The maid of honor, a sister, or a close friend normally hosts wedding showers. Historically, the wedding shower is a party during which the bride was given items for her trousseau. Wedding showers today are more of a pre-wedding party where guests shower the bride with gifts and well wishes. The wedding shower gives the bride an opportunity to spend some time with friends and family before the wedding day.
Just because you are the made of honor, it doesn't mean you have to pay for it all on your own. You should be able to get the others to pitch in to help with the expenses. Close friends and family members should be able to help co-host the wedding shower. Make sure you meet with the co-hosts to discuss the details. You should be in agreement about the date, budget, menu, and location of the shower.
Involve the bride in the date selection, but you should make sure the key guests could work with the selected date. The most popular time for wedding showers is Sunday afternoon. Ask the bride about her colors to see if you can incorporate it in the d'cor. Themed showers are great, but they require a lot of planning, and can be more expensive. You can expect to spend between $8.00 and $15.00 per person.
Most wedding showers are hosted in one of the bridesmaids' home. Showers can be hosted in restaurants, parks, or any place that would accommodate such event. Ask the bride if she has a preference for the location and go from there. Try to avoid having the party hosted at the bride's home.
Wedding showers are usually small parties. You should not invite more than 30 guests. Only invite the closest friends and family members. Never invite someone you don't plan to invite to the wedding. You have to send a printed invitation to all the guests; a phone call or an e-mail is not a good option.
You can serve finger food, or order pizza. You shouldn't make a big fuss about what is served. If you can make it work within your budget order a cake.
