2. Decide on a venue.

3. Decide if there is going to be a special theme for the Bridal Shower and make sure that everything that is needed in the way of decorations is bought or ordered in advance.

4. Make a guest list.

5. Order invitations and matching Thank You cards.

6. Decide on a caterer and plan a menu with him/her.

7. Book a hair appointment and a beautician for the bride-to-be for that day, either a the morning of, or a few hours before hand.

8. Decide what the bride is going to wear and make sure she has everything she needs in advance.

9. If there are going to be games or an entertainer make sure that everything is organized, bought and booked in advance.

10. Make a Bridal Shower schedule in order to know more or less what is going to happen and when.

11. Make a list of people who are coming as RSVPs start to arrive and make follow-up calls if necessary.

12. Phone all the people involved in the organization of the Bridal Shower a few days before the event to make sure that everything is going to plan.

13. Make sure the batteries are charged for the camera and the video camera so that you will be able to watch and enjoy the event in the future and make sure there is a photographer to take the photos.

14. On the day of the event write a list of presents and who gave them so that you will know who to thank for what. Usually a friend or relative will offer to do this task.

15. Sometimes the groom will show up at the end of the shower with presenting flowers to the bride and saying hi to everyone, but also to help take the gifts home.

15. If you have done everything on this list you can relax and enjoy the Bridal Shower.

16. Write and send the Thank You cards the day after the Bridal Shower.

If however you have not been recommended anybody in particular you will have to speak to a few printing companies, hear a few quotes and go with your intuition (the feel good factor).

Once you have decided which company to use you will look at different examples of invitations and choose something you both like as a basic model and then you can tell them any personal things that you want to add to the invitation that will make it special and personal for your wedding.

It is important to choose an invitation where the writing and the details are clear because the most important thing is that your guests understand when and where the wedding is!!!

It is also a good idea to include a stamped RSVP card in the envelope together with the invitation because that way people will have no excuse not to let you know if they are coming or not.

Once the decision has been made ask the printing company to print wedding thank you cards in the same style as the invitations, so they will be ready to write and send once the wedding is over.

In this day and age with people’s busy schedules many dates in people’s diaries are often booked months in advance with various events, meetings and appointments. This very fact is also quite good in a way because happy couples who are planning a wedding are more or less forced to at least decide a date quickly because saving a date needs to be done months in advance if they want most of their invitees to actually come to their wedding.

“Save the date” cards are especially useful if you are inviting a lot of people from overseas who need to make travel arrangements in order to be at your wedding.

When you buy or order your “Save the date” cards it is a good idea to get them with a magnet attached so that people can stick it on their fridge and be constantly reminded of the date that you don’t want them to forget. If the card doesn’t have a magnet it could just get stuffed in a drawer and forgotten.

It is important to put contact details on a “Save the Date” card so that family and friends will call you when they receive the card in order to congratulate you and you will also begin to get an idea of numbers as they will probably already tell you if they will be able to come or not.

Have a look at our Save The Date wedding cards and magnets

Once the parents have decided when the baby shower will be the parents have to decide if the baby shower will be just for the mum-to-be and that only women will be invited or for couples which obviously means that the dad-to-be will also be included in the celebration.

Once these two very important decisions have been made if the planners of the baby shower follow the following check list everything should run very smoothly:

Here Is The Check List For A Baby Shower

1. Pick a date and time.

2. Pick a venue.

3. Make a guest list.

4. Write and send invitations – buy matching Thank You cards while you are at it.

5. Choose a caterer.

6. Plan menu with caterer.

7. Make a list of how many people are coming as RSVPs start arriving, making follow-up calls if necessary.

8. Let the caterer know final numbers.

9. Decide how you want to decorate and make sure you have everything you need in advance.

10. Make a party schedule – decide more or less what is going to happen and when. If you want entertainment or games make sure everything is organized and that you have everything that you need.

11. Phone the caterer a few days before the Baby Shower to make sure everything is ok.

12. When you open the presents make a list so you know who to thank for what.

13. Write and send Thank You cards the day after the Baby Shower.