The wedding shower--or bridal shower--is one of the many important events preceding a wedding where a bride gathers with women in her family or women in her future husband's family as well as close friends to receive gifts. The following article explains the purpose of the wedding shower as well as who to invite, guest list etiquette and what to do after the shower.

The purpose of a wedding shower is to shower the bride-to-be with gifts to be used in the bride and groom's new home. It can also serve as a sign of support (from the bride's family) or a welcoming (from the groom's family).

The maid of honor usually organizes the shower, although it is also common for an aunt of either the bride or groom to throw a wedding shower as well. It is also common for a bride-to-be to receive more than one shower from several groups.

The general rule for who to invite to a shower is the mother of the bride, the mother of the groom, grandmothers (and great-grandmothers) of both, aunts, female cousins, bridal attendants, close female friends and close female business friends.

It is extremely poor etiquette to invite someone to a wedding shower but leave her off the guest list for the wedding. However, if someone lives too far away to attend the bridal shower, it is not out of the question to invite her to the shower as it lets that person know you are thinking of her.

The most important thing for a bride to do is to write thank you notes after receiving gifts from anyone. The bride can ask someone to help her make a list of everything she received and from whom, as well as getting the addresses of those who attended the shower and gave gifts, but it is the bride's responsibility to make sure she takes the time to thank the people who gave her gifts.