What I Learned From My 1St Bridal Shower.

[JaimeAnnR]

demo a dessert. it is easier for them to plan if they can do all the food and not worry about dessert, and you take care of it. i made a trifle. it was quick, showed quite a few products, and was good to sit in the fridge for a bit while they ordered, ate, and did games. if your bride is a picky eater (mine was a very picky eater, and i knew that since she was my college roommate), work with her on what you'll demo to make sure she likes it!

don't use triplicate order forms. either use the one that is floating around on here with two boxes labeled 'for bride' 'for self'. it is much easier to keep track of what is the bride's and what is the guests. I plan to print out the receipts from P3 and highlight what goes to the guest separate from what goes to the bride. This will make things easier for the hostess when $1,000 worth of product comes to her door.

offer their biggest wish list item (bamboo knife block, anyone?) at 1/2 to the first person who wants to buy it for the bride. I didn't have any takers but the host & another cousin went in on it together for a wedding gift.

encourage people to shop for the wedding as well as the shower.

put the wishlist on your PWS or send it out by email to anyone who wants to see it ahead of time/can't make it to the party.

make the wishlist in microsoft excel and print out mailing labels (using mail merge) for each product (category, item #, name, price) and put them on notecards. I wanted to cut out pictures from the catalog and just didn't get around to it. the little notecards i made were just fine. i color coded them by category.

have fun! i'm on the lookout for another bridal shower because this one was a blast!

 

[Janis]

Thank you! I haven't done one yet, and I have a couple of people who have asked.

 

[jross93]

Jamie,
Thank you for your helpful hints. I have not yet had a bridal shower, but just got my first registry this week. I am looking forward to having the bridal shower in June. Your suggestions should help in planning!
Jen

 

[pcjenr]

My first one is Saturday! She's VERY laid back and I won't be demo-ing anything, just displaying and offering dips/sauces to anyone wanting to sample. It will be a lot of fun though. I told her I'd need about 10-15 minutes just to explain the order form, give well-wishes and gift to the bride. Anyone have any other suggestions, something I might need to do? I'm getting nervous, so any help would be GREAT! Thanks.

 

[chefjeanine]

I recommend putting all the items ordered by the guests on one order (when you enter the show in P3). I do this under the groom's name. So, the bride is the host and she has a receipt and the groom has a receipt with all their gifts listed. Only two receipts for them to file away.

I HAD to get creative at my last bridal shower. The bride lives in NC, we had the shower in Michigan. I altered my order form (the one mentioned above that is somewhere here on CS) to charge the NC tax on those items going to the bride and groom. On the bottom half (for those who wanted to purchase items for themselves) I charge direct shipping (remember, the bride's gifts had to go to North Carolina and we were in Michigan) and local tax.

So, if you ordered something for the bride you only paid tax (I covered the shipping on the grooms order). If you ordered something for yourself and the bride, you were charged direct shipping and local tax for your items and NC tax on the bride's gifts.
I was surprised how many people ordered for themselves (and spent more than they did on the bride) even though they had to pay direct shipping.

I created a list for the Bride (used excel) that included the name of the guest, a list of the items (by name) that person purchased for her and the guest’s address. It is quick and easy to do and makes life easier for the bride.

At the party, I just took my adding machine and went home and entered the information as explained above. It was quite simple! And, I had a $1400 bridal shower.

 

[JaimeAnnR]

i was a little worried that my bride & groom wouldn't have their receipts, but if they have a problem with anything they can tell home office that it was a gift/bridal shower and everything should be fine.

 

[darlinclem]

I do use the triplicate order forms from PC. I have found them very easy since I tell everyone to "Star" the bride's orders since she is the "Star" of the day. I then keep one copy for myself, one goes to the customer and one goes to the bride for thank you notes. These are just handy forms I tell them which will have their "real" total- not their official receipt. I mail them those. I enter each order under the guest's name in P3 and charge them the standard shipping. They pay that whether the order is for them or the bride or both. In cases of the bride living elsewhere, I just charge the $4.25 and then make up the difference in direct shipping to the customers myself. I always talk this over with the hosts and bride first. Since bridal shows are such money makers I don't worry about the money out of pocket (it is usually less than 5% of my commission). It brings great good will and gets me more showers and shows. When I get home I go over the order forms and take the bridal items off each customers order and transfer them to her name (I use her maiden name as a host and her married name as a customer). She can then book off herself and it works out great because she won't have a party until after her marriage.

 

[jenniferm]

I recommend putting all the items ordered by the guests on one order (when you enter the show in P3). I do this under the groom's name. So, the bride is the host and she has a receipt and the groom has a receipt with all their gifts listed. Only two receipts for them to file away.

I HAD to get creative at my last bridal shower. The bride lives in NC, we had the shower in Michigan. I altered my order form (the one mentioned above that is somewhere here on CS) to charge the NC tax on those items going to the bride and groom. On the bottom half (for those who wanted to purchase items for themselves) I charge direct shipping (remember, the bride's gifts had to go to North Carolina and we were in Michigan) and local tax.

So, if you ordered something for the bride you only paid tax (I covered the shipping on the grooms order).

The problem here is what if the guests order came to over $60 with the brides gifts and they get a free item that they may not have gotten if the order was not placed together in P3

 

[chefjeanine]

The problem here is what if the guests order came to over $60 with the brides gifts and they get a free item that they may not have gotten if the order was not placed together in P3

Well, for me this is not really a huge issue. If they earned it with their personal order, great they got a free product. I did not discuss the monthly guest special so they didn't know the difference. It was a wedding shower and the focus was on her and the gifts she was getting.

 

[pcjenr]

I had someone purchase for themselves and not the bride LOL - Anyways, the first shower went ok, but the set up was her house, and no room was big enough to hold everyone. So people were scattered and I just waited for people to bring me their order forms. 250 in sales - a little disappointed, but hopefully the registry will make up for it! I also printed off everything from her wedding registry - what a NIGHTMARE! Too many business cards for her little coffee table - I ended up placing them in $10 increments, stacked. Any suggestions for this for next time?

 

[StephsKitchen]

Those are great tips!

Stephanie

 

[StephsKitchen]

I usually group things together in $20-30 increments. Like a bundle package for smaller items.

 

[lpnchefjanet]

Here's what I do. Before show I have someone close to bride purchase the PB apron which I present to bride at show & guests sign a message with fabric markers. I set up a basket for guests to deposit cash into(like money tree) when they arrive. The basket amount is used to purcahse items for bride in the grooms name to boost sales of show & guests simply shop for themselves & bride acts as the host & gets all the rewards. I supply the PB show invitations & a cheap file box to collect recipes from bottom of invites so the bride goes home with a collection of the guests favorite recipes at the end of the show. The basket allows guests the freedom of only giving what they can afford & not feel obligated to buy the only items left on wish list.

 

[christiepchef]

I am doing my 1st bridal shower next month. I thought it was going to be a regular show, but now after reading these great ideas, I feel "lame". Can someone kind of "walk me through" a show. What do you do as the demo? Do you play a bridal shower game? Any additional tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Saturday Gourmet]

I did my first bridal show last month and the bride wanted to do a Power Cooking Show so she could learn some quick and easy recipes. I did the show with the bride helping me prepare. I had the meat cooked before they got there, so the bride just prepared the 3 bags. She loved it and the guests loved seeing how easy the kitchen tools made it.
The bride (and several of the guests) left with recipes that they loved. My sales were great and I had several people who only came there to buy for the bride spend more on themselves than on her.
We did the 1950s vs. now bride, and they thought it was a hoot. Some of older ladies were even elaborating on the difference.
All in all, we had a blast!

 

[nonopc]

I too am a first time bridal shower next saturday! I wasn't planning on doing a demo, but now I am not so sure! I was just going to do the Barbie Bride cake along with the little "bridesmaids" and then just show the receipe for that along with what products I used...anyone have any more suggestions? I could do a demo dessert, like the mini brownie cheese cakes...they are easy and use a few good and reasonably priced items...other than that, I am EXTREMELY nervous! It has been a while since I have done a show in front of people I don't know...haven't had alot of "success" this year in pc. Any one?

 

[nonopc]

Well, in case anyone checks back on my post...I had the show this past Saturday and the "Bride" cake was a hit! I didn't do the "bridesmaids" but the bride loved the cake anyway! I didn't have the greatest show, so far it is at $500, and I did not gain any leads whatsoever...I mainly focused on the bride for her special event. I am not upset, I still made a nice profit and she will remember this day forever! Still, I do wish I had at least one lead...

 

[Saturday Gourmet]

Congratulations on your hit! You're right, with a Bridal Shower, it is all about the bride. The key is to get her to do a Registry. That way, when she sends out her invitations it will direct her guests to your website to purchase more. That is where a lot of my bridal show $ came from.

Best of luck,
Kel

 

[darlinclem]

Well, in case anyone checks back on my post...I had the show this past Saturday and the "Bride" cake was a hit! I didn't do the "bridesmaids" but the bride loved the cake anyway! I didn't have the greatest show, so far it is at $500, and I did not gain any leads whatsoever...I mainly focused on the bride for her special event. I am not upset, I still made a nice profit and she will remember this day forever! Still, I do wish I had at least one lead...

You may not have gotten leads right now but I am willing to bet that there were people there who either weren't married or had kids/family who will get married. If they liked your shower you will be called when the time comes!

 

[joschef]

i have my first bridal shower at the end of the month and just booked another one today! So....someone said that they don't do the monthly specials etc. because the focus is on the bride. what do you talk about ? hostess benefits? Home based business? any words of wisdom?

 

[fifiplc]

Help!!! I had my first shower yesterday. I would think all the gifts purchased for the bride would go under her name so the receipts with warranty would be in her name. But I don't know how you put in the individual payments and how do you do credit cards because you can only use 2 credit card payments to a name. Am I missing something, I'm starting to freak out!

 

[darlinclem]

Help!!! I had my first shower yesterday. I would think all the gifts purchased for the bride would go under her name so the receipts with warranty would be in her name. But I don't know how you put in the individual payments and how do you do credit cards because you can only use 2 credit card payments to a name. Am I missing something, I'm starting to freak out!

Are the credit card guests also placing individual orders? If they are you can use the credit card there and just have the amount be higher. If not you can list them as guests and then put in the payment information (I haven't tried it but think it would work).

 

[JenniK]

Question.

I have my first bridal shower in late August for my sister-in-law. I don't like the idea of putting the show in the Bride and Grooms name because this means that they are the ones that will be responsible for forking out the cash for their half-items they earn. I was thinking it would be wiser to put the show under the hostesses of the show and they they could go together and get some big ticket items with the half off items. All of the free product earned will of course go to the bride and groom.

Is this a good idea? See any issues with this method?

Thanks!
Jenni K

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Question.

I have my first bridal shower in late August for my sister-in-law. I don't like the idea of putting the show in the Bride and Grooms name because this means that they are the ones that will be responsible for forking out the cash for their half-items they earn. I was thinking it would be wiser to put the show under the hostesses of the show and they they could go together and get some big ticket items with the half off items. All of the free product earned will of course go to the bride and groom.

Is this a good idea? See any issues with this method?

Thanks!
Jenni K

I always put the Bride as the Host, and the person who is the organizer as the co-host. That way, they both get the PHD for the year.

Anyone can pay for the host's 1/2 off items, it doesn't have to be the bride. Often, the Mother, or MIL, or sisters, or Aunts, etc...will get together and purchase cookware or knives, etc...as 1/2 off items, but it's in the brides name.

 

[JenniK]

Thanks for the tip. I'll do that!

 

[purrbal]

Entering on Pampered Partner PlusIn PPPlus wouldn't you make the bride a guest entry and if your using the bride/personal order form you know how much each guest should be charged total, then entering you just put their stuff on their personal order, the items for bride on her entry and then make the paid amount the total on the order form used paid under the personal order entry? Leaving the bride's order completely void of payment because it all computes out on the overages on the personal orders of the other guests. ???