Legend has it that the first bridal shower was given for a Dutch bride with a broken heart. Her father had refused to give her a dowry because she intended to marry a poor miller. The lovers married despite the threat of poverty, and the groom's friends pitched in and "showered" the bride with gifts of household necessities. Thanks to the shower, the brides' heart was mended.

This generous practice has become a wedding tradition, occasionally snowballing into multiple showers given by friends, bridesmaids, business associates and both families. As the years go by, the wedding showers have become more creative and innovative?they come in various themes, making the shower unique and fun. The theme usually reflects the bride's personality and interest.

Ideally a shower is held six weeks before the wedding. If you are coordinating the shower, you need about eight weeks to plan a formal shower. If there is not enough time, you must have a very good strategy from start to finish, given a very tight schedule. Set a meeting with the bride, and discuss about her preference for the shower theme, gift theme, and of course the timing. The shower theme does not necessarily need to match the gift theme.

The invitations and decorations normally match the shower theme. Here, you may direct the guests toward what gifts are most useful to the bride. The bridal shower could have an appliance, a kitchen or linen gift theme. The shower theme and the gift theme, however, do not really need to match. The shower theme may be a Luau while the gift theme is a kitchen theme. Today's shower parties are very varied?from the casual coed barbeques, to the wild bachelorette parties, to the formal parties attended by both families, and anything in between. There are simply no rules.

Though not necessary, shower games, like Charades, Pop the Questions, Bingo, etc., usually make the shower party a lot of fun. They are easy icebreakers, promote interaction among the guests, since not all those invited to the party know each other. Calling out the answers is more social and fun, so as much as possible, avoid making the guests write down their answers. Make the guests comfortable by not posing embarrassing questions unless the guests you are inviting are very intimate to each other.

Unlike an engagement party, the gifts at a shower are always opened in the presence of everyone. To make thank you note writing easier, ask a friend to record the gifts and givers. If there are many guests and dozens of gifts to open, the bridesmaids may be called upon to unwrap the gifts and present them with the enclosure card to the bride.

It has been a tradition for the ribbons and bows from each gift to be made into a bouquet or bonnet for the bride to carry or wear at the wedding rehearsal. So someone has to take charge of collecting these ribbons and bows, and later having them made into a bouquet or bonnet in time for the wedding rehearsal.

As someone coordinating the shower, you are the key to the success of the bride's shower'so, good luck!