Though it likely isn’t part of any woman’s grand plan, sometimes our first marriage doesn’t work out and we end up going through a divorce. Once the dust clears and you’re able to start a new chapter in your life, most women are fortunate enough to find their true soul mate. In fact, statistics show that a second marriage is much more likely to succeed than a first marriage because both people already know exactly what they’re looking for and what they simply can’t tolerate in a spouse. With all of that said, it can be a bit challenging to determine what’s appropriate for your second wedding since you’ve already invited all your friends and family to a large wedding once before.

The good news is that most people will be sympathetic to your situation and want to help in any way that they can just as they did for your first wedding. This is important to keep in mind since many women forego planning a traditional style wedding due to embarrassment or a felling that they’ve already had their “day in the sun”, but this concept is simply not true. If I could impart just one piece of advice to you, make sure you take the planning of your second wedding seriously and give it at least as much attention as you did for your first one.

With all of that said, there are a few things that you will likely want to do different, and the bridal shower is no exception to that rule. Whether you just remember what you enjoyed and didn’t enjoy or you want to do something completely different, your bridal shower should be a unique and awesome experience for you and your girlfriends. If anything, you should make your second bridal shower even more fun and exciting than your first because you are celebrating a marriage and celebrating the start of the next chapter of your life. Here are some was to make your second bridal shower even better than your first one.

Weekend Getaway

If you are gearing up for your second bridal shower, chances are that you’re a bit older and have a stable career. This also means that your friends will have more stability, which means that you will have many more options than you did when you were young and broke. Consider renting a nice suite in the city or a cabin up north as a staging point for your bridal shower. If you and your friends are really stable with your finances, consider making it even more epic by going on a girl’s vacation to somewhere tropical. This can also double as you bachelor party if you want to combine events to save money.

More Activities

Another simple way to drastically improve your second bridal shower is to have more activities as part of the celebration. This can be something like adding more games to the party or doing something childish like running around the backyard with lit wedding sparklers just as long as it’s something that everyone will enjoy. There’s nothing worse than having down time during any party, so you need to avoid this at all cost if your second bridal shower is to be a success.

Higher Quality Food and Drink

When you’re 22 years old and getting ready for your bridal shower, some $10 boxes of wine might sound pretty appealing. However, as we age our palette becomes much more refined and those boxes of wine are transformed into $25 bottles of pinot noir. If you are set on having the best second bridal shower imaginable, you need to ramp up your selections of wine and food to match the occasion. You should also consider buying artisan cheese and breads rather than grocery store brands to really make the moment as fantastic as possible.

Regardless of how you put together your second bridal shower, it’s very important that you know it is both appropriate and encouraged by the vast majority of women. As a woman who has already celebrated with her second bridal shower, I can tell you from experience that with the proper planning you can easily make it more fun and memorable than your first one. Good luck, and I hope you have a great bridal shower!