How many boring bridal showers have you either attended or thrown? Oh I know a lot of bridesmaids really spend many hours in trying to create the biggest and most elaborate showers for their brides but I cannot imagine trying to get through one more showing attempting not to say “bride” or “groom” or the "couple’s names". Who started this game? Why do we have to suffer through these boring shower gatherings? Who made the rule that you have to play silly games at a shower? I am here to say it does not have to be that way! You can throw your bride a great party and it can be FUN too!!

The biggest issue with bridal showers is that the guests that are invited are probably from different parts of the bride’s life. Most women have several groups of women friends and not everyone knows everyone. Therefore when these women get to the shower they either look desperately for one other person they know or the groups of women hang out together in their own group. They are all brought together because of one common person-the Bride. And of course the Bride is busy trying to speak to everyone and doesn’t have time to introduce her groups of friends to each other.

My solution is to force the women together by doing something fun and creative. I was recently married last year and my shower was a bit more non-traditional. I had about 20 or so women from different parts of my life and I wanted them to get to know each other. We had a garter decorating contest. The best part about this was that many of my friends donated and brought all of their leftover craft items. There were ribbons, buttons, beads, feathers, stones and many more cool gadgets.

We set up a table with hot glue guns and scissors and all the craft supplies that were donated for the event. About 8 women decorated their garter for me at a time. This forced these women to get to know each other and have fun while they were at it. This gave me a chance to talk to those who were waiting their turn and I was able to speak to everyone. The garters themselves were bought in bulk for less than $2.00 each online. And the best part was that no one had to play a game and I got to keep the garters as keepsakes from my shower.

One more thing to add is that we did make name tags for everyone. This helped everyone to get to know all the names of all of the guests. And after the best decorated garter was chosen, we attached their name tags to their garter so I can look back in a few years at my garter collection and remember who made them.

The shower was loads of fun and it kept the boredom and cost of the shower down. It was fun, informal and really gave everyone a chance to have a good time. Remember when planning a shower for your Bride to think outside the box. Try to think of different ways to engage the guests in getting involved. Don’t be the boring party planner! Having a cheap wedding shower does not mean it has to be Ho-hum!

Now go get busy planning something fun for your Bride and her guests!

Every little girl dreams of their wedding. Some brides imagine the fairy tale princess wedding while others imagine a more intimate wedding in a backyard with their closest friends and family. Whatever the event may look like in their vision there is always one thing in common “the budget.” Big or small every wedding ceremony and reception has a budget. And with the economy and recession that is occuring now the budgets for wedding planning keep getting smaller.

But with or without the recession there will always be weddings. People will continue to fall in love, get engaged and begin planning the big wedding day. And just because the economy is not so great doesn’t mean these dreamy eyed brides cannot still have the wedding of their princess dreams.

Here are 3 ways to save big on your incredibly beautiful cheap wedding:

1. Shop online for your wedding gown. The auction websites are one of the best places to start. Many of the Asian manufacturers are now selling their gowns for a fraction of the retail cost through these auction sites. The best part is that you can get the most amazing dresses for less than $200. You can also see other’s reviews, use your Paypal account, and have your dress delivered to you within 3 weeks that is also custom fitted to your specifications. This truly is the easist way to get your dress for cheap. And you can always head to the local bridal shops to try on styles so you know what looks best.

2. Keep your flowers and decorations simple. Don’t over create your look with too much stuff. Simple and elegant will always win over the big and overbearing decorations. And keeping your flowers and centerpieces simple will allow you to be able to design and make these on your own. If you create your centerpieces with too much flair and bling then you will have to hire someone else to make these and this is not necessary.

3. Keep your bridal party small. Having more than 1 attendent on each side will create more costs for not only the bride and groom but for the bridal party. The decision for the bridesmaid dress will be simple and can possibly be purchased as a sample or on sale. The groom and best man can possibly wear dark suits with only new ties to be purchased. And having only 2 members of the bridal party means less thank you gifts to buy and fewer mouths to feed at the rehersal dinner.

Of course this is only a start to the many cheap wedding ideas that will help brides and their families to save money. The best way is to keep an open mind and to stay focused. Don’t let the planning of the wedding get away from what is really most important-the Marriage!