Bridal Shower Decorations
Decorations are one the most important parts of the shower. Walking in to an elegant, festive, or joyful room is much more pleasant than walking in to see plain walls. So plan ahead and let your creativity go to work!
Banners
Congratulations banners can be purchased at local stores and hung on walls to decorate the place. If you have access you to a good printer and print program, a personalized banner can be created or it can be created by hand. This is best for an informal shower. You could also ask guests to sign this with a small good wish for the bride and groom. A neat touch would be to get some old photos of the bride and groom and add them to the banner.
Gift Display
Take a large golf umbrella and drape it in fabric corresponding to the shower's colors or theme. As people arrive, have them place any gifts under the umbrella. Corresponds to the idea of "showering the bride."
Flowers
Flowers are always great decorations. A local florist can design beautiful arrangements for the shower. However, cut flowers from a florist can be quite costly. Consider buying potted plants from a local greenhouse and place them around the room. Fabric can be used to cover the pot and tied with ribbon to add extra flair. Small 4" plants could also be purchased and used as decorations. The guests could then take these home as shower favors. If you use cut flowers or larger potted plants, these could be given as door prizes.
Tulle and White Lights
Tulle (netting) can be purchased by a fabric store for a relatively low cost. This can be hung around the room, around doorways or wrapped around stair rails. White works with any theme or you could choose to get another color to match the theme of the shower. White christmas lights (with white wires, no green please!) can be hung just behind the tulle to add extra sparkle.
Faux Wedding Cake
This "wedding" cake is composed mainly of towels. You'll need 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels, and 4 washcloths. These should be new and will be given to the bride after the shower. Start by folding the bath towels in fourths lengthwise. Connect the folded towels end to end with large safety pins. Start at one end and roll the towels up. When you reach the end, secure the end with pins. Follow the same procedure for the hand towels and then again for the washcloths. Stack the three rolls with the bath towels on the bottom, the hand towels in the middle, and the washcloths on top. Secure the layers together with pins. Use creativity to decorate. Ideas include flowers (fresh or silk), strands of various beads, pearls, jewels (available at local craft stores).
Candles
Candles are a beautiful decoration and perfect for an evening shower. However, candles do present a fire hazard, so be sure they are out of the way and are not open. A beautiful idea is to buy clear glass bowls, available at many craft stores. They can be half-filled with water and floating candles can be placed on top of the water. This protects the candle and is gorgeous. The bowls could be saved and reused at the wedding reception or they could be given to guests along with a new candle.
Balloons
Balloons are a quick and easy way to add lots of color and feeling to a room. They are a perfect decoration for showers and also relatively inexpensive.
Helium:
Order helium balloons from a local party store or card shop. Use solid color balloons in the colors you've chosen to decorate with. You might save a few dollars by renting a helium tank and then fill the balloons yourself. Contact local party stores to find out how much tank renting costs.
Balloon Flowers:
You could also make balloon flowers with non-helium balloons. Buy balloons in two different sizes: medium and small. The medium balloons can be your theme's colors and the smaller balloons should be white or yellow. Blow up five of the medium balloons. Arrange them lying down in a circle on the table with all the nubs facing inward. Connect them together by placing a thin wire through the nubs at the ends. They could also be connected by threading a needle and pushing it through all the nubs and then tying the ends of the string together. Now blow up two of the small balloons. Lift up the balloon circle and place one of the small balloons on each side of the circle in the center so that the small balloons are facing outward with their nubs touching in the center. While in this position, connect the two small balloons' nubs together with a thin wire. There should now be a balloon "flower" with five "petals" and a yellow/white center. There is one small balloon on each side so that the flowers do not have a front or back. The flowers can be suspended for the shower. Optional: A second circle can be created with small balloons (in whatever color you choose) and then this can be attached in front of the medium balloon circle before the yellow/white center is added. This would add another dimension to the flower, if desired.