Invitations to a bridal shower can request the honor of your presence — and a few other things.

If every guest brings her own wedding dress and photo album, the shower can be more than a gift-giving experience. Whether you are a guest or a host, this party will be a memorable and meaningful bonding experience among the bride-to-be’s family and her closest friends.

Here’s what shower guests should do:

• Dig up your dress. It’s a safe bet the dress you wore on such an important day is stored in a box or bag. If you are single, you can be part of the fun, too. Bring a bridesmaid or flower-girl dress if you still have it.

If their dresses have been preserved, guests can have them resealed or preserved again after the shower. The shower also might be a good opportunity to get dresses cleaned, because stains can appear years later.

• Dust off the photo albums. Guests should pass around their photo albums and discuss the memorable moments of their wedding, says party planner Jenny Steffens, owner of Occasions Entertaining.

Wedding dresses are fashion statements of their times, so the bridal shower is richer if guests are of different ages.

Here’s what the shower host can do:

• Serve “safe” food and drinks. The host should be the anti-stain warrior, prohibiting red wine and punch. But Champagne, lemonade, tea sandwiches and sugar cookies can make the cut.

• Give the party the white-glove treatment. Pass out white cotton gloves to guests so they can touch dresses and albums.

• Document the details. Take a lot of photos with a digital camera. Send prints of the bride-to-be with each guest and her dress.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 12:56 am and is filed under Fashion [t], Entertainment [t]. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.