Three months before the wedding is a good time to start preparing for a shower.
Six weeks before the wedding is the ideal time have a shower. Your Family/Friends will need about eight weeks to plan a formal shower.  Unless it is a surprise shower you your hostess will consult with you the date and time your shower will be held and you will provide the hostess with a guest list.


Guests
Bridal showers are intimate gatherings and guests are usually close friends and families of the bride and groom.  Have the mothers of the bride and groom look over the guest list as well to be sure not to leave out anyone that may be important to them.

Theme Showers You may be asked or consulted as to what type of a Shower you would like.  Types of showers include “open” shower where the guests bring a gift to their choosing or a “themed” showers such as a lingerie shower, or kitchen utensil shower etc. depending on what the couples needs are.

Home Party Retailers
Another consideration is to have a Home Party Retailer such as Pampered Chef plan your party for you.  You can create your wish list prior to the party.  It’s an easy and fun way for your guest to purchase that needed gift for you!

Bridal Shower Games
It isn’t always necessary to have games at your shower but it’s a fun way to break the ice for those that don’t know each other.  If the guests know each other, they may enjoy just sitting back and catching up – if not playing games will help people to interact and get the conversations started.  You can help out by letting your hostess know how well the invitees know each other and whether games will be necessary.  Keep the games simple and not too personal. 

Wedding Shower Decorations/Favours
If your hostess is not a member of your wedding party – you may want to discuss with them your wedding colour scheme so that they may incorporate the scheme in their décor planning and creating the wedding shower favours.

Thank you
During the shower make sure that someone writes down for you the name of the person and their gift.  Be sure to send out your thank you as soon as possible after the shower!

One helpful tip is ask your hostess to have the guests fill out their “return envelope” giving you more time to write them a personal message on your thank you card.  Remember to supply your hostess with your “thank you” envelopes.

Hostess Gifts
Purchase a special thank you gift to thank your hostess's for all the/their hard work they went to in preparing your Bridal Shower.