How to write the perfect invites to a wedding shower

A wedding shower, is a gift giving party where a bride is given gifts before her wedding. Primarily followed in North America it is organized by the bridesmaids and the gifts are generally for the couples home. In earlier times when the father of the bride refused or could not pay dowry the brides friends were sent wedding shower invitations to gather gifts and from this the tradition the concept of a wedding shower grew. A wedding shower is also thrown to honor the start of a new household by the bride and to give gifts which support her in the same.
The maid of honor is generally required to host the shower and send out the wedding shower invitations. Though if the maid of honor is a part of the brides immediate family she generally does not host the wedding shower. A wedding shower is generally conducted 4 to 6 weeks prior to the wedding. For convenience of the outstation guests a bridal shower should be conducted close to the wedding. The number of wedding shower invitations sent and the relatives who should be invited is subjective and is decided by the couple or the host.
Firstly to start invitations you require a guest list which can be arranged from the bride, but if it is a surprise the same should be arranged from the mother or fiance. Another important factor is that only people invited to the wedding should be invited to the bridal shower as otherwise the bride might get into an awkward situation. Around 4 weeks before the shower the wedding shower invitations should be sent so they are not too far in advance or too late.
Any special instructions are preferred with the invite such as the idea of a themed party. General directions to the wedding shower and contact numbers are present in the wedding shower invitation for the convenience of the guests. Generally people known personally to the bride are invited to the wedding shower.
General tradition is to send one invite per person and not one invite for two people unless it is a couple shower where couples are invited. Wedding showers can be more than one as well in which case the same person should not be sent a wedding shower invitation twice. The wedding shower invitations are issued either by mail, telephone or in person.
Though these wedding shower invitations can be written by hand as well, it would be preferred if professional help is sought for arranging the wedding shower invitations. Professionals in this field are responsible for the whole process of inviting right from the designing the wedding shower invitation to the distribution.
It is imperative that a bride send "thank you" cards to all the guests who attended the bridal shower before the wedding. As the card is sent before the wedding stationary with the brides maiden name should be used as the stationary with the brides married name is used only after the wedding.