A bridal shower before the wedding is a time honored tradition that can be a lot of fun and a chance for the bridesmaids and female guests to enjoy being together and being female. What happens then, with more and more bridal showers actually being couples showers?

Whether the shower is for the bride alone or both the bride and the groom is up to the person hosting the shower. This is typically the maid of honor, but can really be anyone who is close to the bride. There can also be more than one shower – perhaps a sister-in-law also wants to host one for the happy couple when they travel to visit his family prior to the big day. Or maybe the bride’s friends from the office want to throw her a bridal shower after work one night. Typically, when there is more than one shower the guest list will be different for each one. That’s good for gift-giving purposes.

Either a bridal shower or a couples shower can be a meaningful event, but they will likely differ in a few areas. The bride to be and the hostess should expect to take everything in stride.

A couples shower can mean more guests and therefore more expense for the person hosting the shower. It might be a good idea for 2 or 3 friends to share in the hosting duties as well as the expense.

There can be some awkwardness involved when the presents are opened. When the shower is all women, some gifts might include sexy negligees or other items that could be potentially embarrassing to the bride if the shower guests are women and men.

What about the games? Will the men want to be involved in creating toilet paper wedding gowns on the bride? Probably not. But there are other games that are perfectly suited for both sexes and the hostess is advised to seek them out. Otherwise, the guys will end up in the other room watching the game on TV. That might be okay with both the men and the women though.

Another option is for the hostess to invite the menfolk after the shower games have been played and all the gifts opened. The guys will be happy to show up for the food, drink, and conversation.

If the shower is for couples, it’s wise to have it more like a party than a traditional wedding shower. That way everyone will be comfortable and have a good time.

Bridal showers can be whatever the hostess and bride want them to be. If they’d rather have a girl-only party, that doesn’t mean it has to be tame. It can be presents and food, and then out for drinks. After all, why should the men and their bachelor parties have all the fun?

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