Best Bridal Shower Theme Ideas

At the beginning of March I had my bridal shower, before COVID-19 was a thing in South Africa, and we all thought everything was going according to plan. Honestly, I am so glad that we did have it, because it’s at least one happy memory that I get to treasure, before we can resume all of the wedding fun later on in the year, once the situation stabilizes. My bridesmaids treated me to a GORGEOUS bridal shower, in my humble opinion of course, it was the best one that I’ve ever been too ;). They put a lot of thought and heart behind it, and one of the things we worked on together was the theme for it. We went back and forth on a few ideas before settling on a Bridal Brunch. However I’ve also been a bridesmaids a couple of times, and have hosted a few showers myself, so in today’s post I am sharing pictures and the theme from my shower, as well as some other awesome Bridal Shower Theme ideas. There are a lot of links in this post to free printables, shop-able items and other fun information! Next week I will share with you a list of my favorite places and venues for this special occasion.

A Bridal Brunch

This was the theme of my shower, for the simple reason that I love brunch and I love mimosas! Breakfast is my favorite food, so my girls spoiled me to an amazing bridal brunch where my friends gathered to drink mimosas, play games and have fun. Because our venue was so beautiful already, the girls didn’t have to add too much to make it look even more beautiful.

Décor: As the photo booth backdrop I had a pink ombre balloon wall to go with the décor of the restaurant, and you can purchase one from Ginger Ray at Party Spot. It’s not expensive(R350) and it makes such an impact (it is however a pain to put up!).

The girls added white flowers and greenery to the tables which looked beautiful.

Cass also made me a Welcome Sign , and there was a whole little table set up with balloons (again from Ginger Ray), gifts and photos of Steve and I.

A Polaroid Station for a “Goodbye Miss, Hello Mrs” guestbook (you can buy one over here)

And other cute photo props (you can buy over here).

The Personal Touches: This is where the girls really showed how much they know me, because the personal touches are always my favorite part of any occasion. Sarah made this hula-hoop with our pictures in it(you can print you pics in a Polaroid style with Nifty250).

Josie and Sasha arranged for a Russian Tea Station to honor my roots that had my childhood photos on it, as well as the setting for a traditional Russian Tea Ceremony.

The Games: I love games, so I really did want to play them, however I know they are not for everyone. For starters we played “Would Irina Rather” that was set out for everyone on the table(Josie just actually made it in PowerPoint herself)!

A continuous game throughout the shower was the “Ring Hunt” which really had guests searching for the rings all over the venue.

And the best games of them all was Bridal Jeopardy! I helped Josie with the questions that went across 4 categories- The Bride, The Groom, its All Relative and Around The World. Guests divided into teams and answered question for points, which was so much and we had a laugh.

Favors: We did custom made cookies for everyone in the shape of my wedding shoe which is the Manolo Blahnik Hangisi Heels.

I also gifted everyone with an Essie Nail polish in 3 of my favorite shades (Ballet Slippers, Sugar Daddy and Bachelorette Bash), and here is a cute free printable for the Mani Thanks sign.

Attire: Breakfast Brunch is an easy one, so I didn’t ask any of my guests to dress up in anything specific. The only people that were in a theme were me and the bridesmaids, and we decided to go in all white and I loved it!

The white contrasted so lovely with the pink, and all the girls look so fabulous. PS my dress is from ASOS and I got it last year, sadly it is no longer available 🙁  But how gorgeous is it?

Alice In Wonderland High Tea

I’ve actually hosted a bridal shower under this theme, and it was so much fun to do!

The Décor: Think Mad Hatter vibes, the more colorful the better. We used “This Way, That Way” arrows for the entrance(free printable over here), mixed different tea cups and saucers for the table, and the main centerpiece on the table were 2 giant hats that I filled with colorful feathers, a deck of playing cards, and photos of the couple.

I also added some quotes from the book that I printed from here (this free printable is over here and it is gorgeous), and brought books from home to decorate all over the table.

Food: Well a tea party, of course! Mini sandwiches, quiches, cakes and macaroons are the perfect menu, paired with different teas and champagne. You must have the “Drink Me” signage around the cups, as well as “Eat Me” around the food, it just part of the whole theme!

Favors: We did beautiful custom made cupcakes for everyone to take home which went with the theme of the tea party, but you can also do some cute stop watches, or even old books!

Classic Romance/ Clean “No Theme” Theme

What about if the bride doesn’t want a theme? Then I suggest going with clean and simple ideas that will honor the bride’s wishes but also bring in a few personal details to make her feel special.

The Décor: White flowers and table cloths, maybe a little bit of lace if the bride likes it. As always I like to bring in a touch of the couple throughout the shower, so why not print some photos of the couple through the years for a fun “Guess the Year” game.

Food: A mix of finger food and desserts would do lovely here, or you can always do a light buffet lunch. To add a bit more to the shower, a Mimosa Bar is fun and easy to do and always a hit with the guests! You can download a free printable for the sign over here.

Activities: I always like to play a few games, so here are a few free printables for you. A “He Said She Said” game is always fun one, having a “Date Night Idea” jar is a special memory to keep, or if the bride likes to cook, what about asking the guests to write down their favorite recipe for the bride to make? Here is a free printable for a super cute Date Jar Idea, and here is a free template for the Brides Recipe Book.

She Is Travelling From Miss To Mrs Travel Theme

This was a second favorite option on my bridal shower list for my theme, as I love to travel(big surprise there)! As cliché as it may sound, this theme is really pretty so it will work well for a couple that loves to travel and explore. You can always customize it to a specific country(France, Italy, USA etc) depending on what the bride likes.

The Décor: You can really go wild here with maps, travel banners, globes, suitcases and any “travel landmarks” you can get your hands on. The “Travelling from Miss to Mrs.” banner is adorable, and you can bring a Parisian Travel Theme in specifically with an Eiffel Tower cut out. The sign above can be purchased through Etsy over here.

Food: You can have so much fun here, by doing traditional food from the countries that the bride has been too! I’ve hosted an “Around The World” dinner party before where we all brought 1 dish and 1 drink from our allocated countries. The featured countries were Spain, Greece, Russia, Mexico and Italy. For Spain we had Sangria and Chorizo salad, for Mexico we indulged in Margaritas and Quesadillas, for Greece we had Ouzo and spanakopita, for Russia a Napoleon cake with a White Russian Cocktail and for Italy we had Tiramisu and Prosecco. Think these kind of vibes and it can be really fun to match the food and the country!

Activities : Something fun would be to play this “I Love You Around The World Game” to also learn how it sounds in so many different languages(buy it over here)! Another cute idea is to print photos of the couple from different countries and have the guests guess where that photo was taken. Any travel related games would do great here, the sky is your limit!:)

Favors : Anything travel related is a win, also how cute is this Baggage Claim sign(buy it here)? You could do luggage tags, passport covers, sleeping masks or even just cookies shaped like airplanes.

A Pamper Pajama Party

I did a mini version of this when I asked the girls to be my bridesmaids, and we had SO much fun!

The Décor: Think pillows, blankets and lots of balloons! This bridal shower theme is not only fun but also very cozy. Get lots of throw pillows and blankets, bean couches and lounge baskets to set yourself in for one awesome night.

Activities: We had a screening of Bridesmaids which is my favorite movie, but any rom-com is a must for this theme! When I did a PJ party for my birthday in 2018, I also did a Face Masking Station and a DIY Mani-Pedi Station. For the masking station get your hands as many face treatment products as you can (it doesn’t have to be super fancy!), and the same for the nail polishes.I went to China Town and got little Mani sets which includes a few things that you would need for a Mani (scissors, nail files etc.). A pamper session is such a fun way to spend the evening, and honesty any bride would enjoy this.

Food: This was the most fun part of my PJ party, as we had an insane candy buffet and a Make-Your-Own popcorn station.

We had dinner beforehand, but if you are hosting this as a shower then I suggest going easy with some pizzas or burgers.

The candy buffet station was insane and it had everything from a chocolate fountain to a mini candy gumball machine, gummy bears, suckers and more. Go wild here, and the nice thing is that if you buy in bulk it’s not super expensive! For make-your-own popcorn bar make sure you have all the fun toppings and you can buy these Popcorn tubs at many homeware stores. We also had hot chocolate and a gin mix, to really get the party going!

Attire: Matching pjs, duh! We had matching Harry Potter House pjs that I got at Typo, and it was so cool but of course there are so many other options. Maybe ask the girls to dress in a specific colour scheme, or if you want an inexpensive way for everyone to be in the same attire, then head to Mr.Price! I did that in 2018 when all the girls bought the same PJs for R150 bucks each.

Favors: Something cute that you can match with “From Our Shower, To Yours!”. I once did something like this as a Baby Shower gift and it was a big hit. I got a whole bunch of loofahs at Clicks (they often have a special!) and some body wash for everyone, packed very pretty in a little boxes. Anything that is pampering would make a great favor here from nail polishes to body washes to a mini hand cream.

Other fun bridal shower ideas

Check out my friends Leannes “Something Blue” Bridal Shower over here.

The Last Flamingle- think pink, fun and summery.

Breakfast At Tiffanys- pearls, lots of croissants and little Tiffany Boxes everywhere!