Everything You Need to Know About Wedding Shower Invitations

Last updated: April 2026

Planning for your wedding shower is an exciting time because it means your wedding is inching closer and closer. Whether you’re planning a shower for someone else or running a celebration for yourself, invitations are one of the first steps in the wedding stationery planning to consider. 

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After you’ve identified a date and location, it’s time to select your shower invitations and get them mailed out. But where do you start? What is the proper protocol for sending out wedding shower invitations? How do you select the best wedding stationery for your party theme? We’ve got the answers.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know (and likely are wondering) about wedding shower invitations to make sending out those invites stress-free. From timing to small details, this guide is designed to help you navigate creating shower invitations with ease.

The Must-Have Details

Wedding shower invitations contain everything that you would normally put in a standard party invitation. This includes the name of the people getting married, the event’s date, time, location, how to RSVP, and registry information. Regardless of who is hosting the shower, make someone responsible for managing RSVPs. The invitation could include RSVP return cards, but phone call or text RSVPs are far more common for wedding showers. If you’re coordinating your shower invites with a broader wedding stationery suite, you’ll want to lock in your overall design direction first.

Remember to create an RSVP deadline, which is usually two to three weeks before the event date. However, if your venue requires a final headcount by a specific date, consider this when choosing your RSVP date.

Most showers include a gift-unwrapping portion. However, couples have started requesting that guests show up with unwrapped gifts. If you prefer unwrapped gifts, note it on the bottom of the shower invitation or in a separate insert card. Requesting unwrapped gifts at a shower can allow more time for other activities or games and help save paper.

A Quick Note on Wording: Keep it warm and specific. Skip “Mr. and Mrs.” or “Mrs. and Mrs.” framing unless it genuinely reflects the couple: “join us to shower [first names]” works for everyone. For co-ed or couples showers, name both partners on the invite. And if there’s a dress code, theme, or “please bring unwrapped gifts” request, put it somewhere obvious — guests will thank you.

Who Can Host?

While showers were once traditionally held by a parent or member of the wedding party, such as the maid or person of honor, modern trends show that more engaged couples are planning their wedding showers. Any friend or family member can host the shower, or the parents of the couple getting married can co-host the event. In most cases, the hosts are responsible for paying for the shower. And yes, couples hosting their own shower is completely normal now. So is having co-hosts across generations, or friend groups pooling resources. The only real rule is that whoever’s hosting handles the logistics and the bill.

Couples Showers Are Having a Moment

Traditionally called “bridal showers,” the pre-wedding celebration has (thankfully) evolved. Co-ed showers, also called couples showers or Jack-and-Jill showers (or as we like to also call them, Jack-and-Jack/Jill-and-Jill), invite everyone to celebrate together, regardless of gender. For same-sex and LGBTQ+ couples, a joint shower is often the default rather than the exception, centering both partners equally. And plenty of straight couples are opting for co-ed too, especially when the guest list skews toward shared friends.

If you’re planning a couples shower, the invitation should make that clear. Try wording like “Join us to shower [Name] and [Name]” or “A couples shower for the soonlyweds.” Design-wise, skip the traditionally “bridal” florals if they don’t feel right — bold type, photo-forward layouts, or theme-driven designs (think BBQ, brunch, or taco party) set the tone instantly.

Picking the Date

Most wedding showers are held within one to three months before the wedding date. In most cases, you won’t want the shower to be too close to the date of the wedding, as it can interfere with your planning and wedding to-do checklist. 

Although most showers are within a few months of the wedding, there’s no reason it cannot be farther in advance of the wedding date. If you’re planning on having an outdoor party or a specific theme, it may be worthwhile to have your shower based on the best weather conditions.

Multiple Showers? Totally fine.

If you have family and friends in different areas, finding a centralized location for your shower could be tough. Sometimes, people have multiple showers for different sides of the family or friend groups. Just make sure they are spread apart so you’ve got enough time to plan and consider registry items for each.

When to Send

Invites should be mailed around six to eight weeks before the date of the event. Sending invites at least a month before the event allows people who want to attend ensure they don’t have overlapping plans for your date. 

If they are held in popular destination locations or with many guests from out-of-state, you may want to send wedding shower invites even sooner in advance. While sending the invites as far as possible in advance may seem worthwhile, sending shower invitations too soon could mean that guests forget to RSVP or are unsure whether their schedules conflict with the date.

Paper, Digital, or Skip It?

While you should send wedding shower invitations when entertaining a large group, a phone could suffice for small gatherings of under ten people. Paper invites were traditionally used in the past for wedding shower invites, but digital invites are becoming more popular with platforms such as Paperless Post, Evite and Greenvelope.

You can also manually email digital copies of a shower invite to cut costs and make sure they get delivered quicker. If you’re short on time or running behind on getting shower invites out, opting for a digital version could be easier. Digital invitation downloads are also available from Etsy if you’re looking to save money on shower invites.

Of course, digital versions do require that you have a valid email address or phone number for everyone on the invite list.

Building the Guest List

Modern showers come in all sizes, ranging from huge parties to intimate gatherings. Traditionally, invite lists are smaller than the wedding and include only the closest friends, family members from both sides of the family, or coworkers. Anyone who is invited to the shower must also be invited to the wedding, but not everyone who is invited to the wedding has to be invited to the shower.

The size of the shower depends on personal preference and budget restrictions. In the case of destination weddings, showers are usually bigger parties to accommodate those who will not be traveling to the wedding. 

📖 New: Check out our complete Wedding Stationery Guide for the full rundown.

Our Favorite Designs

Selecting a wedding shower invitation style is one of the first ways you can put your touch on the party and bring the wedding shower vision to life. Check out some of our favorite picks below.

FAQ: Wedding Shower Invitations