Top 10 Bridal Shower Trends

Today’s bridal showers are far more elegant and foodie-fabulous than bridal showers from just five years ago, with their same-old menu items (lemon chicken, veggie quiche, etc.) and same-old bridal shower games that often elicit groans from bridal shower guests who know better.
We’re happy to share with you some of the top trends in bridal showers, to help you guide your bridesmaids (and the moms) to a bridal shower plan that delights:

1. A Cheese Station Welcome. It could be a delectable cheese fondue station like our Gorgonzola-Stilton fondue, with gourmet dippers like artisan bread sticks and crudités. Or, you might opt for an imported cheese platter for guests’ selections of classic cubes and international cheese bites.
2. Signature Cocktails. They’re not just for the wedding reception. Create one or more signature cocktails tailored to the bridal shower theme, complementing the bridal shower colors or named for the bride.
3. Food-Wine Pairings. Your bridal shower venue’s mixologist can advise on the best wines to pair with the cheese welcome course, as well as wines to pair with the brunch menu items and with desserts.
4. Sensational Salads and Farm-Fresh Fare. Add a bit of healthy crunch and color to your bridal shower menu, with your chef’s expertly-prepared farm-fresh fare in salads, sides and main courses for a refreshing menu that skips greasy-fried foods in favor of greens, veggies, seafood and lean meats that please all of your guests, including gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and other specialty diet fare.
5. Elegant Vintage Glam Details. Include room décor and especially vintage-glam platters and food presentations, along with pretty vintage-style linens, to capture that trendy vintage flair for your bridal shower.
6. French-Inspired Desserts. In addition to a pretty bridal shower cake, offer top trending French desserts like gourmet macarons, croquembouche, and crepes for a fashionably foodie dessert buffet or table-served platters. These desserts please bridal shower guests tremendously, since these are dessert options they likely don’t make for themselves very often, if at all, a real treat in their uniqueness as well as in their taste and style.
7. Cake Layer Decorating Contest. In place of those bridal shower games that get guests nervous about saying the ‘forbidden word’ and thus losing another clothespin, choose an artistic bridal shower game like having participants each decorate a small single layer of fondant-covered cake with an array of décor accents. The winner, judged by the bride or by your party venue’s cake baker, gets a fabulous prize.
8. Better Favors and Game Prizes. Bridal shower game prizes have gotten so much better than the usual scented candle of yesteryear. Now, the winner might get a gift card for a massage, or a gift card to a local wine store, a garden center, a department store, or other local shop. Bridal shower favor trends are leaning toward the edible, as in packaged monogram-iced cookies, gourmet brownies, macarons, and other sweet treats.
9. Bridal Shower Hashtags. Invite bridal shower guests to Instagram photos from the bridal shower, using a creative hashtag that you make up.
10. Co-Ed Bridal Showers. They’re back! Men and women gather for a stylish, gourmet couples’ shower, with drink lists, menus and games tailored to the co-ed guest list.

Introducing our NEW Bridal Shower Package, with many of these top trends included: https://westminsterhotelweddings.wordpress.com/2015/01/28/new-introducing-the-westminster-hotel-weddings-bridal-shower-package/