Bridal shower

[citation needed] In such situations, friends of the woman would gather together and bring gifts that would compensate for the dowry and allow her to marry the man of her choice.

[1] A related custom practised in medieval England was the Bride Ale: in Langland's Piers Plowman (§ B.II.45) there is a reference to a bruydale.

This was a feast held before the wedding day, at which the bride made beer and sold it to the guests at a high price.

[2] The earliest use of this sense of the word in print may be in the Grand Rapids Michigan Evening Press 22 June 4, 1904: "The ‘shower parties’ that through mistaken hospitality the wedded couple are forced to attend ..." and may derive from the custom in Victorian times for the presents to be put inside a parasol, which when opened would "shower" the bride-to-be with gifts.

[3] Many different customs have developed in different regions and social groups, but the basic format has been relatively unchanged for generations, and emphasizes traditional gender roles.

[4] Historian Elizabeth Pleck echoes this dynamic in pointing out that traditional shower gifts were "for the bedroom or the kitchen.

These can be small gifts like chocolate coins that have been personalized with the name of the bride and the date of the event or a simple thank-you message.

In Australia and New Zealand, a custom related to the North American bridal shower, known as a Kitchen Tea, was traditionally held before the wedding.

Recently, the influence of American culture has seen a rise in the prevalence of American-style bridal showers as opposed to the traditional Kitchen Tea.