Just like other continental weddings, Asian weddings are also detailed and majestic events to celebrate marriage. Often, it includes colorful customs, refined decorations, stunning wedding outfits and a lot of merrymaking. If you intend to come up with an Asian-inspired wedding theme, you have to make sure that everything is properly organized and that there’s none that goes wrong. There are so many details to be looked into to ensure that everything will function smoothly. And because of this, little things are often missing out. Tiny details shouldn’t be taken lightly, wedding favors in particular. These favors are traditionally to the wedding guests as a sign of appreciation and to easily commemorate the event. So for the reason that you will have an Asian wedding, your wedding shower favors should be Asian-inspired as well. Here are some great Asian-inspired wedding favors to choose from.

“Chinese Tapestry” Votive Candle in Silken Pouch with Tassels. These elegant “Chinese Tapestry” Votive Candles are a beautiful accent for your wedding reception or bridal shower tables, adding a sophisticated stroke to any Asian-themed event! Your guests will cherish this thoughtful token of your appreciation. These rich votive candles will add a cheery glow to their hearts and lives. Every deep-red candle is presented in an ornately designed, red-and-black Chinese embroidery pouch, accented with lively red organza coupled with a matching “double-happiness” tag and red braid ending in two large, gold-thread-trimmed tassels. This visually stunning favor will dazzle your guests…and it’s surprisingly affordable, too. Click here to see more wedding shower themes.

Blue Bamboo Sake Cup Favors. The sharing of sake – Japanese rice wine – is a traditional Asian wedding ceremony that symbolizes a formal bond between the bride and groom, and these charming porcelain sake cups are a lovely way to share the ceremony with your guests. Whether in reality used for sake…or as Asian inspired table décor…these Blue Bamboo Sake Cup Favors add an elegant finishing touch to your wedding reception or preparation dinner. For table decoration, group several in the center of the table and fill them with living bamboo. Encourage each guest to take one home as a token of your gratitude for adding up to the joy of your wedding. Alternately, place a tea light candle in every cup for a subtle glow at a nighttime event.

Down-to-earth White Sake Cup Favors. Versatile and elegant, these Simple White Sake Cup Favors are simply sophisticated…an attractive way to share a traditional sake ceremony with your guests. Since the 8th century, the Japanese sake ceremony has symbolically united the bride and groom. These authentic sake cups, made in Japan, boast a minimalist design, easily accommodating any décor. For your wedding reception, rehearsal dinner…or for an Asian inspired bridal shower…fill these versatile sake cups with tea light candles, candy or living bamboo and group them on tables as take-home centerpieces. The effect will be unforgettable, and your guests will be thankful for your kind consideration and your good taste.

These are merely few of the finest Asian-themed wedding favors you may consider. Search for a wide variety of eye-captivating favors online. Most online stores have different choices of themed wedding favors according to your choice from continental-themed favors, seasonal-themed favors to even unique custom-made favors that you never thought are existin

History of Bridal Showers

In times gone by bridal showers were used to ensure that the bride was well prepared for married life. In fact, the idea of the traditional bridal shower originated in Holland. If a Dutch bride was unfortunate enough to have her father disapprove of her choice in husbands, he would not offer a dowry (Money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage). Her friends would then shower her with gifts so she could still marry her man, without the help of her father’s money.

The Purpose of Wedding Showers Today

In these modern days, with more young women waiting until later in life to be married, the reason for hosting a wedding shower has certainly changed. Not many brides have a need for gifts to set up a home since many are already living on their own. So, the shower has now become more of a chance for the wedding guests to spend some time with the bride and to feel like a part of the wedding planning process. The party should be an intimate gathering of the bride’s “nearest and dearest”. This should not be a mini-reception. Not every woman from the guest list needs to be invited. This is why many etiquette experts and consultants suggest that the shower be small enough so that the bride gets to socialize with all of her guests individually.  Click here to see the book that really helped me out.

To Surprise or Not to Surprise?

Sometimes surprise wedding shower themes are planned for the bride-to-be. This might sound like a fun idea, but it could be tricky to plan, since the bride-to-be may need to be consulted on the guest list. It is also possible that more than one shower is planned. Perhaps the bridal party is planning one shower and the bride’s business associates are planning another. Only the bride will be able to coordinate the dates of both events. Wedding shower decoration. We advise against making this event a surprise unless you are sure of the following:

The bride-to-be will not be disappointed that she has not been informed beforehand.
You are confident that your guest list includes everyone the bride-to-be would have invited, if consulted.
The bride will not schedule another event on the planned date

There shouldn’t be more than two wedding showers, excluding the workplace shower. But, if there is to be more than one shower, and some guests such as attendants and family are to be invited to more than one shower, they do not need to purchase more than one gift. They should try to attend all showers, though. Guests receiving two bridal shower invitations are faced with the moral dilemma of whether they should give two gifts. The answer is no. An understanding bride-to-be will make it known to the guest that she will also announce during the gift opening activity at the second shower that she has already received a beautiful shower gift (describe the gift) from that guest. If the guest has not been given this hint ahead of time, a solution would be for the guest to give a small gift for the second shower. It is a good idea to connect the second gift with the first gift.

Second Wedding Shower Gift Ideas

1.You gave a cake plate and server at the first shower. For the second shower, gather some spatulas and other utensils at the local dollar store, wrap them prettily and include a note in the package saying “The cake plate was for the end product – here are the utensils you will need to bake the cake!”
2.If the bride is registered for dinnerware, you can split up the gift. Give the sugar dish at one shower with a note saying “more to come”, then give the creamer at the second shower.
3.Give a set of towels for the first gift. Wrap a pretty package of guest towels for the second shower with a note saying “My first gift was for you, this gift is for the many guests who will be welcomed into your new home.

Wedding Shower Gift Ideas

Wedding shower gifts should be inexpensive or less expensive than wedding gifts. And, yes, you must give a gift for the bridal shower AND the wedding. Bridal showers are typically less formal parties and are given to help new brides set up the new home. In many cases these days, brides have already set up their home and aren;t in need of the typical shower items. This does not mean that we should shower them with other, more expensive gifts. On the contrary – and some showers may not even be necessary.

Wedding Shower Invitations

Mail three to four weeks before the event and include the following information:
Name of the bride-to-be.
Date of the Shower.
Time of the Shower, e.g. 2 PM – 5 PM. (It is best to put both the beginning and end times on the invitation so that the guests can plan their day.)
Address where the shower is being held.
Name and phone number of the hostess/hostesses.
A deadline date for the RSVP. (This is usually about two weeks prior to the shower date.)
Wedding Shower theme. (If applicable).
Home decorating colors. (If applicable).
It is helpful to enclose a map of the shower location.

As always have you planner or vanilla folders handy. Keep knocking down that checklist and keep the party in line. Time is not your friend.

Okay so the title of wedding shower planner has been dropped in your lap and they don’t want it to be the usual ho-hum cake, games, and gifts thing. There are a lot of great things you can do.When you host a bridal shower, you really want to focus on making the event special for the future bride. However, you also want to make it fun and exciting for those attending.

One very non-traditional wedding shower theme is, of course, the gift-less shower, which is becoming very popular these days. Many couples just don’t need the help to set up a new home like they once did. These showers can still bring the guests together for a fun afternoon of wedding chatter. Games can be played and food served. You may need to get a bit more creative with the planning so you’ll be sure to fill up time when the bride would normally open gifts. And getting a wedding shower invitation that says don’t bring a gift is music to the ears of some ! Click here to see the book that really speed things up for me.

Is the idea of guests showing up empty handed not for you? Instead, try one of these non-traditional themes, perhaps taking your cues from the bride’s interests or hobbies.  A few ideas:

• Garden Party – This theme works well if you’re having an outdoor gathering, but you can also bring the garden inside by using potted plants or flowers as centerpieces and giving seed packet favors. Give the plants away as prizes or as favors to save money, plus you won’t have a dozen centerpieces to find homes for afterwards. Your games can be garden-themed as well – try putting a tablespoon of different flower and vegetable seeds into sealed bags and passing them around to quiz the guests’ gardening know-how. Serve fresh fruits and vegetables, either grown in your own garden or purchased at the local farmers’ market. Encourage the bride to register for gardening tools and supplies at the local home store, and if guests call you for gift ideas, suggest potted plants, seeds, gardening tools and gadgets.

• Travel Shower – This is a great theme if the couple loves to travel! It can be tied in with the honeymoon destination, if one is planned, or it can focus on other places the couple hopes to visit. For a really unique touch, create invitations that look like boarding passes. Decorate in keeping with the featured locale, and consider serving cuisine from that part of the world. If the bride has already traveled extensively, games could test the group’s knowledge of the places she has visited, perhaps even using some of her own travel photos. Put together a scrap book (with plenty of room for the couple to add photos later) and encourage guests to jot down their travel advice. Ideas for an on-the-go bridal registry can range from luggage pieces to travel mugs.

These are just a few bridal shower themes to get the juices flowing. Remember to use your planner and be sure everyday involves one less thing you have to do for the wedding shower.

The key to throwing a wonderful wedding shower is organization. There are many different details that you are going to need to attend to are numerous when planning a wedding shower. So it can actually prove to be quite a challenge and may take you to wits end ! Because of this you might want to keep a notebook and a file on your shower.

For those who are OCD do this. Get a planner only for this event. Put all your important numbers and any ideas in it. Ideas for wedding shower favors or themes can come into your mind at anytime. Make sections in the planner for wedding shower invitation, wedding shower games and the like. If you do not have this you could easily loose track of your event details. Imagine loosing a guest list with one week to go ! That would definitely put a damper onto your event. By taking the time to be truly organized you will be showing the bride how much you care about her, and exactly how special and important this event in her life is to you.

While getting organized you may want to sort everything that you have to do into a to-do list. This will help you to really see every detail that you need to attend to. Once you have created a general list you might want to then break it down into an order that reflects the time line that you need to follow. For example, put all of the details that you need to check two weeks before the shower together. This way you will be sure that you are staying on top of your planning.

Wedding showers traditionally have a theme that will give it a cohesive feel. You can really use the bride to help you with this. Base it off of her interests be it colors, music, or even a favorite desert. You may also want to tie your shower theme into the wedding shower gifts that she is going to get. You have to realize that a bridal shower is designed to “shower” the bride-to-be with gifts to get her ready for her new married life. You may want to have a kitchen shower where everyone gifts the bride with kitchen tools, or a naughty and nice shower where each nice gift is paired with a naughty one. Whatever you choose be sure that you carry it throughout the entire event.

While planning you may find yourself starting to feel harried and overwhelmed. If this starts to happen you are not alone, but you need to take a deep breath. Realize that this is a spectacular time in your friends’ life, and the attention needs to be on her. You do not want her to feel guilty for your work load. Instead, have fun creating this event, and let that relaxed and easy energy flow over to the guests at the shower.