Bridal Shower Decorations: What to Decorate First, and What to Buy, Make or Print

Decorate a bridal shower in the order guests see it: the entrance first, then the gift table, then one photo backdrop, then the tables, and add extras only if money and hands are left. That order puts your budget where people look and take photos. For each spot, buy what is hard to make (balloons, flowers, tableware), make what is cheap in bulk (centerpieces, fruit bowls, ribbon), and print what is mostly words (banner, signs, labels).

Decorate in this order

If you stop after the first three rows, the room still reads as a shower in photos. Rows four to six are where costs creep up because every guest table needs its own set.

The Knot's decorations checklist runs from a welcome sign and balloons through tablecloths, centerpieces, place cards, menus and favor bags. Treat it as a shopping list once you know which spots you are decorating, not as a list you must finish.

The entrance

Guests decide what kind of party this is in the doorway. One welcome sign on an easel with the bride's name, the word shower and the date does that job. Add a cluster of balloons or a flower wreath if the door is easy to miss from the street.

The Knot also shows an oversized bow hung over a doorway for a "tying the knot" theme; a fabric bow or a swag of greenery does the same for less.

The gift table

The gift table is where the bride sits during gift opening, so make it your main photo spot. Put a banner on the wall above it, a cloth on the table, a box or basket for cards, and a small sign that says Gifts. Keep a chair, a pen and the gift log at one end for whoever writes down who gave what.

A letter-per-pennant banner spelling BRIDE TO BE or her name is a low-cost way to fill the wall above the table. You can print one at home on cardstock. The Bride to Be Banner with Any Name has ready-made BRIDE TO BE pennants, a full set of 44 pennants for other words, and personalise.html, an offline page that prints only the pennants your words need, in order and numbered. Each pennant is 4.9 × 7.4 in, 2 per sheet. It needs a printer, white cardstock or heavy paper, a trimmer or scissors, a 1/4 in (6 mm) hole punch and string or ribbon. Printing, cutting, punching and hanging were not tested on paper, so print one sheet first.

The photo backdrop

Pick one wall that has decent light and room for four or five people to stand. A backdrop can be as simple as a banner and a balloon garland, a curtain rod hung with greenery, or a sheet of fabric with paper flowers. If the gift table is against a good wall, let it double as the backdrop and save the money.

Balloon arches are worth hiring out if you want a large one; small balloon garland kits are a DIY afternoon job.

The tables and centerpieces

Centerpieces should be low enough to talk across. Ideas that cost little and look intentional:

• Mixed jars of supermarket flowers. Strip the leaves, cut stems short and group three jars of different heights per table.
• A bowl of lemons, peaches or seasonal fruit. WeddingWire suggests a planter filled with lemons, limes and oranges as a citrus centerpiece.
• Potted herbs in small terracotta pots that guests take home as favors.
• A cake stand of macarons or mini pastries in the middle of each table, which is also dessert.
• Candles. Battery candles are safer in rented rooms and restaurants.
• Teacups, old books and a single stem for a garden-tea look.

Add a tablecloth in one color for the whole room, cloth or paper napkins, and place cards only if the meal is seated.

Where to get cheap decorations

• Dollar and craft stores for vases, ribbon, tablecloths and candles. WeddingWire points to local craft stores, where kraft paper and jute ribbon go a long way for a rustic shower.
• Amazon kits. In The Knot's roundup, a pink and gold balloon kit is listed at $10 and a burlap banner set at $13, and the same page lists organza chair sashes at less than one dollar each. Prices were read on the day we checked and change often.
• Your printer for banners, signs, place cards and food labels.
• Family cupboards for cake stands, platters, vases and drinks dispensers.
• The garden or the market for greenery and flowers bought the day before.

Decorating a shower at a restaurant

Call the restaurant before you buy anything. Ask whether you can use tape on walls, confetti, real candles or balloons, how early you can come in, and whether they provide tablecloths. Then bring only what sets up in a few minutes: low flowers, battery candles, place cards, a small sign for the gift table and a banner if there is a wall you are allowed to use. Pack everything in one box with tape and scissors, and plan to take it all home.

Carrying a theme through the room

A theme only needs three touches: one at the entrance, one at the gift table and one on the guest tables. Five themes, done that way:

• Garden party. Entrance: a flower wreath. Gift table: greenery garland and a blush banner. Tables: jar flowers and teacups. WeddingWire's garden ideas use a blush palette with greenery and gold accents.
• Fresh off the market. A farmers'-market look: Kennedy Blue suggests market colors and patterns and fresh produce with herbs on the grazing table, and The Knot shows a DIY bouquet station for the same theme. Gift table: a crate of flowers and a striped cloth. Tables: fruit bowls and small paper produce bags as favors.
• Love is brewing (coffee). Entrance: a chalkboard-style welcome sign. Gift table: burlap and coffee sacks. Tables: mugs holding flowers, a coffee and cocoa bar as the drinks station, coffee beans in a jar.
• Rustic. Kraft paper, burlap runners, mason jars and wood slices. WeddingWire describes rustic decor as outdoorsy elements such as burlap bunting.
• Something blue. Kennedy Blue's version uses anything blue over a white or cream base. Blue hydrangeas, blue-and-white china and a blue ribbon on the card box carry it.

Print the words, buy the rest

Signs are where a printer saves the most, because they are just words on card. A matching set tells guests where the gifts, cards and drinks go without anyone asking. The Bridal Shower Table Signs include 9 station signs (Gifts, Cards, Drinks, Treats, Favors, Advice, Photo Spot, Games, Thank You) and 3 blank signs to letter by hand, in 5 × 7 in and 8 × 10 in sizes and as folded tent cards. For the doorway, the Welcome Sign for the Shower or the Weekend comes as an 8 × 10 in sign on one sheet, or as tiled sheets for 16 × 20 in and 18 × 24 in.

To plan the rest of the day around the decor, use the bridal shower checklist, and if you are setting up an advice or wish station, see what guests write on bridal shower wish cards.

Decor makes the room; it does not make the party. If you run short of time, the entrance sign, the gift table and good food are enough.