How to Plan a Virtual Bridal Shower
Getting married is already one of the most stressful moments you can spend thousands of dollars on, just like having a baby. A pre-wedding bridal shower should give you a short respite, the calm before the storm, that will help you remember that you are doing it all out of love and that the wedding should really be a big party. But just because weddings that weren’t completely canceled were cut back or brought online during the pandemic, that doesn’t mean you have to give up the bridal shower pleasures. Here’s how to set up a virtual bridal shower.
Keep traditions
Tradition is an important part of many wedding receptions, but will need to change if done online. Usually, the bridesmaid will schedule a shower , which is a useful trick for your digital shower. Putting one person in charge of coordination will bring a sense of oneness and unity to your socially distanced event. This person can send out invitations; find, collect and plan shower events; and answer questions from participants. They can also control zoom or video chat, including allowing people into the room, coordinating screen sharing, and troubleshooting in case of any technical issue.
Shower games and activities are key
Virtual communication with people taking a shower is even more important than face-to-face communication. When meeting in person, people can chat, laugh, congratulate the bride and just chat. In video chat, all eyes are turned forward and all attention is focused on the scene played out in the tiny boxes. Without structure, this can be very inconvenient. Plan a few games and conversations ahead of time to keep guests engaged and focus on the guest of honor. Here are a few to get you started:
Mixing cocktails
This can be done at the direction of your lady-in-waiting. Choose an official cocktail for the event and send it to all guests ahead of time so they can collect the ingredients before the event starts. If mixology isn’t a bridesmaid’s forte, consider inviting a mixologist to the event to guide guests on how to make a signature drink. (And don’t forget to provide an alternative to soft drinks.)
Play multiple rounds of Bridal Libs
Remember Mad Libs ? The game, in which in-game stories are built by replacing nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives with random words chosen by the players, can be modified for your online event. Use the same format to create a bride or couple-themed story to keep your visitors interested. You can download Bridal Libs Samples to help you get started.
Couples Trivia
Test your visitors’ knowledge of the couple by asking a few trivial questions. The maid of honor and other members of the wedding party can formulate questions based on their own knowledge and information from the couple. Questions may include: where did the couple meet? Where will the honeymoon be? How many children will they have? The winner is the one who gets the most correct answers. You may even have prizes. Send a digital gift card or send
Take time for speeches and toasts
At some point during the event, you will want to give the friends and family who have gathered to celebrate the bride an opportunity … to celebrate the bride. Make a list of several people who want to share a few words, a toast or a memorable story, or just have good thoughts and best wishes, and let them know ahead of time to plan what they want to say . You can make it special by pre-ordering videos, from photo and video collages to recorded performances by far-flung guests who are usually not the kind to get up and talk in a noisy bridal shower. Make sure to plan this part of the shower ahead of time to keep things organized and ongoing.
Let the bride show off her gifts
Make sure the link to register for the bride’s shower is provided well in advance so that you can buy gifts and arrive on time for the online event. Ask everyone to send them wrapped so the bride can open them for the camera – it’s always nice to see the bride’s reaction to their gifts.
End the sentimental moment
The typical bridal shower leaves a dignitary with a bunch of photographs to scan to remember the night, but the images of a group of faces on a laptop screen might not seem so special. Plan a thematic group photo in advance so that everyone can share a message to the bride that they can bring up in front of the camera. It can serve as a memento for this very strange, but still very special event.