Bridal Shower Origins and Gifts
Bridal Shower: 20th Century Evolution
The custom of the modern bridal shower came into practice in America in the early twentieth century. A Harper’s Bazaar article in 1900 mentions an afternoon tea for a bride-to-be and that the entire collection of gifts amounted to “a shower.” Bridal showers might have also derived from a practice listed in a 1902 guide to... »
Bridal Shower Origins
Bridal showers and the gift-giving traditions they entail have become an American staple. Although today bridal showers are usually held prior to a wedding, their nineteenth century predecessors actually resembled a modern housewarming party and were often held after the marriage. In American colonial days, marriage did not necessarily mean leaving home. Since building a... »