Originally bridal showers were parties where the bride to be would receive gifts that would equip her as she began a new life with her husband. Times have changed however, and many couples already possess many of the necessary items for cooking, and organizing their homes. Bridal showers today vary from theme to theme, and the gifts could be anything from cutlery to camping gear. Of course there will not be any gifts, themes or parties without inviting guests.

When it comes to designing the cover or the outside of your invitation, there are many options. You may want to mirror the style of the actual wedding invitation, however you do have the freedom to do an entirely different theme if you wish to and this is entirely acceptable. There are plenty of stock invitations available, but with the increasing popularity of scrap booking you can go to nearly any craft store and purchase creative paper, stickers, stamps or anything else needed to personalize your invitation. Although the cover and outside of your invitation are usually the most fun to design it is the inside of the invitation that requires the most detail and will ultimately guide your guests as to the theme and style of the party.

As your prospective guest opens the invitation they are going to be looking for a number of details. Most importantly is to clearly and with correct spelling display the name of the bride. The time and date should also be clearly displayed inside the invitation. It is important to remember that usually not all of the guests will be familiar with the location of the party. Although many will simply get directions online by searching the address, not everyone is accustomed to the internet. For this reason it is important to give accurate directions and maybe even a small map of the area would be helpful. Last but certainly not of least importance is the RSVP instructions. It is important to have a date set by which the guests should have responded to the invitation so that the planner of the shower knows how many people are in fact coming. It is important to have a phone number, e-mail address, or a self addressed and stamped envelope with a small card indicating how many from that household will be attending. You may offer more than one way to RSVP to make it more convenient for your guests, but often it is whatever is most convenient for the planner of the party. Remember again that it is important that all the details inside the card are printed or hand written clearly so that there will not be any confusion or difficulties in reading. Also be sure that the colors you use have enough contrast so that you can clearly read the text inside your invitation, the more contrast the better.

Whether you purchase stock invitations, or you creatively design every last inch of your invitation, you should have a good time planning the party. You may find yourself too restricted on time to create your own invitations but you can rest assured that there are plenty of other options such as a printing company or even buying online. You can customize the content inside without spending hours and hours of creative design on the outside. Most of all remember this is a party, and it is going to be fun, so don’t let it get you too stressed out or you may miss out on the party that you spent so much time planning.