As social distancing restrictions are being lessened and gatherings are being permitted in small numbers, there is a new opportunity to celebrate bridal showers in person. A drive-by wedding shower is a great way to celebrate your upcoming big day, while still abiding by local social distancing guidelines pertaining to gatherings.
Here are some tips on how to throw a successful drive-by bridal shower.
Host a Combined Virtual Shower & Drive-By Shower
We’ve already discussed some tips for throwing a great virtual shower, but this idea takes it one step further. By combining the two types of showers you’ll be able to celebrate in person with a couple of your closest friends and family, while still including those who may be more vulnerable to the virus, or who may not live locally.
Create a Theme
Having a theme for your party will help bring the event together and make everyone feel included whether they are with you in person, part of the drive-by, or participating virtually. Encourages guests who are part of the drive-by to decorate their vehicles to match the theme and wrap their gifts in similar wrapping.
You could also request that guests bring gifts that correlate to the theme. For example, if you have a tropical theme in honor of the couple’s impending honeymoon you could ask guests to include a gift they can use on their honeymoon.
Provide Portable Refreshments
Having a drive-by bridal shower gives you the opportunity to partake in some light appetizers and desserts together even if people are driving by and only visiting for a few minutes. When deciding on what snacks to offer think portability and items that can be wrapped up to prevent the spread of germs. Treats like cupcakes, pre-packaged snacks, candy or individually bottled drinks like iced coffees, lemonades, juice, or iced teas.
Take Lots of Photos and Create a Photo Album to Gift the Bride
A great way to commemorate the event that will double as a gift for the bride and groom is creating a photo album of guests who show up in-person or virtually. You can even ask guests to email you their own photos as they drive by or from their homes, and create a scrapbook full of photos from the day. For an even more special touch, you can ask guests to submit a piece of advice or well-wishes for the happy couple and include them throughout the album as well.
Use Lots of Decorations
Decorations are a great way to make the bridal shower feel more authentic. Encourage guests to decorate their cars and even bring noise making objects. For the home of the bride, consider printing out large blown up photos of the soon-to-be married couple, and decorating the lawn with streamers and balloons. If you have a gift table, you can decorate that as well, as guests drop by with their gifts.
Decide Whether the Bride Will Open Gifts or Not
Since opening gifts may be more challenging as guests drive by, you may want to consider a few different options. One option is to have guests bring a wrap gift and include a note in the invitation asking everyone to be patient as the bride opens gifts as each guests approaches the house.
Another option is to have guests wrap their gifts in clear wrap so the bride can easily see the gifts. Finally, a third option is to have guests bring wrapped gifts and later have the bride (and even groom!) open the gifts later in a virtual video call with the guests.
Don’t Rule Out Having a Traditional Shower Later
A drive-by shower or virtual bridal shower doesn’t have to be the end of your wedding celebration. You can also plan an in-person wedding shower that will take place after the wedding or when social distancing guidelines are lifted. This way, you can be in the same place as your most beloved family members and celebrate together!
