Are bridal shower and kitchen tea the same?

Kitchen Tea Ideas

Kitchen tea and bachelorette party preparations have historically been fraught with ambiguity. When comparing the two, how well do you understand the distinction? The bride may request that they be held on separate days or she may opt to have a joint celebration. Consider the ways in which these gatherings vary before settling on a course of action; you may find that you need both!

Traditional afternoon tea for the bride, where guests bring gifts related to the bride's kitchen. By contrast, guests at a Bridal Shower "shower" the bride with presents. In either case, only the bride's closest female friends and relatives are invited to help her celebrate her upcoming nuptials and prepare her new home.

Guests from both sides of the family can mingle and get to know each other in a more relaxed setting at the wedding shower. Sometimes held between two and three weeks before the wedding, the bridal shower is also known as the kitchen tea.

The events and celebrations that surround a wedding are almost as exciting as the wedding itself. Bridal showers are a common pre-wedding event. Is it the kitchen tea, perhaps? They share many characteristics yet have their own unique characteristics as well.

Guests at the bride-to-kitchen's-tea be's traditionally give her gifts that can be used in the newlyweds' kitchen. The home of the bride or the bride's mother is the traditional wedding location. Only the women in the bride's life, including close friends and family, are invited to the kitchen tea. It's common practise to play games and otherwise relax.

Vines of the Yarra Valley has proven itself to be an iconic wedding venue and function centre in Melbourne. Book today so you don’t miss out.

Table of Contents

Bridal Shower & Kitchen Tea

Toss out the labels, they mean nothing. However, in contrast to many hens' nights and bachelorette parties, a bridal shower is typically a more refined event attended by only the bride and groom's closest friends and family members.

Instead of the usual high tea or luncheon, which most women opt for, you could throw a low-key backyard BBQ or potluck if you prefer. Guests are usually in town the week before the wedding, so that's when most couples opt to have this event, but some choose to have it a few months ahead of time when the week is less hectic.

Kitchen tea and bridal shower invitations are typically sent out at the same time as wedding invitations. Pre-wedding festivities are just as much fun as the wedding itself. The bridal shower is a common prenuptial party. The kitchen tea, perhaps? There are some distinctions, but they are largely equivalent.

Bridesmaids are customarily responsible for planning a Kitchen Tea for the bride. Guests attend a bridal shower, which is typically held around a meal, and give the bride gifts such as kitchenware. It's a party for all the friends and lovers out there!

As she begins a new chapter in her life, the bride deserves to be spoiled on her wedding day.

At the kitchen tea, held in honour of the bride-to-be, guests traditionally give her gifts that she can use in her future home. Traditional venues include the bride's or the bride's mother's home.

Kitchen teas are traditionally only attended by the women in the bride's life, so only female friends and family members are invited. It's usually a laid-back atmosphere, with opportunities to play enjoyable games.

It is customary to throw a party in honour of the bride-to-single be's status, known as the bridal shower. Her guests "shower" her with presents for her and her future husband's home or her own use. As a service to their guests, future brides can set up a gift registry. The bridal shower is a great time for friends and relatives from both families to get together.

As more and more couples delay marriage in favour of sharing a home together, the term bridal shower is gradually replacing the more traditional kitchen tea. More important than buying a new sandwich press is raising a glass of champagne with loved ones.

Nowaday's visitors are allowed to bring anything, not just kitchen utensils. Therefore, the terms kitchen tea and bridal shower are often used interchangeably.

Kitchen Tea Ideas

Who hosts and covers the cost of a kitchen tea or bridal shower?

Both the kitchen tea and bridal shower are hosted by the maid of honour and her attendants. Alternate locations include the bride's or mother's home, a restaurant, or hotel, with or without catering. The bride's party or the bride's mother usually foots the bill for these parties, but it's become increasingly customary to ask attendees to bring a dish to share and make a monetary donation as well.

Stuck for Hens ideas? We’ve got you covered. Check out our extensive list of Hens Party Ideas for your bestie.

Bridal Shower Games

In order to get to know your guests and have a good time at the bridal shower, games are a must. There's no way around the fact that you'll feel guilty about this.

The bridesmaids throw the bridal shower (also known as kitchen tea) to celebrate the bride's impending marriage. According to custom, a bride will receive numerous useful household items from her friends, family, and relatives on her wedding day, as she will soon be moving into her very first apartment.

It's a fun way for the ladies to get together and catch up, and you might even pick up some marriage advice from the married ladies who have already had their kitchen tea.

The Scavenger Hunt Raid

A treasure hunt in which participants carry their own bags. Guests compete to be the first to remove an item from their bag that the shower host has called out.

Make sure you and your guests have the essentials before the Bridal Shower by compiling a list of what to bring. Build up to a more arbitrary list of items from here.

How Well Do You Know Each Other Game

You can test the bride and her guests' knowledge by posing the same questions to them at the shower.

Put the bride and/or groom through a similar game show format by asking them questions about their fiancee. One variant is "wedding jeopardy," in which guests answer questions about the happy couple or about weddings in general.

You can play Wedding Jeopardy at a bridal shower by conducting an interview with the bride-to-be or the couple before the event.

The Truths and A Lie

In this tradition, each guest at the bride's wedding is asked to introduce themselves and share three anecdotes about their time spent with the bride. There should be at least two true stories and one false one.

Guests who successfully identify the fib are rewarded with a point. Guests at a bridal shower practise their poker faces as they try to decipher who is telling the truth and who is lying.

Movie Charades-Wedding Edition

Traditional charades, with the added restriction of sticking to the concept of wedding films.

Write the names of various wedding films on the notecards. Make sure to mix things up by offering everything from timeless classics to feel-good rom-coms to indie darlings.

Group the visitors into groups. Actors from each team pick a card at random and enact that scene from the film while their teammates try to guess which scene it is from. No talking, though!

Wedding Pictionary

The classic game of Pictionary, with a new, romantic twist.

Gather the paper strips in a bowl and arrange them according to the various wedding-related themes and phrases. Any combination of a whiteboard, markers, and easel; notepads and writing implements.

Group the guests of the bridal shower into twos or threes. Everyone on the team takes turns randomly selecting a topic from which to create a piece of art. Each team has 60 seconds to guess before the next round begins.

Do a Mad Libs Vow

The object of this game is similar to that of other "mad libs" variations in that players work together to come up with a list of humorous wedding vows.

Inform the guests that they will be participating in the creation of the couple's vows. Provide each participant with a clipboard bearing one of the following headings: "I [put your name] take you [put the name] and promise that," and the other bearing the inverse.

The idea is that each guest makes a promise on a separate sheet of paper, folds it in half, and passes it on to the next person. Repeat the vows aloud once both clipboards have been passed around.

Celebrity Who Am I?

A good old-fashioned game of guessing!

Place an unreadable card atop each guest's head using tape or a clip. The card is hidden from view, but the visitor is still sporting it. They may use yes/no questions, such as "Are you a woman?" to establish this.

If they get a "Yes" in response, they are free to ask another question. If you answered "no," the next person gets a chance to guess your identity. Create a one-of-a-kind wedding by combining the names of the bridesmaids with those of other well-known people.

Conclusion

They have many things in common and each has their own special qualities. The bride can choose to have them on different days or combine them into one big party for her friends and family to attend.

It's only the bride and groom's closest friends and family who are invited to the more formal bridal shower. Traditional Kitchen Teas for the bride are organised by her bridesmaids. Guests traditionally present the bride with household items that she can use either in her own home or the home she will share with her future husband.

Bridal shower has replaced the more traditional kitchen tea as couples put off getting married. These days, guests can bring more than just cooking equipment. Games and treasure hunts at a bridal shower are a fun way to get to know your guests.

At a bridal shower, you can play Wedding Jeopardy by first interviewing the bride-to-be or the couple. For a twist, try "wedding jeopardy," in which guests answer questions about the newlyweds or the ceremony itself.

The guests are asked to tell stories about the bride for the Truths and a Lie game. Notepads and writing instruments; a whiteboard, markers, and an easel. Split the bridal shower guests up into small groups of three or two. Put a unique spin on your wedding party by having them all go by a combination of their names and those of celebrities.

Content Summary

  • Kitchen tea and bachelorette party preparations have historically been fraught with ambiguity.
  • Sometimes held between two and three weeks before the wedding, the bridal shower is also known as the kitchen tea.
  • Bridal showers are a common pre-wedding event.
  • Only the women in the bride's life, including close friends and family, are invited to the kitchen tea.
  • However, in contrast to many hens' nights and bachelorette parties, a bridal shower is typically a more refined event attended by only the bride and groom's closest friends and family members.
  • Kitchen tea and bridal shower invitations are typically sent out at the same time as wedding invitations.
  • The bridal shower is a common prenuptial party.
  • Bridesmaids are customarily responsible for planning a Kitchen Tea for the bride.
  • It is customary to throw a party in honour of the bride-to-single be's status, known as the bridal shower.
  • Both the kitchen tea and bridal shower are hosted by the maid of honour and her attendants.
  • In order to get to know your guests and have a good time at the bridal shower, games are a must.
  • A treasure hunt in which participants carry their own bags.
  • Put the bride and/or groom through a similar game show format by asking them questions about their fiancee.
  • Create a one-of-a-kind wedding by combining the names of the bridesmaids with those of other well-known people.

FAQs About Kitchen Tea

Traditionally, a Bridal Kitchen Tea is just that – an afternoon tea in which guests bring a gift for the Bride suitable for the kitchen only. A Bridal Shower on the other hand sees guests bring a gift of any description to “shower” the bride with.

A kitchen tea is similar to a bridal shower. It is essentially a pre-wedding celebration in which women who are friends with or related to the bride will gather together, traditionally at the bride or her mother's home, and celebrate her upcoming wedding with games, food and drink.

It is typically hosted at the bride's or her mother's house. Female friends and family are invited – kitchen teas are typically attended only by the women in the bride's life. It is usually quite a relaxed environment and can involve fun games.

Traditionally a kitchen tea is held in a home, however, modern brides are opting to host a kitchen tea in whatever location suits them. An outdoors kitchen tea idea could be a picnic at a local park – or simply in the bride's backyard. Ask guests to each bring a dish, or a bottle of wine.

If you have a big family and group of friends, you might decide to split the two occasions but still have them on the same day. The Maid of Honour can organise that the older women in the family, as well as the mothers and grandmothers of the bride and groom attend the Kitchen Tea.

About The Author

Scroll to Top