Details for the bridal shower, one of the biggest prewedding parties.

Anyone associated with the bride can give a bridal shower. Typically, the maid of honor will coordinate, plan, and host the bridal shower in conjunction with the mother of the bride or close family member. You can hold the shower at a home or a small hall, depending on how many people will be in attendance. Bridal showers are attended by mostly women but if you would like your fiancé present, it is perfectly acceptable.

You can choose to keep the shower a secret from the bride and throw a surprise bridal shower or you can keep her informed and actively involved, if you desire. It's up to you on what you want to do. Showers are typically held two to three months before the actual wedding date. You can also have it as much as three and a half months before, if there are conflicts in schedules or out of town guests who will need to arrive. You probably don't want to schedule the shower less than a month before the wedding date since there are many other things going on as the wedding date approaches.

The golden rule when it comes to the invitation guest list to that anyone invited to the shower is automatically invited to the wedding. Check with the bride first to get the names of those she would like to invite. If it is going to be a surprise, you will need someone who is familiar with the bride's guests list or friends roster so you can make up the guest list in accordance with those names for the wedding guest list.

Sometimes, there can be more than one bridal shower. A few close friends may decide to host a shower at different times, usually they are small in size. For example, maybe the bride's college friends and new in-laws want to each throw a shower. You can prepare informal or formal invitations to a shower or if the shower is small enough in nunber, you can certainly phone an invitation to the guest list.

At the bridal shower, your guest should be fed, watered and entertained. So prepare to have food, either homemade or catered, drinks, and games! You can eliminate the games if you feel that your guests would rather not play them but it is traditional that bridal games are a part of the shower. It is almost expected now at this type of function.

If you are hosting a large wedding shower, here are a few tips to remember:

• Keep cool and have fun! If you feel overwhelmed, get help and delegate with the help of the bridemaids.
• Make sure you do plenty of mingling to the guests that are present at the shower.
• Make sure you eat enough even though you may be busy planning and taking care of details, it's important to remember to eat and keep up your strength.
• Acknowledge each gift with a "Aww, or Ooh" for an appreciation expression of thanks.

Assign someone you trust, maybe a fellow bridesmaid to keep track of who and what your guests gave as gifts. Each gift should be recorded so you can send an apropriate thank you note to the right person. Bridal showers are fun events, so remember to also have fun and relax!

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