a hard time thinking of other foods, items, and decorations, music, anything that would go perfectly with the yellow theme. any suggestions? i'm open to so many things! i'm very bubbly and creative, so anything that would grab attention would be fabulous too! :] thanks guys [and girls, of course!]

Answer
my idea...go all out!!! you said you're bubbly, so here's some stuf i think you'll like!!!

i googled and found these amazing sites!!! -http://www.partybox.co.uk/themes.asp?theme=93

http://www.pinatas.com/Yellow_Party_Supplies_s/327.htm

so here's what i think you should do. get anything and everything yellow. no matter what theme(s). get yellow paper and cover the walls. you can have people sign it as a different form of guestbook. then put yellow crepe paper and balloons on the ceiling. let yellow balloons float on the floor. then put some in bunches around the room.

then hang yellow Chrsitmas lights. find other yellow lights to put up. and change regular lightbulbs out for yellow ones. and put out yellow flowers.

you can give people yellow leis, rubber duckies, smily face stickers and temporary tattoos. have yellow face paint, and have everyone wear as much yellow as possible. give every1 who wears yellow yellow beads. and give a prize to the person who goes all out.

for food you can have deviled eggs, lemon jello, lemonade, lemon merange pie, yellow jelly beans, mac and cheese, mustard dip, bananas, pineapple, starfruit, mango, corn, cheese, lemons, cake w/yellow frosting, lemon ice cream.

good luck, have fun, and happy birthday!!!!! i love your theme idea!!!!!

any surprise 50th party ideas?

Q. my dad is turning 50 in october and my mom and i are throwing a surprise party. we are going to do a memory wall, with picture from friends and family that will be displayed showing him growing up. but i need ideas for anything from favors to cake to decorations. i am going to do a digital photo album on dvd for the party.
we are going to do a flyer type mailer for the invitation. we have the hall reserved and the catering is taken care of, his sister and i run a catering service, will be buffet style gourmet foods, suggestions also welcome here!

here is a little about him:
-very calm and kind
-loves sports (uk, yankees and bengals)
-great sense of humor
-2 kids (myself and my brother but my lil cuz calls him dad too, cuz hers abandoned her and he filled in)
-married for 25 years to my mom
i am a huge daddy's girl and i want this to be really special for him, he really deserves a night dedicated to him.
so please help me people!! any thing you can offer will be great.
than

Answer
You are a doll for wanting to make this so special! I have a few ideas...You could do a fun sports-themed party - have everyone wear Yankee colors or something tiger striped for the Bengals. Do the decorations the same way! Or do a 50's theme party with music from the 50's, have everyone dress up from the 50's. Or he was 20 during the disco craze, so that could be fun! He'd probably get a lot of laughs out of that since he lived through it - find a great picture of him in some 70's clothes and blow it up and hang it at the party! Make sure you have some disco music and a disco ball! Have everyone wear bell bottoms and polyester!

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

6 year old girls slumber party ideas?

girls party invitations uk image

LJacks

My cousin is turning 6 and having a slumber party with 3 other girls tonight. I have been volunteered to help my aunt...whoopeee! We are doing pedicaures, manicures, make-up, facials, doing hair. I have downloaded lots of age apporpriate music for dancing and playing games (i.e. hokey pokey, limbo, etc.) We are also decorating cupcakes. Anyone have any ideas for some inexpensive games we can do. I want to keep them busy so they dont destroy anything...haha!

Answer
...wow....6 year olds? have fun! lol!! okay here is some sites you can you can go on that have reallly good ideas! lol!

http://www.party411.com/birthday-slumbergames.html
(ignore they "on your invitation part" just do the games!

http://www.easy-party-ideas-and-games.com/slumber-party.html

http://www.boardmanweb.com/party/slumber.html

http://www.littlekidsgamesonline.com/slumber-party-games.html
this one is just for little kids slumber partys!!!******

http://party.kaboose.com/birthday/ideas/slumber-party/the_perfect_slumber_party_3.html

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/slumber_party_games.htm

http://www.diva-girl-parties-and-stuff.com/slumber-party-games.html

http://www.kids-birthday-party-guide.com/slumber-birthday-party.html

http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/sleepover.htm

http://purpletrail.com/partytrail/party_ideas/general-parties/sleepoverslumber_party/



i can list more but YA don't let you list more then 10 links buts if you want to get more just go to yahoo and type in slumber party games!
you will get tons of resluts!

good luck!

have fun!

(oh and my best friend is sleeping over too! lol)

we are just doing the normal stuff, watching tv, eating pizza, you know the average 14 year old stuffs!

lol!

oh and i hope the 6 year olds are good for you

maybe since they are girls they will be fine

i just know i have brothers who are almost 6 and if they had friends over it would get out of control QUICK!

xx

Any creative ideas for 80's themed sweet sixteen invitations?

GG

i had this awesome idea where i would get a bunch of old cassete tapes and pull out the film part and write the info on the tape and it would say pull on it and the peson would have to pull out tape and it would say all the info...but that would cost SOOOOOOO much money...
whoops hahaa i dont know why its in the royalty atory :D

Answer
Only one... STOP.

The so called "Sweet Sixteen" party is just an excuse for vapid girls to invite their equally vapid friends to something that is merely a conspicuous celebration of their ego. In a lot of cases they complain and whinge to their parents who foot the bill for these parties, which most other times, these spoiled little brats of children wouldn't get.

We don't need Sweet Sixteen parties in the UK, because on our 16th birthday we can legally go to the pub.
You do the maths:
UK - we spend £20 on a night out
US - spends upwards of several thousand dollars on tacky parties

Now tell me who is more sensible?

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

My sister and i are organising a party for my 11 yr old neice? Any Party Ideas? (we're on a tight bugdet)?

girls party invitations uk image

Roz_26

I will be making a cake and sorting invitations, we are getting a chocolate fountain aswell. The kids at the party will have the lounge to themselves. Im looking for ideas for decorating the lounge, party bags, games etc (we are on a tight budget, please no expensive ideas). PLEASE HELP! lol thanks,

p.s we're in the uk :)
Hello Mike G
Why don't YOU get a dictionary and look up TYPO. It's when somebody accidentally spells something wrong as a result of pressing the keys in the wrong order without realising. If i really didn't know how to spell budget, then why did i spell it correctly in the actual question?

Answer
Is it a girls only party? If so, its always fun to do at home makeovers. You can find recipes online for face masques, with oatmeal and stuff you will find in the house. have every one bring their fave nail polish color to share and use, do manicures and pedicures, deep conditioner for the hair etc

Help what's the difference between HEN'S NITE and A KITCHEN TEA?

Baby Tinke

My mom wants me and my sister to host our other sister a kitchen tea with presents etc, and we want to take her out one night with friends and party. Can we do both, and do we do it on the same day or what please, please help?

O and any cute ideas for invitations please send them as well.

Thank you in advance.
Have a nice day/evening.

Answer
generally a bride has both a bachelorette party (called hen's nite in the UK I guess) and a bridal shower. both are for girls and women only. no children. the shower can be held at tea time, it's usually earlier in the day like lunch or early afternoon so light food is served. and that's usually done about 1 mo before the wedding. people bring gifts because the point is to buy the bride stuff she needs for her new household. now the bachelorette party is quite different, usually a late nighttime affair full of debauchery, maybe hire a stripper, and only the guests around the bride's age will attend. usually her girlfriends from work or school, and same age relatives. no grandma's or aunts or moms. in the US sometimes they make the bride wear a cheap fake veil so when she goes into the bars everyone knows it's her bachelorette and maybe she gets free drinks! that's usually done 1 or 2 weeks before the wedding. oh yeah and you can't invite anyone to either event who isn't invited also to the wedding.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

alice in wonderland 14th birthday party?

girls party invitations uk image

Ashleigh T

well im inviting 4 girls and i would really like a scheduale for my birthday since it is coming up soon! for example: something like..
12 00-they arrive
12 30- we have lunch
etc

and also any really good ideas on games and stuff
and some decorations and invitations and food and drinks but i dont really want ' tea ' that much and is 4 people including me 5 people too much of a little amount of people to have this party?
thanks!

Answer
Hey I'm glad you liked my ideas on the other question. Lol.

Well if it's warm you should have it late afternoon outside that way you could do games and stuff while it's still light and then when it's dark you could have tea or whatever at a 'Mad Hatter's Tea Party', just decorate the table with some stuff like I said before.
If you don't want tea you could easily put other types of drinks in the teapots and just label them with 'Lemonade' or whatever.
Um, more decoration ideas - you know how the chesire cat is always appearing, just random bits of him? You could stick his face in like a tree or something.
If you can find jumbo cards you could draw faces on them and stick feet on, and place them around the party area.
Then for the White Rabbit's footprints you could use these, even put them up the path to the door of your house...
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/bunny_footprints_printout.htm
If you can definitely have it outside as it would create a better 'Alice in Wonderland' atmosphere.

Alice in Wonderland soundtrack playing in the bacground?

That's all I can think of really!

By the way, do you have any ideas for games as I really need some for my party! Lolol.

-Katie

6 year old girls slumber party ideas?

LJacks

My cousin is turning 6 and having a slumber party with 3 other girls tonight. I have been volunteered to help my aunt...whoopeee! We are doing pedicaures, manicures, make-up, facials, doing hair. I have downloaded lots of age apporpriate music for dancing and playing games (i.e. hokey pokey, limbo, etc.) We are also decorating cupcakes. Anyone have any ideas for some inexpensive games we can do. I want to keep them busy so they dont destroy anything...haha!

Answer
...wow....6 year olds? have fun! lol!! okay here is some sites you can you can go on that have reallly good ideas! lol!

http://www.party411.com/birthday-slumbergames.html
(ignore they "on your invitation part" just do the games!

http://www.easy-party-ideas-and-games.com/slumber-party.html

http://www.boardmanweb.com/party/slumber.html

http://www.littlekidsgamesonline.com/slumber-party-games.html
this one is just for little kids slumber partys!!!******

http://party.kaboose.com/birthday/ideas/slumber-party/the_perfect_slumber_party_3.html

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/slumber_party_games.htm

http://www.diva-girl-parties-and-stuff.com/slumber-party-games.html

http://www.kids-birthday-party-guide.com/slumber-birthday-party.html

http://www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com/sleepover.htm

http://purpletrail.com/partytrail/party_ideas/general-parties/sleepoverslumber_party/



i can list more but YA don't let you list more then 10 links buts if you want to get more just go to yahoo and type in slumber party games!
you will get tons of resluts!

good luck!

have fun!

(oh and my best friend is sleeping over too! lol)

we are just doing the normal stuff, watching tv, eating pizza, you know the average 14 year old stuffs!

lol!

oh and i hope the 6 year olds are good for you

maybe since they are girls they will be fine

i just know i have brothers who are almost 6 and if they had friends over it would get out of control QUICK!

xx

Powered by Yahoo! Answers