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Bridal Showers Past and Present
According to legend, the Bridal Shower began many years ago when a young Dutch girl fell in love with a young Dutch miller. As the miller was poor, her father did not approve of this union, and refused to grant her a dowry. The villagers knew how much this young couple loved one another, so they each brought an item to the young girl – table linens, sewing materials, cookware, whatever they thought that the young couple would need to begin life together. The young bride soon had her dowry and was able to marry her true love in spite of her father’s objections.
The custom migrated to the United States in the 1890s, with friends and family members coming together to provide the bride with the items she needed for her new life. More recently, brides participate in the gift giving by sending a wedding favor home with each guest. The maid of honor hosts the celebration and arranges a series of party games to entertain, amuse, and prepare the bride for her wedding.
One popular and meaningful game is Happy Wishes. Provide each guest with an envelope and an index card. As the guest to write a piece of meaningful advice on the index card, then sign the card and seal it in the envelope. On the outside of the envelope, ask the guest to write the occasion on which the envelope should be opened such as the couple’s first anniversary or the birth of their first son/daughter. The couple is reminded anew of the loving thoughts of their friends and family members as they open the envelopes over the years.
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