Every bride deserves to be celebrated just like the new American princess, Meghan Markle. However, before the big day, there’s the bridal shower. This is the perfect opportunity for the bride-to-be to get together with all the women in her life that love and support her. If you have the lucky task of preparing for such an event, we’re here to help.

Selecting a Theme

The best way to start planning the perfect bridal shower is to think of a theme, and that theme should be focused on who the bride really is and what her wedding will be like. For example, does she love bling? Does her dress have rhinestones? Then, a sparkly shower makes perfect sense. We’ve got décor items like these honeycomb rings, and glitter letter banner that will look fabulous.

If the bride likes crafts, and her wedding is more of a DIY affair, then you want to reflect that in the shower’s theme. You could decorate with this burlap banner and flowers to create just the right feel.

Creating a Delicious Spread

What would a bridal shower be without some delectable treats? So, suppose your bride is getting married somewhere tropical. You could reflect that in the theme of your shower, and serve some fabulous cocktails in pineapples. Decorate them with cute umbrellas, garnishes, and these colourful straws.

On the other hand, if your bride is more of an afternoon tea kind of lady, the sky’s the limit for delicious eats. Scones, finger sandwiches, and more will make for an elegant celebration.

Playing a Few Games

Bridal shower games are excellent icebreakers, and help people to get to know one another. One fun and easy one to prepare is to give each guest a couple of rings. Make one or two words taboo like ‘bride’ or ‘wedding’. If one guest says a taboo word, the other guest who hears her can take her ring. The guest with the most rings at the end wins a prize.

Making Prizes and Favours

At the end of a wedding shower, it’s nice to give your guests something to take home. They don’t have to cost a lot, but will serve as lovely mementos of this special day. Showers that have a culinary or baking theme, for example, could include favours with spice mixes, scone mixes, or loose tea blends in these mason jars.

It’s the May long weekend. The sun is shining, and you’ve invited your friends and family over for some great times on the patio. The question is: what are you going to put on the grill? I mean, hot dogs and hamburgers are tried and true crowd pleasers, but life’s too short not to make something different once and a while. Let’s get creative, and barbecue some mouthwatering creations this year.

Make Some Memorable Marinades

Bring a touch of the Mediterranean to your lamb chops or chicken, with this fabulous marinade from Jamie Oliver. Add olive oil, lemons, garlic, pepper, and rosemary (dried or fresh) to your shopping list. You can also include more herbs, depending on the meat you are grilling. For lamb, mint and oregano add some great flavour. Chicken, on the other hand, always benefits from a bit of sage.

If you prefer to serve your guests some delicious BC salmon, try this honey-soy marinade from Betty Crocker. Ensure that you have the following on hand: brown sugar, butter or margarine, olive or vegetable oil, honey, soy sauce, and garlic. After only an hour in the marinade, your salmon will be ready for the grill.

Go Vegetarian

If some of your guests are vegetarian or concerned about eating healthy, offer some non-meat alternatives at your May long weekend barbecue. Have you heard of Halloumi cheese? It’s now available in local grocery stores, and tastes fabulous when grilled. Here’s a recipe for Halloumi kebabs with thyme & lemon baste from Good Food magazine. After you pick up your cheese, make sure to grab some zucchini, a red onion, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemons, thyme, and Dijon mustard. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be prepared up to half a day in advance.

Another way to include more vegetables at your barbecue is to prepare a few salads. For some fabulous ideas, check out “8 Awesome Salads to Bring to a Barbecue”.

Break Out the Cocktail Shaker

This May long weekend barbecue wouldn’t be complete without some tasty bevvies. While wine, coolers, and beer are definitely good to have on hand, why not transport your guests to Hawaii with some retro tiki cocktails? Discover how to make a mai tai, zombie, blue Hawaiian, and more here. Don’t forget to buy some little umbrellas, funky stir sticks, and cool glassware to make the cocktail experience just a little more fun!

How to Design a Sublime Bridal Shower