How to Throw a Tropical Bridal Shower for Your Friend

Being someone’s Maid of Honor is a big honor. It’s also a lot of work and responsibility. Part of your job is to plan a fabulous bridal shower for the bride-to-be. If your bride-to-be is planning a tropical destination wedding, or if you just want some ideas for a chic themed bridal shower, read on for tips and ideas sure to let her know she picked the right Maid.

For a tropical soiree, have fresh or silk leis available for guests and keep the attire casual. If you have access to a pool, let everyone hang out in their bathing suits and grass skirts and have a casual swim party. Set up a table with refreshments like fruity drinks and bottled water. If you have the budget, hire a bartender to make tropical cocktails to order. Or set up an interactive drink table with all the mixers, fruits and paper umbrellas ready to be assembled by each guest.

If you want to do a traditional drop-in bridal shower, a table of finger foods is your best bet. Trays of fresh fruits and veggies are a must. For a visual treat, carve a design into a fresh watermelon. The red design against the green rind will be a beautiful centerpiece. Make sure to get an extra melon so guests can enjoy the fresh summer treat. Another twist is a fruit fondue with steaming chocolate sauce and cute, themed toothpicks. A platter with pineapple and ham chucks served with fresh rolls are a good staple to counteract the sweets.

A themed cake can be personalized for a reasonable cost at many grocery stores, especially Publix. Have one made in the shape of a palm tree, hula dancer, or pink flamingo. Keep it fun and make sure the cake is your bride-to-be’s favorite flavors. Strawberry and lemon are delicious and sometimes overlooked in favor of vanilla or chocolate. You might also consider blueberry, coconut or orange with a complimentary icing.

Consider staying with the theme and doing a full Hawaiian bar-be-que with ribs, ham or chicken. For a lighter dinner, you can serve grilled mahi-mahi with mango salsa and some grilled veggies over rice. For dessert, offer tropical sorbets or fruit kabobs drizzled with chocolate or strawberry sauce.

Check local craft stores for scrapbook cutouts in your Hawaiian theme. Depending on the price, pretty much anything’s available to design your own cute invitations and let guests know the theme. You might want to ask them to bring an inexpensive gift that goes with the theme, in addition to their personal gift. Or, break tradition, and give each guest an inexpensive gift, like flip-flops, a surfboard key chain, or a small basket of summer essentials (mini lotions, self-tanners, and lip gloss).

Finally, let your guests have fun. Provide activities you know your guests will love. Maybe have a hula dancing lesson and contest. Provide materials to make your own designer flip-flops or have your favorite summer cinema classics playing in the background (think Beach Blanket Bingo and Gidget).

With a little creativity, your bridal shower will be as much fun for the guests and you as it is for the bride-to-be. Let her know how special she is and still have a great time.