Work Bridal Shower Ideas to Celebrate Your Engaged Coworker

Is one of your favorite coworkers about to tie the knot? While you and your colleagues might not be attending the wedding yourselves, it's a lovely gesture to still take a moment to celebrate the soon-to-be-wed and throw them an office bridal shower. Before you get planning, it's a good idea to learn some work bridal shower ideas and etiquette so you and your coworkers can toast to the bride with an event that balances professionalism with fun.

Take a look below to get a rundown of some important planning tips and exciting ideas for food, games, and decor to throw an office bridal shower that everyone will enjoy.

In this article:

• Can You Have an Office Wedding Shower Without Inviting Coworkers to the Wedding?
• Work Bridal Shower Gift Ideas
• Work Bridal Shower Ideas

Can You Have an Office Wedding Shower Without Inviting Coworkers to the Wedding?

Even if you don't have any coworkers on your wedding guest list, it's absolutely normal to have them throw an office wedding shower for you. It's a gesture to celebrate you as you move into the next phase of your life in a similar manner to an office birthday party. Of course, you may have a few coworkers that you might be closer to outside of your work environment who will attend the actual wedding and might be the ones who organize your office bridal shower. Your other colleagues will understand that weddings are expensive and most couples limit their guest lists to closer circles of people that don't include their entire work team. This event is a way for them to still celebrate with you in a different capacity and feel included in your festivities.

Work Bridal Shower Gift Ideas

While throwing an office bridal shower is a gift to your engaged coworker in itself, it can be a nice gesture to give them a present, too. In addition to treating the to-be-wed to any food or drinks at the party and covering costs for decorations, your coworkers can come together and pool money for one nice item for the bride. This could be something off of the wedding registry or a present the bride could enjoy like a gift certificate to a spa to help de-stress after all that wedding planning. If you are hosting the event, communicate with your coworkers to see if they are open to contributing to a gift so everyone can be on the same page before you purchase any presents.

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Work Bridal Shower Ideas

Ready to get a few work bridal shower ideas to throw the best party for your colleague? Read ahead for fun games, food ideas, and cute decorations to step up your fête.

Make It a Surprise

Since most to-be-weds don't expect to have an office wedding shower, why not make it a big surprise? Prepare a conference room ahead of time with food, drinks, and decor and set a meeting with your engaged colleague in that space for the time of the event. Have guests fill in the room five minutes ahead of the scheduled meeting and be there for the big reveal.

Host a Brunch

Bridal shower brunches are often a favorite because they allow for a wide variety of fun food options. It's easy to create a buffet with spreads of yummy breakfast pastries, bagels, and colorful donuts, and pretty fruit parfaits. You can even have a DIY mimosa bar if your office is comfortable with alcohol being present during the workday. To step up the decor, purchase some colorful disposable plates to add some color to the experience and consider purchasing a pretty bouquet you can use to decorate the table (and later give to the bride). Since it's in the middle of the workday, you likely will be able to have more coworkers attend if they have after-hours commitments with friends or family.

Have a Happy Hour

If you want to have a celebration once the workday is finished, get your colleagues together at a favorite bar or restaurant close to your office. Make sure to book a table in advance for your large group and bring along any additional decor items you might want to spruce up the space. Rather than serving a full meal, order a few appetizers for the group to enjoy as they celebrate the to-be-wed.

Play a Bridal Shower Game

Bridal shower games can be a great way to engage guests and get them in the spirit of celebrating their engaged colleague. However since this will take place in a work environment, it's best to select games that would have a PG rating. Bridal bingo, wedding trivia, or a "how well do you know the bride" game are all hits that can bring some fun to the event. Just make sure to print out any materials in advance and supply enough pens for every guest.

Choose a Theme

Want to bring a bit of structure to your decoration choices? Choose a theme for your celebration that fits the personality of the spouse-to-be. You can pick out decor to host a garden party-inspired affair, a disco ball-filled celebration, or something inspired by one of your engaged colleague's favorite activities or shows. They'll absolutely love the attention to detail to personalize the party for them.

Create a Photo Moment

The spouse-to-be will definitely want to remember this amazing celebration you planned for them, as well as all their favorite coworkers who joined for the party. To make any photos even more fun, create a decor moment within the space that will serve as a perfect backdrop. Get giant balloons that spell out the word bride, decorate a large sign, or purchase a cute streamer backdrop from Amazon or Etsy that will bring the perfect pop to any of your snaps.

Have a Digital Bridal Shower

In the world of remote work, many colleagues don't go into a physical office every day. If you only work from home, consider throwing a Zoom bridal shower event for a coworker. Since virtual parties can get difficult with many people in the same digital conference room, pick a host to lead the event and lead the team in some fun games that everyone can play together. You can even give the to-be-wed (or all coworkers) a gift card to a delivery service like Uber Eats or Doordash so everyone can order themselves some fun bites for the party.