How to Save Money when Giving a Bridal Shower

So your best friend, sister, cousin, or co-worker is getting married soon, and you want to throw her a bridal shower. However, you have no idea how you are going to pay for it. Maybe most of the bridal showers you've been too were in restaurants or bars, or maybe even Las Vegas. You really want to do this but how in the world are you going to pay for it?

No need to fret, there are a number of ways that you can give your new bride a bridal shower and not break the bank. Here are some ideas for saving money when giving a bridal shower.

1. Have the bridal shower in someone's home. Caterers, restaurants and even bars can be expensive when it comes to giving someone a bridal shower. Save money by having the shower in your home or someone else's who is close to the bride. You will save money on reserving space or a building to hold the shower in.

2. Have a potluck instead of providing food for your guests. Sometimes a potluck is the only way to go when it comes to a bridal shower. Have each woman bring a dish and then everyone can get their fill to eat without spending a bundle on food.

3. If you don't want to provide food at all, or only want to have cake or some other dessert then have your bridal shower during a time of day that people have already eaten recently, such as two in the afternoon. Generally speaking people have already had lunch and will not be that hungry, so having dessert like cake or cookies and juice is perfect!

4. Make your own invitations. These days with all the great paper that is available from stationary stores, as well as all the beautiful font selections, there is no reason that you cannot make and print your own invitations from your home computer. There are even kits you can purchase both off and online!

5. Do your own decorations. This is not as difficult as it might seem. If you have a flower garden, you could go out into your garden and pick fresh flowers for center pieces for example. You can also use balloons which are inexpensive but still festive, and paper streamers as well. Candles also make great centerpieces and if you add a bit of greenery around their holders they can be just perfect.

6. Make your own bridal shower favors. These don't have to be anything fancy and can in fact be something as simple as Hershey's kisses wrapped in a bit of colored plastic and tied with a little bow. Or maybe you are a crafter? If you're like me and do beadwork, you could make a small pair of earrings for each lady who RSVP's you for the shower and then a few extra pairs in case someone shows up unexpectedly. You can learn to make a simple pair of quilled and beaded earrings from my article How to Make Your First Pair of Quilled Native American Styled Earrings. If you can't find quills on short notice, longer beads called bugle beads will work just as well!

7. Play CD's for music on your home sound system. You can even ask a younger family member to be in charge if you don't want to bother with changing the CD's a lot. I suggest playing something soft and soothing in the background for a bridal shower. Loud usually doesn't work because people want to chat.

If you employ most or all of these tips when you give your bride her shower, you will save a lot of money, and your bride will be very happy too!