Have you ever hosted an online bridal shower before? Share your tips and ideas!

[4mygirls]

I have a bride who wants to have an on-line bridal shower. I am not sure how to set this up. I really do not want to use the wedding registry because I am scared that people will get confused and order directly from that. Has anyone done this before and what tips/ideas can you give me?!?!
Thank you

Bobbi

 

[NooraK]

Have you asked the bride what exactly she has in mind? Does she envision using something like Facebook or something like Skype? Or does she envision stretching it out for a longer period of time (a week, two weeks) and it kind of becomes a registry anyway?

 

[4mygirls]

She wants to leave it open for a few weeks. The majority of the contact will be via email. I just want her to receive more credit than what the registry has to offer. Then after the shower we will set up her registry with the items she did not receive from the shower.

 

[NooraK]

She wants to leave it open for a few weeks. The majority of the contact will be via email. I just want her to receive more credit than what the registry has to offer. Then after the shower we will set up her registry with the items she did not receive from the shower.

The registry and a catalog show offer the same benefits for the bride. She gets free & half-priced products and a discount with both. The only thing I can think of that she would get extra is an additional Host Bonus item for the catalog show (she gets to pick the Host Bonus in the month she redeems her registry rewards). Setting up the registry would be the easiest way to track what she's already received and avoid unwanted duplicates of items.

On a more personal note, the bride runs the danger of coming across as being greedy. The plan kind of sounds a bit like "I want you to buy me gifts but I don't want to bother with a shower where you can come socialize with me." Especially if she herself will be sending out emails and such about the "online shower".

 

[amyscookinggear]

Maybe the bride lives very far away from family and friends. I had friends who live in England who had an online facebook shower. We posted advice and they planned to scrap book everyone

 

[rubyrya]

I have a bride who lives in DC and we set up her registry and we put a note on MY homepage for "Sally Smith's" registry and set her up a catalog show at the same time (we did this to save her guests money on shipping, not so she could be greedy). The list there is everything from her registry. As items are purchased I take them off the list on my note. As we get closer to the wedding we'll close out her show and then everything will be shipped to her directly for the lower shipping rates. Guests can print off the item page and put it in a card if they are giving her items from her registry as shower gifts or in her wedding cards.