Ideas for Bridal Shower Luncheon Menus

Whether you’re hosting a bridal shower at a restaurant, outdoor café, at the park, or at home, it’s easy to make the luncheon menu memorable. Here are a few ideas to keep your favorite bride-to-be’s shower fun even right down to the details of the meal.

The ABC Wedding Shower Lunch

The name of this lunch can be appropriate, as you can make the items as simple as “ABC” -- or not. It’s actually up to the guests! Assign each guest a letter of the alphabet and let them know they’re to bring a corresponding dish. For instance, “A” could be a steamed asparagus side dish, an artichoke dip, or even anchovies for a pizza!

Let everyone know they’ll need to coordinate with one another so you don’t wind up with too many entrees, too many desserts, etc. Not only does this add a touch of fun, it also encourages your guests to get to know one another (if they already don’t) way before the event, so that when the day of the shower arrives, they’re sure to be well on their way to being friends.

The Themed Lunch Menu

Creating a luncheon menu around the theme of a shower is one of the easiest and best ways to offer food for the event. If the couple plans on going to Italy, for example, on their honeymoon, you can not only decorate the room with posters of an Italian slant and play background music that evokes the feel of that country, but you can also serve Italian food.

Bruschetta, antipasto, and good Italian red wine make a memorable meal that not only tastes “squisito” (delicious!), but also is easy to prepare. For the bruschetta, brush the toasted bread with extra-virgin olive oil, then spoon finely chopped Italian tomatoes over the slices along with fresh chopped basil, freshly ground pepper, and sea salt. For the antipasto, offer thin slices of prosciutto, Genoa salami, and finocchiona with a variety of cheeses, olives, and baby vegetables (carrots, corn, etc.).

The Picnic Bridal Shower Lunch

Perhaps the most casual – and easiest! – ways to hold a shower is at the park. This venue immediately tells everyone to come as they are and ready to relax, enjoy the sunshine, and have a good time. Lunch in the park means the ease of serving sandwiches, potato salad, chips, and you can even serve cake without the worry of anyone spilling something on your high-priced Oriental rugs! Go easy on the alcoholic beverages; guests do have to drive back home, but have plenty of cola, iced tea, and bottled water on hand for everyone to quench their thirst if the day is warm.

These are just a few of the ideas for bridal shower lunch menus that you can use or incorporate into one of your own. Nowadays, the old, stiff rules of etiquette have (thankfully!) gone to the wayside, for the most part, so the name of the game is to treat the bride-to-be (and maybe even her groom!), the guests, and yourself with a good and relaxing time. So…enjoy!