Skip to content

Who Do You Invite to a Bridal Shower?

who do you invite to a bridal shower

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Learn More.

Among other things, your bridal shower should be one of the most intimate parties ever compared to other pre-wedding parties, and when it comes to you figuring out who you have to invite, you may want to limit your list to your dearest and nearest.

Since bridesmaids traditionally hosts bridal showers, it’s reasonable to let them know who you want to invite to your bridal shower since they’ll be tasked with mailing the entire bridal shower invitations.

Below are the people that you’d want to invite to your bridal shower:

Next Door Neighbor

How close are you with your next-door neighbor? If you are hosting a bridal shower and wish to strengthen your relationship with your next-door neighbor, it would be a good idea to invite them to your shower.

A Childhood Friend

If you have a friend that you are so close to and you treasure since childhood, you may have to invite her to your bridal shower. It may be flat out rude to host your bridal shower without inviting your childhood friend whom you grew up with.

Even though your childhood friend may not be related to you, it’s good to have her attend your bridal shower.

Special WhatsApp Group Members

If you have a special WhatsApp group where you share messages and videos with your friends, it would be good to invite them to your bridal shower. Again, you don’t have to invite everybody in the group but those members that you find special to you.

Close work colleagues

If you are close to your work colleagues, you may want to invite them to your bridal shower. Of importance to note, is that you don’t have to stress yourself and invite all of them, but only do so, if you have some room leftover.

You need to be considerate when inviting a few of your work colleagues. There’s no need to extend or invite a bigger group that may end up stretching your budget. Since it’s your shower, there’s no need to talk about it, especially around people you don’t need to invite.

The Wedding Guest List

Based on bridal shower etiquette, it’s proper to invite members of your wedding guest list to your bridal shower. It’s out of place and not ideal to have someone attend your bridal shower but not your wedding. Such creates the impression that you are only after gifts.

However, that doesn’t mean you invite all the people on your wedding list. Rather, as per bridal shower etiquette, it means that the people you invite to your bridal shower ought to be invited to your wedding

Close friends

Some of the easiest names that you can add to your bridal shower guest list are your close friends. In fact, these people need to make up the majority of your guest list. If you discover that there is no set limit on who you can invite, then this should assist you narrow down your budget and plans accordingly.

You may want to check with the bride-to-be prior to finalizing their friends list. Of course, every couple is different, and you may want to be sure that you invite close friends that the couple wishes to celebrate with.

The bridal party

There’s nothing more terrible than hosting a bridal shower without inviting the bridal party or the soon-to-be bride’s most treasured people. For this reason, it’s natural that they will be among the first people on the list.

If you are hosting combined bridal showers, it would be ideal to involve the two sides of the bridal party.

Local family members

Bridal showers are one of those intimate moments and you may want to have close family friends attend. But on the other hand, you don’t have to fill your invite list with individuals that you aren’t close with, even if such include members of your family.

Every family tends to be different in their own way and you may want to factor in this when coming up with your invite list. When crafting your invite list and thinking about family members, take time to invite close family members whom you really want to celebrate your special day with.

Close Friends of the Groom/ Soon-to-be-Husband

In the event that you are close to the friends of the groom or soon-to-be-husband, you need to include them in the celebration. But in case you have never met these friends before or you just can’t get along, there’s no harm at all in leaving them off the guest list.

Friends and Family that Live Far Apart

It doesn’t necessarily mean that distant friends and relatives don’t merit an invitation. It’s good to send an invitation even if you’re positive they won’t be able to attend to make it to the shower and let them know you’re thinking of them.

You can always include a virtual element so that your distant friends and family members can participate in the celebration from their own homes.

They can take part in the festivities if you open a Zoom conference and place your tablet or computer in a prominent area. A bridesmaid or a guest you prefer can serve as tech assistance in case of any challenges or problems.

Conclusion

There you have it, a list of people whom you should invite to your bridal shower. In as much the list is very much inclusive; it’s up to you as the host in collaboration with the bride-to-be to decide who should make it to the bridal shower list. However, it’s good to be clear that as per bridal shower etiquette, the people you invite to the bridal shower should be invited to the wedding.

I am Megan Nova, a wedding planner and Author based in New York City. My vast exposure in the wedding planning trade and my passion for storytelling has inspired me to share expert advice and creativity on this blog.

Related Posts
Back To Top