Bridal shower and more wedding planning

Last Sunday, my Matron of Honor, Geri, hosted a wonderful bridal shower for me! It was in Pennsylvania, at the house that she and her family moved into a week and a half before the shower. She made a beautiful food spread, along with some lovely favors. Mike's mom made a gf cake for me, and I received many wonderful gifts! Mike and I have slowly been phasing out our old things and bringing in the new stuff, and its always exciting to get to use brand new things.

The wedding itself is just over two months away, and most everything is where it should be. We've got a few things to handle in the next week or so (tastings, honeymoon planning, etc), and I've got to schedule my dress fittings soon, which means I need to get shoes ASAP! We're really looking forward to the big day, and the week of relaxation that will follow.

To Party or Not To Party

I've been tossing this thought around in my head a while, and I finally put it up on Facebook last night to find out what some of my friends think. Is a bridal shower truly necessary?

Responses ran the gamut, from "YES, PRESENTS!!!!" to "Do whatever makes you and your sweetie happy," and from "No, but daily showers are," to "We/I didn't have one." (all responses paraphrased)

My real reasoning against bridal showers (and kind of against engagement parties, but that's a horse of a slightly different color) is actually that I don't want more presents. Maybe it is a symptom of being young and just on this side of financial comfort, but I don't want to put my friends and family in a place where they feel obligated to spend more and more money on me. Engagement party, bridal shower, bachelorette party, and then the wedding itself. Presents, travel, lodging, clothing, on and on. I don't want my celebration to turn into a burden for others.

On the engagement party thought, I've decided that an engagement party (or possibly two, to accommodate our MA and PA/NJ contingents) can be arranged such that gifts are not expected. It's apparently not appropriate to write on the invite "No gifts please," but I'm sure that through word of mouth or how we word invitations, we can get it across.

What are your thoughts on presents/parties/etc?