How do bachelorette parties and showers work?

What do you mean how do they work, exactly? They are just parties that people throw for you.

IMO, these are planned by a willing MOH, other bridal party member, or family. Your job is to graciously accept and show up. If they ask for your input, give it then but try to be open minded and budget conscious.

I'm not planning on any planning, I'm just... I guess kind of confused. I guess my question is what goes on at these events

Showers are for the ladies attending your wedding to shower u with 'bridal' gifts, u eat and drink a little, usually play trivia games about you and your FH--- kinda like a baby shower --- your bachelorette party is supposed to be ur last 'night out 'as a single woman with your closest girls, doing fun stuff--- drinking, dancing or doing whatever you enjoy. both should be planned by someone other than you--- you may have a say of what you want to do for ur bachelorette or u can leave it up to whoever.

sorry for typos

Thanks Angel_D, I guess I'm just a tad worried because I don't really have any gal friends, so I'm trying to pull together that we would be doing (since I know that I would need to give a guest list kind of deelio)

I thought that was kind of what happens, I've just never been to one. Oh, another question, does it have to be the same style of the wedding?

Nope doesnt have to follow any rules that match your wedding, if you dont have a lot of gal pals, what about family members? sisters, cousins, aunts etc... more for the shower id say.

Showers can be themed and not related to theme of the wedding at all. The shower may incorporate the colors of the wedding though, but doesn't have to.

Future mrs.jkr- I'm fairly new to Ashland and don't have many gal friends here yet. Let's be friends! Think of all the wedding DIY shenanigans that could happen between now and your wedding date. It's the best idea I've had all week.

Showers are where people give you gifts (usually more things the bride wants, in my experience). usually physical gifts. There's usually some food, drinks, and a stupid game or two. Lasts maybe 2-3 hours.

Bachelorettes can vary depending what you want to do. At mine, we had a nice dinner, then went bar hopping and got trashed. Some people do winery tours, some do spa days, some do slumber parties, etc. Some people go to Vegas/destinations for the weekend. Personally I think destination bachelorettes are kind of rude cause they're expensive, but maybe those people have richer friends than I do!

My bridal shower was Tom Hanks themed so...no...it doesn't have to match your wedding theme at all!!

My sister and SIL just threw me a shower, and it was wonderful. You can get a lot of ideas off pinterest and even just googling 'wedding shower'.

The point of a shower is normally people 'showering' you with gifts. So, unlike a wedding reception (which is a party for your guests, thrown by you and your then-husband), a shower is thrown by a close friend and is an invitation for people to bring you presents. You will be the star of the day and of course must talk with everyone and be lovely in general, but you're not hosting. The point is that people give you gifts. Good food is a very good idea; finger foods and cake are common. (This isn't a 3 course meal.) A few games are fun, but good taste is imperative...one of the most common mistakes in bridal showers is too many games and people get bored. 2-4 (depending on length) is likely about right. A few examples: for my SIL, since we were throwing a shower for people who knew my brother and not her, we had a 'get to know the bride'. She had previously given us a list of things like her middle name, how many siblings and her birth order, trips out of the country, favorite food, etc., and we had everyone see how many things they had in common with her. The one with the most won the game. For my shower in August they had trivia (similar to the shoe game): FH and I had filled out a quiz (not knowing what for) like favorite song, favorite food, favorite kind of ice cream, etc., and then guests held up either a little paper mustache or paper lips on sticks. Again, the one to guess the most correctly won. We also played 'bridal bingo': everyone wrote down 12 gifts (on pre-made blank 'bingo' cards) they thought I would receive. As I opened presents, if they guessed correctly they could mark it off. Anytime someone got 'bingo' they received a prize.

Just a few ideas about how shower games go and what a shower might be like...my sister and SIL made platters of ham and turkey wraps, fruit pieces on skewers, chips and hot dip, and brownies/cheesecake bars. We also had punch and coffee.

Size varies greatly as well. Both of my showers were around 30 people, I believe, but many are much smaller. It completely depends on how many people you know. The guest list should come straight off your wedding guest list (as in, you should not invite someone to a shower you are not also inviting to the wedding; that communicates 'I want your present but don't care about your presence'). You mentioned just moving to the area--are you now near FH's family or anything? My FMIL and FSIL threw me a shower down here and most of the people I had met only a few months previously. But they came because they knew FH and wanted to support his marriage/us.

Oh, and since this is long and complicated: showers can be a lot of fun. Hope you get one!!

You can also do a Jack and Jill shower. I that case the idea is still the same (you get showered w gifts) but both men and women attend. It would be for you and your FH. It's another idea esp if you don't have a lot of close females in your life.

I told my MOH (my sister) that I didn't need a bridal shower. I doubt she would have thrown me one anyway. I told her I did want a bachlorette party, I didn't get one the first time around. I pretty much told her what day and where I wanted to go. We shall see if that happens.

Typically, the shower is for ladies in the bride's life to "shower" her with gifts. thrown by the MOH, bridesmaids, or a close relative. Usually during the day/afternoon with light snacks and games while the bride opens her gifts, and only lasts for a couple hours.

The bachelorette party is typically thrown by the MOH/bridesmaids and is to celebrate the bride's last days as a single woman. Usually it's going out at night, with lots of alcohol involved.

Of course, you can do whatever you like! Some showers have a theme (like lingerie parties) or are Jack-and-Jill, so your FH would attend as well. And not all bachelorette parties need to be wild and crazy drunken fests. Some go out of town for their bachelorette parties, or just go out to dinner with friends.

There's really not one way they work. Some people have showers with 10 guests, others have 50+. Some bachelorette parties are you and your best girlfriends, and some are just the ladies in the bridal party. It's up to you - and my suggestion is talking to your MOH and giving her some ideas (but not expectations) so she has an idea of what you might like.

My shower is on Sunday!!

My MOH is hosting and my mom is doing the food. A recipe card went out with each invitation with a request to fill out with a signature dish of the guest and bring it with them. (A cookbook will be made out of these.) And then my mom is serving her signature dishes I grew up with. One off which is from a recipe she got at her bridal shower that became a family favorite of ours!

Bach. parties is bascially a party where you hang out with your bridesmaids and sometimes other close girl friends. It can be as simple as going out for dinner, or a crazy trip to vegas or anything in between.

As for showers that I'm not sure of since I've never been to one and didn't have one myself.