A bridal shower also known as a wedding shower is a significant celebration in a woman's life and should be planned with much care and thought. Traditionally, it is thrown by the bride's closest friends and family, in order to shower the bride-to-be with items for her new home, they gather together to express their love, good wishes and support as she takes this momentous step in her life. All plans for the party are the responsibility of the matron of honor and usually, her mother will also be heavily involved.
When it comes to the guests, all of the women that are invited must also be invited to the wedding. So to avoid any resentments, do consult with the bride or with the mother of the bride if the shower is a surprise. The shower is normally given six months to one week before the wedding, however, since the bride will be under a lot of time constraints, I would suggest making it no later than two weeks before her big day.
These days, the wedding shower isn't limited to women attendees only, men can also be invited as well. So if you'd like to include her father, favorite uncles, grandfathers, brothers etc you can freely do so, but if you prefer to have a gals night only, that would be great too!
Now if you're looking to create a party that will be fun and unique, you should definitely consider using a theme for the shower. This can be carried out into the invitations, decorations, food and gifts for a great and unforgettable experience that the bride-to-be would truly enjoy!
Since planning this celebration can be time consuming, all of the bridesmaids in the bridal party can split all of the the duties amongst themselves, so one of them could be assigned to the invitations, another to the decorations and so on, while working towards the common goal of the selected theme. Like this no one feels overwhelmed and everyone feels that they had a part in creating this special event!
Whether, the it is a surprise or not, the main point of it is to have fun, share the love and make her bridal shower a day that she'll remember for all times!