Bridal Shower

Invite whoever you want! In general yes, only invite people who you also invited to the wedding. But my aunt for example, came to the shower but will not be coming to the wedding (she was invited but declined).


Side note: we did a couples shower in addition to a “traditional” girls-only shower and it was so much fun!!! We did that since we hadn’t really done an engagement party

You don't have to do this.
Invite those you trully want there, the only etiquette is don't invite someone who's not invited to the wedding.

Invite who you want, but bear in mind that your maids are paying for the event. So, inviting every woman who is also invited to the wedding is a significant expense for the host of the shower. The golden rule is that if they are invited to the shower they must be invited to the wedding (barring last minute Covid issues). The opposite is not true - you do not have to invite everyone to the shower that you invite to the wedding.

You can invite everyone, but you don't have to. We are essentially inviting all women to the showers (we're having 2 because there are so many people). Like Laura said, run it by whoever is hosting so they are aware of the costs. Our moms are hosting and they wanted all of those people.

The list I gave to my bridesmaids was all the women who are family on both sides plus the bridal party. This is all the women who were not plus ones/ women I don't really now. My FH doesn't want to attend the shower so I wanted to make sure it was people that I would be comfortable talking to.

As others have stated, everyone invited to the shower should also be invited to the wedding. However, shower invites typically go to the closest women to the bride (so close friends and family) and typically only those who are close by so they don't feel guilted into traveling a far distance or sending a gift. Exceptions are usually very very close relatives who may live far away (like a sibling, parent, or grandparent).

NO! Nearest and dearest !


I know people are saying you *can* invite every female if you want to, and sure you can, but I would really discourage that, as showers are intended as gift giving events , so a shower invite is basically asking for a gift. If you’re asking your aunt, no big deal. If you’re asking your fiancé’s coworker’s wife you hardly know, it’s weird and can be perceived as a little rude. So it’s better not to include every last woman invited to the wedding.

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I wholeheartedly agree with this. Keeping showers small and intimate is the way to go. But also, make sure to ask the host(s) what is the limit on how many guests they can afford (budget, space). That will help guide you.

Not unless it's a really small, close friends and family only wedding.

Anyone who isn't close family/friends will see that invitation as a gift grab, which is frankly what it is.