My dear, amazing, beautiful, childhood friend Lo, got married a few weeks ago + as a bridesmaid, along with our 3 other amazing best ladies, we had the honor of throwing her bridal shower! We had a blast planning it + I must say, I think it turned out quite beautiful + at a reasonable price. You don't have to spend an arm + a leg to throw a super cute party ( this goes for any gathering, really ) just a few important "Party Planning Golden Rules" you should follow...

10 Tips + Tricks to Throw a Stellar Bridal Shower on a Budget!

Citrus Infused Bridal Shower | Found + Kept | www.foundandkept.com

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Stick to a theme

When you have a group of 4 girls planning things can easily get out of hand. Luckily, we all like each other too much that we wanted the process to go as seamlessly as possible. If you're the MOH (maid-of-honor) or MOB (mother-of-the-bride) planning it solo, feel free to reach out to the bridal party or close friends for some extra assistance. Our first order of business was to pick a theme + stick to it! In this case we chose a "citrus" theme which fit perfectly into the "Orange" County hostess' house.

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Choose the localE

Once the theme has been chosen go ahead + lock down your location. It's cost effective to go with your own or a friends home but, if a rental space is what's needed by all means, go for it. Once the locale is set in stone then all the other planning can begin. Try not to jump ahead of yourself until at least the location has been locked down.

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Delegate Tasks

Once you've set your theme, locale + the crew that's helping you, delegate tasks. We did this asap + it was oh so helpful. One person was on invites, one on rentals + food/drinks, + we split up favors, decor + florals between 2 people. I can't tell you how helpful this ended up being as we weren't all crossing paths or over buying. Occasionally, we'd check in with each other about the guest count or to get opinions but, for the most part we all handled our assignments like champs.

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be realistic vs pinter-istic

Let me be clear, I L O V E Pinterest, I really do. Ive pinned almost 5,000 pins so yea, I like it a lot. B U T, I am also very aware that most of the images I see are great ideas + inspiration, not reality. They're not my reality because, let's be real, they probably spent $10-15k alone on that bridal shower. My friends + I created a Pinterest board for the purpose of sourcing + sharing inspirational ideas. The ideas we liked we talked about + figured out a way to do it ourselves!

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Plan within the guest count

Once you've gotten the guest list from the bride start planning within that number. If you're on a tight budget + the guest count is looking pretty high (35 or more) it may be a good idea to, a. see where you can get more funds or b. budget within the guest count. Start by highlighting what the most important elements are, for example, if the bride is a total foodie + cocktail connoisseur then give a good chunk of the budget to the food + drinks. If the bride is pretty easy going split it up evenly + throw in a little something personal where you can. DIY-ing decor or florals can save a ton on the budget.

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Require an RSVP

When you allow for guests to RSVP it makes it so much easier to plan. There will always be people who do not RSVP but, at least you've got a pretty accurate count. RSVP's that are "regrets only" don't really help you out either, as it's less incentive for people to respond at all. You may invite 50, receive 10 regrets + only 20 show, leaving you with extras of everything.

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DIY the Florals + Favors

DIY-ing florals can be such a fun + creative experience. If you've never done floral arrangements before I'd definitely practice a couple times before the big day but, just have fun with it! The day before Lo's shower us girls got together + picked flowers out of my parents yard ( thanks mom! ) + hit up Trader Joe's + Wholefoods to supplement. We ended up putting together all the arrangements that day + it was a ton less pressure on the day-of as we just had to transport!

The favors ended up being so cute + easy! We ordered a bunch of little San Pellegrino bottles ( citrus theme ) + we created little "thank you" notes that we tied to them. Toward the end of the shower we lined them up on the table + guests took them on their way out.

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Use what you've got

Rentals: we ended up renting some items but, the more you can limit from 3rd parties the more budget-friendly it will be. Utilize your own glassware, dishware, vases + serveware as much as possible + always be on the lookout for some good deals.

Decor: I found an adorable cake topper, flatware, napkins + cupcake plates from Wild Child Party that were easy on the budget. For signage we used all printables from Etsy + I spray painted frames gold that I had lying around the house + now they're much cuter!

Food: check out the brides favorite local restaurants to see if they cater, hit up Costco for some delicious finger foods, or even make it yourself! For this shower we sourced a local restaurant + picked up the trays day-of, easy!

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Check in with the bride

Throughout the process of planning ( not every week ) be sure to check in with the Bride so you know she's going to be happy with everything. You most likely want the shower to be a surprise but, you also want to be sure to get her wishlist. Get an idea of what she wants in regards to food, games + flow of the day so she feels included + listened too.

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Give yourself plenty of prep time

This is so so needed + often the most ignored tip. There's nothing worse than staying up allllll night cleaning your house + finishing all 30 favors when you probably could've done that a week ago. Give yourself a timeline of when things need to be done by + do your best to stick to it. Have enough prep time the day before + day-of, it's literally essential to your well being! Have friends come over to help out ( like we did with florals + favors ) or if you're that kind of group you might even have the bride come over!