Bridal shower food/menu ideas

Please give more info. Will this be at a meal time? Will you have access to a kitchen or refrigeration at the site? How many people?

Oh and is there a theme to the party at all that you can carry into the food?

She asked you to throw her a bridal shower???? ehhh

Same questions as Cassie - is it during a meal time?

Were is the shower at? We had my sisters at a restaurant so guest had there choice between chick parm or fish. If you your having it at a house a good idea is out stuff in crock pot like meatballs, roast beef sand. Or order trays a food from local deli

Yes, it will be at someone's home. The shower is going to be probably from 2-5pm on a Saturday. Not sure the guest list, she sent me a few names but we are still in the early stages so I just want to get some ideas. Well, I asked her to throw my baby shower & she asked me to throw her bridal shower so we're even lol!! Her wedding will be on a cruise in April so the theme I was thinking of is hot pink & navy nautical theme.

Just make sure that only people invited to the wedding are invited to the shower!

I would do appetizer food, as people will likely have already eaten lunch. You could do crock pot dips, caprese salad skewers, meatballs, cheese and crackers, crudite plates, fruit, etc.

I would do different sandwiches, veggie plate (you can just chop up veggies of you don't want to buy a prepared one), cheese and cracker plate, and salad. You could do a few hot items in a crock pot or order them from a local restaurant. Since its nautical themed, maybe incorporate fish in some way, either a tuna fish salad or as a hot item. Also we did a dessert bar at a shower I helped throw. All the bms and some family members made different desserts. We ended up with way to much, but the bride loved it. The desserts were themed pink by the brides request.

So.. for my bridal shower, we had it at our old train station (it was no longer working as a train station) in our hometown - more like an area to have small events and meetings. (FH and I moved to NC from CT a little over two years ago).

My sister and mom had it catered by a family friend who works in a restaurant (he is the chef there and gave us AMAZING discounts) - we had: Italian lasagna, chicken francesca, and penne a la vodka. We had enough so that everyone could have a bit of everything (we also had extra left over). FMIL made salads and my mom went and bought cakes, cheesecakes, and an ice cream cake. For the appetizers - there was fruit, veggies, cheese and crackers, olives, buffalo chicken dip (my sister made that), nuts (I think?), and mini empanadas (which my mom ordered from another family friend).

Everyone was stuffed at the end of it and we still had extra food and drinks. Ohh for the drinks we had soda, juices, wine, and mimosas. Those that were invited: both our fathers and then the women on both side of the family that all lived relatively close (within 6 hours - most were within 2 hours). The invitation was extended to those that lived about 6 hours away because the wedding is out of state (600 miles away - so between 10-14 hours, depending on driving time and stopping, etc) for them. (The wedding is local for FH and me).

ETA: Our shower was on a Sunday and started at 1pm and ended at around 5pm.

For my shower they had chicken salad croissants, fruit, veggies, 2 different types of salads. The for dessert cookies and cheesecakes. We also had a mimosa bar for drinks I hope this helps get some ideas. I think the theme sounds really cute.

Oh - my theme was an introduction the wedding theme (so a romantic winter wonderland).. My sister and mom incorporated it through decorations (think blues, silver, and purple) - we had a metal arbor (that you can put together yourself) and they decorated the whole thing with tulle and some flowers. All the plates, cups, silverware - were a royal blue. My sister did centerpieces with the love theme and winter snowflakes (oh and they were filled with homemade thin plantain chips -- really yummy). They decorated the windows with dropped snowflakes, they had childhood pictures of us on the bathroom doors, and also pictures strung up of our relationship (10 years worth). They had swirly decorations hanging from the ceiling, also they had a mariachi band come and play (I definitely cried - I got to dance with my dad and his dad; while FH danced with my mom and his mom); and my dad dressed up as a train conductor. (Story behind my dad: for both my sister's and my 7th birthday parties he dressed up - for me Prince Charming as I was Cinderella and the Beast for my sister as she was Belle. Our 7th birthday culturally is very huge, so we went all out. I am sure my dad would have done something for my Quincenera or Sweet 16, but both parties could not be planned or were canceled due to family emergencies. So anyway, the dressing up is very traditional when it comes to him).

What JP said! For 2 pm, you don't need a full meal. My shower was also at 2 pm and the hosts served chicken salad on Hawaiian rolls, salad, fruit, cheese and cupcakes.

I often bring this: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/24229/tortilla-rollups-iv/ to parties and it's a hit.

They actually did my shower at a cooking school! It was a ton of fun. Maybe see if that's an option to you?

https://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-forums/bridal-shower-cooking-class-bas/796d7b6974b93e91.html

I would talk to the mother of the bride and see what she expect. I am Italian and I know my family expect a meal no matter what type of day it is lol. At my cousin shower the had Meatballs in the crock pot with rolls, baked ziti, and salad that was served when she arrived. Before she arrived they had all kinds of dips, pepperoni and cheese platter.

You could keep it easy and do hoagie platters from a local deli also.

Elizabeth- I must've missed that! But what an awesome idea! How unique and fun!

Any kind of make your own bar would be fun, so if people are hungry they can eat more but if not, they can just pick a little of what they choose! Taco bar, even a mashed or baked potato bar could be fun. My other thought is you could do all finger foods or appetizer type foods that are still filling. I just made spinach artichoke bites for my engagement party this past weekend and they are a good example of a more filling appetizer. They were delicious, found them on pinterest! We had dinner, but for apps we did buffalo chicken dip, salsa, the artichoke bites, taco dip, shrimp cocktail (went in 2 seconds), and veggie pizzas (I also highly recommend, and there are easy recipes online you could find for them).

Good luck, now I am hungry!

I'm with @Soon2bMrsSoyka. My family would expect a full meal no matter what time of the day it is. A lot of times when there's an event we don't eat all day because we know there will be a lot of food.

For my sisters baby shower we had 2 different rices, rotisserie chicken, steak, shrimp, fried pork, eggplant parmesan, empanadas, baked ziti, fried plantains, potato salad, and green salad. For starters we just had a fruit salad and for dessert we had a full dessert/candy bar including cake, cake pops, brownies, cupcakes, chocolate covered oreos, and a bunch of different candy.

This was for 75 guests. Obviously this is a lot but just giving you an idea of what we had. Speak with her MIL because she knows her family and friends best. I've never been to a party that just had light snacks or sandwiches but every family is different

They did a make your own sandwich bar at my shower, there was a selection of sides like potatoe salad and pasta salad too. it was nice.

At my best friends shower and my shower my mom is throwing we will be doing a bring your own dish game! everyone gets a category of food, I.E. veggies, fruit, dessert. The bride tries each one and the one she likes the best gets a prize! everyone writes down there recipe so we have it to make! then the brides mother( the one who threw the shower) supplied wings and sandwiches i believe as a "main" course

For my shower all the food (well, most) came from costco. They have these great frozen quiches that everyone loved and quiche to me is very typical shower food. They have full sized ones you can slice up or little mini one for finger food. There was also a salad with dressing, some fresh tomatoes, and a bowl of mixed fruit. Then they got my favorite cupcakes which was great. That and some wine and we were all set! Costco is brilliant for party food because you can feed quite a few people for cheap and they have really great options.