About a month ago I had the honor of co-hosting one of my lovely friend’s bridal showers. I am used to handling the food and desserts when I host a party but this time the co-host was handling that so I thought I’d try my hand at decor! It’s not that I’m necessarily bad at decor, I just haven’t had the most experience with it. I prefer to keep things simple but when you’re in someone else’s house, you have to bring in other elements to transform the space into what you need it to be.

I’m no “Pinterest party planner” but I do know how frustrating it can be to want to put something together and do it on a budget, while still making it easy to put together and look nice. A difficult combo. So here’s a few ideas of what I did to make the space welcoming, fun and a reflection of the couple we were celebrating!

1. Choose your statement.

I like to do a wall with a backdrop or a table with a statement item like a cake or for gifts. In this case I needed something I could quickly put up, quickly take down and that would be a good spot for taking photos. I chose to go classic with a half balloon arch. This was actually my first time doing a balloon arch but it went surprisingly well. Here’s my tips.

1. Get a latex balloon kit. This is the one I got on Amazon for $21 and it was 10x easier and cheaper than getting individual bags of balloons and trying to figure out how many of what sizes you need.

2. Get an electric air pump. I tried without one and if I had finished without one I think I would’ve lost my mind. They’re not that expensive (ours is $17 from Walmart) and it has continued to be useful for inflating everything from high chair cushions to balloon floats! 10/10 recommend. I found several tutorials online but I ended up mixing them - here’s a good video if you’re a visual learner - and that leads me to my next point.

3. Use fishing line and not balloon tape. Balloon tape makes everything more complicated. Get some strong fishing line, hang it up where you want the arch, measure and cut and then take it down. Blow up balloons and then tie two together pairing various sizes & colors together- keep the itty bitty ones for the end- set them aside. Twist two pairs of balloons together by criss-crossing them and then twisting that way you have a cluster of 4 balloons. Once you have enough clusters to fill up your whole arch start stringing them on the fishing line. The clusters with the biggest balloons need to be spaced out from each other so that there is some dimension. Once it’s done, hang it up with tape or command hooks (I did tape on the doorsill and then the bottom is tied to an air freshener in the wall). Then take little glue/tape dots and attach them to the tiniest balloons. Fill in any holes on the arch with these by sticking them to the other balloons and you’re done! If you want to add another flourish you can carefully tuck dried flowers and dried palms in the arch- make sure to strip the stems of any thorns or prickly parts first so you don’t pop your balloons!

2. Choose something personalized.

I wanted to do something that would make the couple smile and that would show off their relationship. I chose to do photo windows. Dustin’s grandmother had some old windows sitting in a barn that he cleaned up for me and then I got their engagement photos printed off and paired with double sided tape, this was a hit. It took up enough room to make a sub-statement and it was a talking piece for guests who didn’t know each other. I also used a window and wrote on it with a chalkboard marker, it wipes right off with windex after- to welcome guests on the front porch.

3. Choose a gift & thank you spot.

When I said I like to keep it simple, I meant it. So outside of the designated food area I like to stick with three main decor spots and that’s plenty. We didn’t have set tables with decor so I didn’t have to worry about that. Instead I chose to make my own gift banner for the fireplace. I’ll link my template here that you can customize, download and print in “PDF Print” form, cut out, hole punch & string on jute or twine- I also added poms from Target ($3) to make it cute! I keep my signs for future parties so I typically use a white or black string to keep it neutral. Set out your gift for guests to be able to spot easily and then I brought in a little side table from Ikea with the thank you note station where guests could fill out their envelope and drop it in a basket.

4. Accent Decor

I party on a budget because even if you have the money, it’s one day, a few hours and the memories that last will be about the people and the moments. The decor is simply setting the atmosphere and making it a fun place to celebrate. So, if you don’t have a ton of money to spend on a party, don’t sweat it. Oftentimes I use things from my own house, especially if the party is somewhere else to set the mood. For this gathering I wanted the main accent decor to be florals. I did buy dried pampas, dried palms and then fresh & dried eucalyptus, but I’m reusing it in my home decor now and I’m sure I’ll use it for future parties- that’s the perk with having dried flowers! Other than the flowers all I bought were thank you notes for the bride and the balloon kit. Everything else was from my house or borrowed. Vases, jugs, the table, the window panes & baskets - all mine or borrowed. After all was said and done I spent about $100 on decor and next time it’ll be even less because I have the neutral dried flowers now!

Like I said, I didn’t handle food, drinks or favors but here’s what the co-host did if you want ideas! She did brunch, charcuterie boards, a mimosa bar with a few different kinds of juices and then she had M&M’s with the couple’s picture on them in heart tins and personalized sugar cookies for the favors.

All in all, the party was a success, the food was delicious and it was fun to celebrate with our friends. I hope if you’re stressing about throwing a beautiful party on a budget that this helps you. Work with your space, keep it simple and don’t forget to have fun and remember why you’re throwing the party in the first place.

Happy planning!

xoxo - Ry