With beautiful decorations, delicious food and plenty of space for all of your guests, restaurants offer a perfect venue to host a bridal shower.
However, planning a bridal shower at a restaurant can seem like a daunting task. From table themes to invitations, food choices to payments, there’s lots to prepare. To help make the preparations a little easier, we’ve put together our top tips for throwing the perfect bridal shower at a restaurant.
Our top tips for throwing a bridal shower at a restaurant
Here at COSMO, we’ve catered for countless special occasions, so we know how important it is to get everything just right. Whilst your first thought might be to decide on the food, that’s not the only thing you’ll need to consider.
Choose table themes and decors
When deciding on decorations, it’s best to start by choosing a theme. You could opt for something elegant, retro, floral, rustic, sophisticated – whatever best represents the bride’s personality and personal taste.
Once you’ve opted for a theme, it’s time to decide where to position your decorations. Throwing a bridal shower at a restaurant means you’ll already have plenty of tables ready to decorate.
Pretty table runners, place cards, personalised napkins, custom tableware, table confetti, floral arrangements and candles can all be used to create a truly special table design.
And it’s not just the tables that offer a space to decorate. If the restaurant allows, why not add banners, balloons, welcome signs, fairy lights and even wall backdrops around the room? Just ensure that all of your decorations follow a similar theme to create a consistent and memorable look.
Send out invitations and RSVPs
Invitations and RSVPs are, of course, an important part of any bridal shower preparation. Whether you choose to order them or make them yourself, invitations can be customised to suit your theme.
A bridal shower invitation usually includes a greeting, a request for the person’s attendance, the location and RSVP contact details. But how you design these invitations is completely up to you. Why not add a custom message or even add a photo?
Manage seating arrangements
Whilst seating arrangements aren’t always required, it can help to ensure things run smoothly on the day. Having an organised arrangement with personalised place cards will help your guests know exactly where to sit.
Think about which of the guests should sit at the bride’s table and consider placing other friends and mutual friends together, making sure everyone feels comfortable in their chosen place.
Bridal shower seating charts can also be a great decorative way for your guests to find their place at the table. A large seating chart surrounded by decorations and garlands can make a beautiful centrepiece within the restaurant.
Consider photography options
A bridal shower is an incredibly special event with memories that the bride will want to cherish. Photographs are the perfect way to create lasting keepsakes of the day.
Whilst you can, of course, take photos yourself, there are plenty of photographers who specialise in wedding and bridal shower photography. Hiring somebody to take photos for you means that your guests can relax and enjoy the event without having to remember to snap some shots.
From the decorations to the guests, professional photographers will capture the atmosphere of the event from start to finish. Photographs also make a great gift to send to your guests afterwards.
And to make things a little more fun, why not buy some photo booth frames and props for your guests to enjoy?
Have a payment plan
It’s always a good idea to have a payment plan sorted out in advance to avoid awkward situations on the day. Typically, the person or people who host the shower are the ones who will pay, but it’s increasingly common for lots of people to chip in.
Whichever payment arrangements you decide on, make sure that somebody is ready and able to pay the bill at the end of the meal. If you are offering a set menu to your guests, the restaurant will be able to tell you a price before the day arrives.
Consider dietary restrictions and preferences
When deciding which menus and food to opt for, you’ll need to consider dietary restrictions and personal preferences. Many people choose to include a section on their invitations to ask for dietary requirements. This could be a simple checkbox layout, including standard requirements and a space for comments. If you’re offering set menu options, you could also ask your guests to tick their preferred choice.
Here at COSMO, we offer an all-you-can-eat buffet experience, with a range of cuisines including Asian, Indian, Teppanyaki, Deli and Continental. So everyone is sure to find something they’ll enjoy.
Once all the preparations are complete, savor the grand day! To explore the offerings at COSMO, contact our team or check out each of our restaurant locations, including Edinburgh, Bournemouth, and Norwich.