Wedding Blog

Bridesmaids gifts have been my plague of late — along with the fee simple defeasible — keeping me up at night, fueling nightmares about inadequacy and angry women in silk dupioni. What would be appropriate? What would be expected? What would they actually LIKE?

The last time I was a bridesmaid, I was forced to wear a fuschia chiffon dress (100% polyester) with gold shoes. Did I mention the dress had a bustle? And ruching all the way down the front. It was also off the shoulder with little ruffly bands. Oh, and it had a side slit cut so high that it SHOWED MY UNDERWEAR. In Church! No lie. My gift from the bride? Fuschia dangle earrings. Which would have been lovely, except I couldn’t wear earrings at the time since my ears weren’t pierced.

Don’t worry — we’re still friends. With this in mind, I wanted to make sure all my bridesmaids had gifts from me that they were actually physically equipped to wear. But, I also wanted something that was not so terribly practical. I wanted something beautiful, and maybe a little frivolous.

Enter Bonbon Oiseau — treasure house of all things delightful. I’ve been a fan of Bonbon Oiseau jewelry for a while, and I was hoping to outfit my ‘maids with something lovely. I met with Deb Stein, the mastermind behind Bonbon, at her Brooklyn studio to discuss options.

I told her exactly-ish what I wanted. She pulled out ribbons and charms and feathers. And a miracle occurred. I had found the perfect bridesmaids’ gifts.

We decided on feathered hair ornaments that would incorporate pieces of jewelry that could be worn later. The little gem above gives you the general idea. On my pieces, the chains will actually be detachable bracelets with charms that match the personalities of the girls. I think they’re glorious.

Deb is also glorious. She’s brilliantly creative; loves to work with brides; and is really, really good with budgets. Her pieces have also popped up in Martha Stewart Weddings. How can you go wrong?