Who Pays For The Bridal Shower? (And Other FAQs For The Occasion) (2024)

A bridal shower is an opportunity to “shower” a future bride with gifts, attention, and more in advance of the wedding itself. If you are hoping to plan a bridal shower or have a bridal shower planned on your behalf, perhaps you’re worried about the cost and are curious about the answer to the question: who pays for the bridal shower? (Not to mention a bunch of other bridal shower etiquette questions that you might be navigating.) 

Here’s our in-depth exploration of the question of who pays for the bridal shower. We also share some other bridal shower-related FAQs to help you better understand (and plan for the costs of) this important wedding-adjacent event.

Who pays for the bridal shower?

It’s traditional for the parents of the soon-to-be wedded couple to contribute to or fully pay for the wedding. However, they’re not usually responsible for the cost of the bridal shower—that’d be a lot to ask of them!

These days, it’s common for the maid of honor and the bridal party to pay for and plan the bridal shower, with the whole group splitting the costs as evenly as possible. Sometimes, though, the person paying for and planning the bridal shower may be another good friend or friends of the couple. The mother of the bride may also contribute, depending on the situation.

What’s like an Airbnb for bridal showers? Learn all about it here!

Where should you plan to hold a bridal shower?

There are no hard and fast rules about the location of a bridal shower, just as there’s no set answer to the question, “Who pays for the bridal shower?” Instead, it’s really a matter of where is most convenient, what the soon-to-be bride would appreciate most, what your event planning budget accommodates, and how many people will be attending the shower, among other key factors.

Although you can always use a space like someone’s home or backyard, it might make more sense to rent a venue for the bridal shower in a lot of situations. For instance, perhaps your shower has a particularly long guest list, and you want to ensure you choose a venue that can comfortably accommodate everyone in attendance.

If that’s the case, check out Peerspace, the largest online marketplace for event venue rentals (and much more!). Running a quick search on Peerspace makes it easy to find bridal shower venues in your area. There are literally tens of thousands of spaces to choose from across hundreds of cities in the United States, the UK, Europe, Australia, Canada, and beyond! 

Bridal shower venues you can book through Peerspace

Here are a few examples of beautiful Peerspace venues that would be ideal locations for a bridal shower, in a variety of locations, styles, and price ranges:

The Boho Space in Phoenix, AZ

The Boho Space is a warm, welcoming venue that looks amazing in photos but even better in person! It’s no wonder that it has literally hundreds of glowing reviews. Some of its most appealing features include an impressive Sonos sound system with four speakers, a customizable colored lighting system, and tons of verdant houseplants. 

A beautiful event space in San Francisco

This beautiful event space in San Francisco’s Mission District is another popular pick for events of all kinds, as long as the guest list is 40 people or less (which most bridal showers will be since these tend to be more intimate events). The airy space has 12-foot ceilings, a 30-foot wall of windows, and a full kitchen, plus free amenities like a sound system, HD projector, furniture, and more

The Nellie Rose in downtown Houston

The Nellie Rose in the theater district of downtown Houston, TX is a modern industrial loft space that comes with its very own private rooftop boasting views of the city, in case the abundance of natural light indoors just isn’t quite enough for you. Additional features include a gourmet kitchen with high-quality appliances, exposed brick and beams, a changing room, and access to multiple restrooms.

A gorgeous St. Louis home

Were you hoping to host the bridal shower at someone’s home, but couldn’t quite find the right fit among your friends’ homes? Then consider renting a space like this gorgeous St. Louis, Missouri house—it’s basically a home away from home. With tons of open space, beautiful hardwood floors, and 3,500 square feet of space that can accommodate up to 25 guests, it’s a great fit for a festive yet low-key bridal shower.

Be sure to search Peerspace for bridal shower venues in your area. That way, you can see if any of the available spaces would suit your event needs!

More bridal shower FAQs

Now that we’ve answered the question “Who pays for the bridal shower?” you might be wondering about some other aspects of bridal shower etiquette/norms. Here are our answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about bridal showers:

What’s the difference between a bridal shower and a bachelorette party?

We wouldn’t blame you if you mixed these two wedding-adjacent events up. After all, they’re both about celebrating the bride-to-be in advance of the wedding, and they both tend to have mostly female guest lists. A bachelorette party is about having a raucous good time with friends celebrating unmarried life (and tends to get a lot crazier than a bridal shower). Conversely, a bridal shower is about providing the bride with gifts in preparation for her future married life.

In addition, family and in-laws of all ages often attend the bridal shower. But the bachelorette party is mostly attended by younger women who are close friends with the bride. And as you might expect, the bridal shower is more of a daytime gathering, while a bachelorette party usually happens at night.

Who typically plans and hosts a bridal shower?

In the past, it was a faux pas for the family of the bride to plan a bridal shower. In fact, it conveyed the impression that the family was throwing an event to solicit gifts. Instead, people expected the bridesmaids and the maid of honor would plan the bridal shower as part of their roles in the wedding party. Today, however, it’s different. Although the bride and groom don’t normally plan the shower themselves, it’s acceptable for family members to do so. Alternatively, friends can plan and host the shower, or can help family members do so. 

For more insight into the question of who plans the bridal shower, check out this article on the topic.

When should a bridal shower take place?

This is ultimately up to the soon-to-be couple and the person or people planning the bridal shower, but as a rule, most bridal showers happen somewhere between eight and two weeks in advance of the actual wedding date. Keep in mind: it’s not generally accepted to plan a bridal shower before the wedding plans themselves have been fully defined.

Now that you’re one step closer to booking the perfect bridal shower venue, use these gorgeous wedding shower decoration ideas to enhance the space!

When should you send out the invitations for a bridal shower?

To make sure that as many invitees as possible can make it, give your guests plenty of notice to add the date and time of the bridal shower to their calendars. This means sending out the invitations at least four weeks in advance of the bridal shower date—if possible, six weeks in advance is even better. 

How many people should you invite to a wedding shower?

Wedding showers are more intimate events than weddings, so everyone in attendance should be good friends or family of the bride. Traditionally, the bridal shower’s attendees are the female friends and female relatives of the bride. But you don’t have to stick to this tradition.

Either way, though, your wedding shower’s guest list should be significantly shorter than the guest list for the actual wedding. If you’re in charge of the guest list, make sure you don’t invite anyone to the shower who isn’t invited to the wedding. That could make for a confusing and awkward social situation!

Does the bride participate in planning her bridal shower?

You can involve the bride to an extent, depending on how much of the bridal shower will be a surprise. For instance, the host of the shower might ask the bride who she’d like to invite to the event. It’s also helpful to ask her when to have it and if there are any themes she’d especially enjoy, etc. Or, if the bride loves surprises, the person planning the shower can make everything a complete surprise, which can also be fun.

Does the groom participate in the bridal shower at all?

It’s a tradition for the groom to show up at the end of the bridal shower, often as the bride is unwrapping her gifts, to meet all the guests and give the bride flowers. 

Who pays for the bridal shower: conclusion

Hopefully, this article has mostly resolved the question, “Who pays for the bridal shower?” To sum it up, the short answer is: it’s complicated, and it depends! 

If you have any further party-related questions, be sure to check out the Peerspace resources section to discover all kinds of guides and suggestions for event planning. 

Find unique bridal shower venues on Peerspace