Bridal Shower Ideas on a Budget: What It Costs and Where the Money Goes

The cheapest bridal shower that still feels like a real party is held at someone's home, between meals, with food the guests help bring and decorations, games and favors you make yourselves. Done that way, the homemade extras for 20 guests come to about $65, and the rest of the budget is whatever food you decide to put on the table.

That is a long way from what showers can cost. Ally's survey of Gen Z and millennial couples puts a bridal or wedding shower at $2,300 (Ally). You do not need anything close to that to give the bride a lovely afternoon.

What a bridal shower really costs

The numbers vary a lot depending on the guest list and whether you rent a room or cater the food.

What	Typical cost	Source
Bridal or wedding shower, survey figure	$2,300	Ally
Small-town shower, up to about 20 guests	about $500	Zola
Large catered shower	$5,000 or more	Zola
Gift from a guest	$50 to $75	Zola
Gift from a close friend	$100 or more	Zola

Zola describes the typical small-town shower as a party of 20 guests at most, on a budget of about $500 (Zola). That is a good target for most hosts. It is also worth remembering the guests' side: each one is likely bringing a gift of $50 to $75, and close friends often spend $100 or more. A shower that asks for a pricey ticket on top of that is a lot to ask.

Where to save first

Host it at home, between meals

The venue and a full meal are the two lines that turn a $500 shower into a $2,000 one. A living room, a backyard or a relative's patio is free. Zola notes that many showers happen in the late morning or afternoon (Zola), which suits a budget nicely: a brunch or an afternoon tea means coffee, pastries, fruit and a few bites instead of a sit-down lunch.

Turn the food into a potluck

Ask three or four close friends or aunts to bring one dish each. Most people are glad to help, and it takes the heaviest cost off the host. Keep the drinks simple too: one pitcher of something sparkling and a big jug of iced tea or lemonade go further than a stocked bar.

Make the dessert table yourselves

Bake one thing well instead of buying a cake. Homemade cake pops come to about 28 cents each, against about 83 cents for store-bought from Costco, and they need no plates or cutting. To show them off, a glass cupcake stand glued together from Dollar Tree plates is about $7, compared with about $24 for a plain glass one from Walmart. To be honest, a plastic or cardboard stand costs about the same as the DIY one, so make it only if you want real glass. For more sweet ideas, see our dessert table ideas on a budget.

Decorations that do the most for the least

Pick one spot and make it the focal point, usually behind the gift table or the dessert table. A balloon garland is the most effect for the money: one kit, a hand pump and an evening with a friend come to about $29, while a local balloon decorator charges about $144 for a similar 8 ft garland. It is also where everyone will take their photos.

For the tables, grocery store flowers in small glass bud vases look fresh and low enough to talk over. Here the honest answer is that you will not save much: an arrangement costs about $11.29 to make, against about $13.33 for a boxed ready-made one from Costco. The reason to do it is that you pick the colors, and the vases are yours afterwards. If you only need two or three arrangements for a living room, that is about $23 to $34 in flowers.

Skip the things that cost money and add little: printed banners with the date, custom napkins, themed plates. A plain white tablecloth and real glasses look better in photos anyway.

Shower games you can print at home

Games are where showers get expensive for no reason, because party stores sell boxed sets. You can make your own for pennies. Bingo cards cost about 3 cents each to print on cardstock, and one $9.46 pack covers far more cards than a shower needs. For a shower, fill the squares with things guests might hear or see as the bride opens gifts: "a kitchen gadget," "she tears up," "her mom says I told you so." Everyone plays at once, and nobody has to stand up and perform.

Other free classics need only paper and a pen: a "how well do you know the bride" quiz, written advice cards she can keep, or guessing how many times she says "thank you." Prizes do not need to be bought; give the winner the centerpiece flowers.

A small favor, if you want one

Favors are optional at a shower, and nobody will miss them. If you want something, seed packet favors are about 12 cents each to make, compared with about $2.39 for personalized packets from a seed company. Twenty of them cost about $2.40 in total. Our guide to DIY wedding favors has more ideas guests actually take home.

Who pays for the bridal shower

Showers are usually organized by the people closest to the couple, most often the maid of honor (Zola). Bridesmaids, the bride's mother or an aunt often host together. The custom is that the bride does not pay for her own shower.

When several people host, agree on three things before anyone spends money:

• A total budget and who covers what. One person might offer her house, another the flowers, another the food. That is fair even if the amounts are not exactly equal.
• One person tracks receipts. At the end, add it all up and settle the difference.
• The bride's shower and her bachelorette are separate costs. If the same friends are paying for both, keep the shower small. Our bachelorette party on a budget article has a fair way to split that one.

When cheap is not worth it

Some savings cost more than they save. Do not skip paper invitations for older relatives who do not use email; a few printed cards are worth it. Do not squeeze 30 people into a small apartment just to avoid a rental; an uncomfortable party is not a saving. And do not plan five DIY projects for one host. Pick two that the hosts enjoy, buy the rest, and let the potluck do the heavy lifting.

A sample shower for 20 guests

Here is how the ideas above add up, using the prices quoted:

• Balloon garland kit and pump: about $29
• Two grocery store flower arrangements: about $23
• One pack of cardstock for bingo cards: $9.46
• Twenty seed packet favors: about $2.40
• Food: a potluck, plus coffee, pastries and one sparkling drink from the hosts
• Venue: a living room or backyard, free

The homemade extras come to about $64, before any baking you choose to do. Add the hosts' share of food and drinks, and a shower for 20 lands well under Zola's $500 benchmark, with the bride surrounded by the same people and the same gifts as a $2,300 party.