Work lunch turned bridal shower - ideas?

[lucyandroger]

Hi ladies,

One of my colleagues is getting married next month and the women in my department are taking her out for a surprise lunch/ shower. There will be 5 of us total.

I''m looking for ideas to make it more relaxed and showery as opposed to it feeling like just another work lunch. Any suggestions?

Also, any ideas for a cute present from all of us? We don''t know if she''s registered anywhere and it would be kind of obvious if we asked.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

what about a nice bottle of wine? or if you know some of her interests get her something related to that? To make it more showery maybe you could have some wedding balloons on the table

 

[Lanie]

Balloons would be a good idea. Have a couple of you go to the restaurant early and see if you can decorate the table and maybe put a sash on her chair that says "Bride to be" or something like that. You can probably search and secretly find where she''s registered. Check the main ones and she''s sure to be on there (BBB, Williams Sonoma, Target, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel...depends on the region where you live, but you should be able to find something). If you can''t find anything, I would get her a nice spa gift certificate to get a mani/pedi or a facial. How fun!!!

 

[fieryred33143]

I think making sure that you don''t talk about work is enough

.

As for the gift, there are places that most brides register: bed, bath, and beyond; Macy''s; and Target. I would search for her in one of those stores to see if something pops up. I would also search theknot.com for her first/last name. Most brides have a wedding website set up and there may be registry info there.

If not, then an AMEX gift card. That way they can use it on registry stuff or on their honeymoon. If you do know where they are going for their honeymoon, just make sure AMEX is taken (if not then go with VISA).

 

[tlh]

The work shower''s I''ve been to have been in a conference room. They decorate it (mine they got pictures of me and my DH as kiddos from my DH - he works for the same company and used that in the decorations... it was soo cute!)- and bring in goodies - it makes it feel like more than just a work luncheon - and they are always fun... and it made it an easy way to hide the gfits... and they just purcahsed things off of our registry.

 

[honey22]

I would have the restaurant decorate the table a bit. If you could drop off some balloon and small table decorations etc, I am sure they would be happy to put them on the table for you.

 

[katamari]

Any chance for an after work dinner rather than a lunch? That might feel more shower-y since you already left work for the day.

Honestly, though, all the advice so far has been great. But, I definitely ditto Fiery''s no-work-talk rule.

 

[honey22]

Date: 3/24/2009 6:07:23 PM
Author: katamari
Any chance for an after work dinner rather than a lunch? That might feel more shower-y since you already left work for the day.

Honestly, though, all the advice so far has been great. But, I definitely ditto Fiery''s no-work-talk rule.

Great point!

 

[lucyandroger]

Thanks for the advice ladies! I''m going to talk about it with my other colleagues tomorrow.

I''m just worried that if we secretly check her registry she''s going to be kind of creeped out. Like we were snooping or something? Am I being weird?

 

[lucyandroger]

Date: 3/24/2009 6:46:33 PM
Author: honey22

Date: 3/24/2009 6:07:23 PM
Author: katamari
Any chance for an after work dinner rather than a lunch? That might feel more shower-y since you already left work for the day.

Honestly, though, all the advice so far has been great. But, I definitely ditto Fiery''s no-work-talk rule.

Great point!

Thanks, ladies. We''re planning a trip out for drinks after work and including the male members of our department but just wanted a luncheon for the ladies. I agree we''ll have to follow the no-work talk rule. That shouldn''t be too hard!

 

[ice-queen]

Date: 3/24/2009 7:06:38 PM
Author: lucyandroger
Thanks for the advice ladies! I''m going to talk about it with my other colleagues tomorrow.

I''m just worried that if we secretly check her registry she''s going to be kind of creeped out. Like we were snooping or something? Am I being weird?

I don''t think she would be creeped out at all!!! It''s perfectly normal to seek out someone''s registry when buying them a gift- that''s what a registry is for

. Plus, she would probably be really happy to be getting gifts that she actually really wants and/or needs.

If she is registered, you can likely find it in the registry search at weddingchannel.com