Easy Wedding Shower Ideas to Spoil the Bride-to-Be

Monogrammed Bars

Recipe: Coconut Cheesecake Squares

Recipe: Cakey Lemon Brownies

Recipe: Best-Ever Brownies

Recipe: Pecan Pie Bars

Add a personal touch to bars by piping on the couple's monogram. Just fill a zip-top plastic bag with store-bought frosting and pipe.

Monogram How-To: Snip a corner of the filled bag (not too big, not too small), and squeeze. Practice first on a piece of paper. Use lowercase letters for a modern look, or get fancy with cursive.

Make a Cheese "Cake"

This pretty centerpiece made of wheels of cheese is drop-dead easy. Choose pretty flowers and herbs in season—lavender would be perfect. Serve with your favorite crackers or French bread rounds.

Cool Beverages

Recipe: Sparkling Punch

Recipe: Blackberry Mint Sparkler

No shower is complete without a refreshing drink. Sparkling Punch (pictured) is a pretty—but easy—combination of frozen pink lemonade, white cranberry juice, and club soda.

Simple Decorating Tips

For your bridal wedding shower, tuck colorful flowers inside napkin rings to brighten up neutral linens. You can also use greenery and other elements, such as tassels or beads to liven up the look.

Start with white or off-white serving pieces and linens. White is versatile no matter the color scheme or theme of the shower. Play with different color palettes that would best fit the bride's personality while also keeping it elegant and sophisticated. Experiment with the flower types as well; for a more traditional shower try roses or calla lilies, but for a more playful theme consider sunflowers or zinnias.

Chilled Soups

Recipe: Chilled Cucumber Soup

Recipe: Sweet Pea-Avocado Soup

Recipe: Sweet Corn-Bell Pepper Soup

These chilled soups come in dazzling colors and are ideal for a late spring or early summer shower. Serve them in tiny demitasse cups for an elegant touch or in clear plastic tumblers, available at party stores, for easy cleanup.

Memory Jar

Let partygoers fill a memory jar instead of signing a guest book to leave special notes for the bride and groom.

Visit your local crafts store to find card stock, ribbons, and pens. Pull out any other scrapbooking supplies you have at home, and make a few samples for guests ahead of time.

Grilled Pizzas

Recipe: Caesar Salad with Garlicky Croutons

Anchor your party menu with personal pizzas from a grill. Guests will gather around the grill once they catch the irresistible scent of fire-baked flatbread and fresh toppings.

You can easily prepare pizza toppings and salad ahead of time, leaving you plenty of time to mingle with guests and celebrate with the lucky couple.

Simple Appetizer Platter

Recipe: Old Bay Remoulade with Crudités and Shrimp

Recipe: Sweet Onion and Bacon Dip

For a simple yet impressive starter, arrange a colorful appetizer platter. Chop some radishes, carrots, and cucumbers to go along with succulent shrimp and creamy remoulade. For variety, you can add other dipping sauces, like our Sweet Onion and Bacon Dip.

Chalkboard-Style Glasses

Recipe: Raspberry Beer Cocktail

Serve a beverage such as our Raspberry Beer Cocktail in chalkboard-style glasses with each guest's name.

Make your own glasses with chalkboard spray paint and painter's tape. They can double as a special gift for the bride and groom after the shower.

Dainty Pick-up Foods

Recipe: Deviled Egg Salad and Asparagus Tartines

Recipe: Mini Quiche with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

Recipe: Creamy Spinach-Ricotta Crostini

Impress guests with dainty pick-up foods, such as our Mini Quiche with Asparagus. These recipes work well for both late-morning and afternoon showers.

Frosted Sandwiches

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken Salad

Recipe: Easy Egg Salad

Recipe: Basic Pimiento Cheese

Frosted party sandwiches create a unique presentation for our favorite classic cold spreads: egg salad, chicken salad, and pimiento cheese.

The preparation is simple. Make a triple-decker crustless sandwich and spread a cream cheese mixture over the top and sides. Garnish with celery leaves, paprika, or Cheddar cheese.

Make the sandwiches the night before and chill. To save time, use a serrated knife to cut the sandwiches into slices at party time.

Finger Sandwiches

Recipe: Tomato Tea Sandwiches

Recipe: Kentucky Benedictine Sandwiches

Recipe: Mini Tomato Sandwiches with Bacon Mayonnaise

Recipe: Dainty Cucumber Sandwiches

Recipe: Ham Biscuits

Endless varieties of finger sandwiches are classic shower fare. Serve them on cake plates alongside fresh fruit for an elegant presentation. Try one of our favorite recipes or improvise with your own.

Decorative Ice Tray

Serve cold foods outdoors on a flower-filled ice tray. Here's how to make one easily:

Fill a 13-by-9-inch pan with water. Cover top of pan with self-sealing plastic wrap. Place 2 strips of tape about ½ inch apart on the plastic wrap ½ inch from inside edge on each short side of pan. Using the paring knife, evenly cut Xs, smaller than the diameter of the carrots, in between strips of tape on each side. Fit carrots into Xs; secure with tape, if necessary.

Place pan on level rack in freezer and freeze at least 24 hours. Remove plastic wrap, carrots, and, if necessary, tape. Run tap water over ice block to remove from pan. The frozen carrots will be soft and easy to dig out of the ice with a small spoon, if necessary. Place your choice of flowers in ice cavities.

Cookie Cutouts

Recipe: Conversation Heart White Chocolate Bark

Recipe: Easy Sugar Cookies

Recipe: Chocolate Marshmallow Linzer Heart Cookies

Prepare heart-shaped cookies or bars ahead of time. Our Conversation Heart White Chocolate Bark will put everyone in a flirty mood—and it looks great without icing.

You can also use heart-shaped or letter cookie cutters (for the couple's initials) to cut out homemade or refrigerated sugar cookie dough. Set out different colored icing and candies for guests to decorate the cookies. For a fun game, let the bride judge a cookie-decorating contest.

Precious Little Cakes

Recipe: Buttermilk-Lime Mini Cakes with Vanilla-Mascarpone Buttercream

Guests will love having their own personal wedding-like tiered cake. These little cakes come in at just under three inches and are perfect for an intimate party.

Beverage Bar

Let guests at your bridal shower help themselves to their beverage of choice. Simply display small carafes—filled with iced tea, water, lemonade, or juice—nestled in ice in a large serving bowl. Look for carafes at kitchen shops or restaurant supply stores.

Bite-Sized Desserts

Recipe: Chocolate Pecan Tassies

Recipe: Mini Triple Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes

Recipe: Mini Chocolate Chess Tarts

Bite-size desserts are fun and convenient. Whip up a few options, including these Mini Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes, that are sure to delight. Plus, it keeps things neat and tidy.

Simple Side Salads and Veggies

Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

Recipe: Lemon Vinaigrette Pasta Salad with Field Peas

Recipe: Radish, Avocado, and Citrus Salad

Simple does not meant tasteless and boring. We're betting the Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus will be one of the first things gone off the buffet table.

Fun Cocktails

Recipe: Bourbon-Peach Iced Tea

What's any party without a cocktail or two? If you want to make it extra fun, do a cocktail bar where guests can mix their own creations. Write out recipes and flavor pairings on chalkboards for those who need a little inspiration.

Chicken Salad Bar

Recipe: Homemade Chicken Salad

It's not really a Southern gathering without some form of chicken salad. Whether you want it in sandwich form or on its own, just make sure it has a place on the menu. Lay out the chicken salad, bread or rolls, and other fixings to allow the guests to assemble it just the way they like.