With everything going on in the world now, we’re all stuck in that phase where we are forced to play the waiting game. Things are changing daily and we know this is putting a big question mark in the heads of everyone getting married on what to do next. What we can tell you is to have hope, we will get through this together. What we’ve learned from this entire situation is that we are going to have to adapt to the given circumstances and make a few adjustments. We’ve had a lot of couples who are postponing their upcoming wedding, which is totally ok – things will happen in time when you can finally enjoy every moment of it. That being said, we want you to keep your wedding planning momentum going! Thanks to technology, we were able to put together a virtual bridal shower for an upcoming client. It was a great way to bring everyone together to keep your wedding hype going, and a chance to build more memories. This quick demo video shows you how we were able to use different features that Zoom has to make it as interactive and personalized as possible. For all of our brides-to-be out there, don’t sweat it! Here are a few tips to help you plan a memorable bridal shower:
- Choose Your Virtual Platform – Zoom, Skype, WebEx are just a few of the good ones out there. Helpful hint: The “basic” package for most of these platforms only allows you to run a meeting for a specific time frame. Look into these options first and select the one that suits you best. We recommend keeping your shower to an hour to keep it engaging enough.
- Set Up Your Bridal Registry – Nothing has changed from this angle. With the ability to online shop, you can have everything delivered regardless.
- Send Out an Evite – Choose a website and create a website to suit the theme of your shower. Most of these websites are now offering free “virtual” invitations that are super cute! We recommend Green Envelope, Evite, Paperless Post, and Punchbowl.
- Personalize the Shower- Create a background image that you can send to your guests to upload so you can all feel like you’re in the same place. Helpful hint: Have your guests log in about 15-20 mins prior to get settled in and test the platform out.
- Food and Drinks – Create a signature drink that all of your guests can make at home with common items. We did a classic Mimosa – OJ mixed with whatever each guest wanted, alcoholic or not, and named it after our couple. We also asked guests to a make a few of their fav finger foods so that they could munch along while playing games.
- Games – Think of games you can play virtually. In our demo we played the purse game, which is always a hit! Create a list of funny items, give the ladies a few minutes to grab their purses, and let the fun begin! We also played Wedding Night ABC’s where everyone had to list an essential item needed for the wedding night based on the letters of the bride’s first name. The great thing about these platforms is that they each allow you to interact differently. We were able to share images so everyone could see the instructions, and then used the chat function to change it up.
- Prizes – Once you have your games sorted out, order virtual gift cards! These can easily be emailed to your guests after the shower!
- Send Your Thanks You – As a follow up, use the same e-vite website you initially used and send a thank you to everyone who attended.
And there you have it! The perfect distraction while you are stuck at home! We know this current situation isn’t the greatest, but we hope you can have some fun with this. We would love to see what you end up doing, share your shower moments with us! A huge thank you to Samantha and Sonny for participating in our bridal shower, we look forward to starting your beyoutiful beginning .
Happy Planning.
Written by: Susan Ramroop, Beyoutiful Beginnings