By Mi-Ling Stone Poole – Planning a wedding shower can be costly and nerve-racking for the maid of honor.  It’s not uncommon for bridal showers to cost hundreds even thousands of dollars.  But in this economy you don’t have to spend a fortune to create a wonderful experience for the bride and her guests, if you use a little imagination.

Here are a few things you need to consider before you begin:

Your budget – include the cost of the invitations, food, drinks, flowers, a cake or cupcakes and decorations.  You can save money buy making the food and creating your own cost-saving decorations.

The event location – If you hold the shower at a home you will save money on rental fees. Speak with the homeowner prior to the day of  the event and ask if you can rearrange or move anything to accomodate the guests.  When planning a shower be flexible on shower dates since oftentimes, the brides’s family will travel to attend.

It’s a bit more challenging when you’re planning a wedding or a shower held in a home, especially when you need to accommodate a large number of guests while staying true to the colors and personality of the bride.  Keep in mind that nobody wants their home turned upside down when hosting an event. This shower was held at the bride’s sister’s home.

Another issue is arranging the furniture to accommodate, in this case over 50 friends of the bride, Lilah Rastakhiz, which will allow them to move through the space and enjoy the festivities without having any major traffic issues. You might need to remove a couch and rent folding  chairs and tables.

One of my favorite things to do when designing a space for someone is to incorporate their photographs, special treasures and family history into the event. Anyone can go to a party store and order table clothes and candelabras but taking the time to personalize an event will leave a lasting impression on the honoree.

Here are a few tips I used for Lilah’s wedding shower.

Create a show stopper that will become a photo opportunity. I chose a wire dress form and used my old wedding slip and beautiful shimmering fabric along with crystal pins, ribbon and a white and crystal flower to enhance the waist line.  It took only minutes to put together. I used a flower purse to mimic a hat.

Purple and green tulle and ribbons draped the staircase. I used flower petals, a wrought iron pedestal and a number of decorative boxes placed around the house, and filled with flowers and party favors to incorporate all of the colors without competing with the homeowner’s décor.

The food, invitations and drinks were all a part of the experience and were a group effort with the other moms of the bridesmaids.

To create a special surprise for the bride I secretly pulled a few of her favorite photos off her Facebook page and embellished them with phrases and then framed and put them on display for everyone to see..

Share your tips on planning a wedding shower!