• Get friends to pitch in to make a wedding shower more affordable.golden bow image by Pix by Marti from Fotolia.com
  
  Wedding showers don't have to be costly to be fun. Nowadays, all the responsibility for the cost of the shower doesn't necessarily fall on the maid of honor. Relatives can help share the cost and help plan the shower to make it the best it can be for the money that can be spent. Get together with friends and family (or bridal party) before planning the shower to come up with a budget.
  
  

Venue

• Don't spend money to rent out a venue. Have the shower at the hostess' home or if someone has a great backyard/patio and the weather is nice, have it there. Not having to pay to rent a venue will save a great deal of money and it will be convenient. There will already be a kitchen available and if you need extra seating, renting chairs is a lot more cost effective than renting an entire venue.
  
  

Invitations

• Having special invitations printed or buying premade invites at a party store can be very costly. Print your own invitations on your computer using your word processing program or send email invitations instead. Hand deliver them to friends instead of mailing them to save postage costs.
  
  

Food and Decorations

• For decorating, streamers and balloons are affordable and look festive. Decide on a color scheme for the shower and pull it together with matching decorations. Streamers and balloons you blow up yourself can be purchased at any party retailer. Drop bunches of picked flowers in vases and place them on tables. Paper tablecloths look nice and don't cost much.
  
  For food, finger foods will be your least expensive option. Everyone can pull together and create veggie platters, cheese platters and maybe some cold cuts and chips and dips. It doesn't have to be fancy to be fun. Deviled eggs, cookies and a homemade cake add something special without going over budget. Make a plain white or chocolate cake and decorate with wedding-themed cake toppers, or take a favorite photo of the bride and groom and get it put onto a cake for very cheaply at most bakeries.
  
  

Favors

• Make a mix CD for each guest with girl power-type music. Madonna, Blondie and Gwen Stefani are artists that exude female fun. Another idea is to make your best homemade cookies and give each guest a few in a little bag. Include the recipe and a small cookie cutter.