Mrs. Toucan, Boston
Age and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Actuary
Engagement Date: February 18, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: November 07, 2007
Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine Restaurant
About Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
Gifts for the Ladies
July 11th, 2008 @ 9:28 am by Mrs. Toucan
I thought about gifts for my girls months and months before our wedding. I knew I wanted to get some kind of fun bag and stuff it full of goodies. So, when I got an email last fall about a Vera Bradley sample sale in Atlanta, I jumped. Why was I so excited about a sale 1,000 miles away? Because Sister Toucan was in school in Atlanta! The only issue with that… Sister Toucan was my Maid of Honor… and thus, buying herself a gift. Since she offered to go to the sample sale for me, I decided to go for it anyway - she’d only know a part of her gift, and the sale was just TOO GOOD! Thus, 8 months before the wedding, I had part 1 of my BM gifts done:
(okay, there are 7 bags here, and I have only 4 bridesmaids, but I ended up buying one for myself, of course. The other two were for my mom, and a friend who asked my sister to pick one up for her too)
Since I had purchased the bags so early, I almost forgot about buying the stuff to fill it! But, don’t worry I did. Here’s what I filled up the bags with:
I found these in bulk from Overstock.com (click link above). With the promotion they were running for Mother’s Day (10% off jewelry, and free shipping) plus another coupon I found online, I got them for about $18 a pair (I, of course, again kept a pair for myself, which I wore on our wedding day, and gave a few other pairs away. I probably will sell the rest.).
I figured that Boston in early June wouldn’t be too warm, so I bought the girls these pashminas to cover their shoulders when they got cold. Who would have predicted that it would be 93 degrees and humid on our wedding day?
And finally:
Trial Size of Crush on You Scrub
Trial Size of Product Body Cream
After reading all of Mrs. Jasmine’s posts raving about Product Body, I couldn’t resist. It just looked so luxurious, and I wanted my girls to feel that way too! So, they went into the bag too!
Did you buy a mixture of different gifts for your maids?
17 Responses to “Gifts for the Ladies”
That’s hilarious! I am 8 months out right now and just bought bags for my girls too. I saw a sale for LeSportsac bags and couldnt resist!
Mrs. Toucan - If you don’t mind me asking, how much did you pay for the shawls? I see that they’re on sale for $20 which seems like a fabulous deal, and I’m still 10 months away from my wedding, but what a fun gift!
I did almost the same thing. I got fun reusable shopping bags from Envirosax to put the gifts in and then also got pashminas since our wedding is in October in Massachusetts with an outdoor ceremony. I ordered satin trimmed flip flops in the BM dress color for each and got copper necklaces from Etsy, each with a different pendant. I think they’ll like it 
@Katie: I google searched for a coupon online, and was able to get them for $15 each. I’ve heard of a lot of girls getting them cheaper on ebay, however I was pretty picky on what color I ordered, and most places don’t offer as many colors as Nimli does. So, I just went with them.
Oh, and Katie: I got pashminas online as well that were $20. But if you’re ordering 5 or more, put in the code ‘bridesmaids’ at checkout and you’ll get 10% off. I ended up ordering one for myself just to get the discount.
FYI, I just did another coupon search for Nimli orders. Use SUMMER08 and you’ll get 20% off your order.
i plan to do this exact same thing! i’ve already bought my girls roomy totes that they can use for anything. i stuck with black and brown so they could take it anywhere, even to work if they wanted.
i’ve got my eye on some gorgeous necklaces. i just ordered one this morning to check the quality of it.
i may add some kinda of body lotion/scrub or something if i find an amazing sale. i’m going to have to draw the line pretty soon bc i have 5 girls and a very small budget!
did u like the quality of the pashminas? I’m on their website and intrigued by the price. I’m a November bride and would like something to throw on my arms….
@GetMarried4Less: I liked the quality for the price. I ordered the light weight feather pashmina shawl which was good enough to cover up in the summer. They also have a few other different options other than the feather weight pashmina here if you are looking for something heavier. I actually also ordered the Silk Charmeuse Wrap at the same time to see which I liked better. I actually liked the feel of the charmeuse one, but the color didn’t match the girls’ shoes, so I went with the summer weight shawl instead.
@Mrs. Toucan: thank you! i like the silk wrap a lot. i’m dogearring it to possibly order next week!
Yay for the Vera sample sale! I also went by to get tote bags for my bridesmaids, and all of the girls in my office were *buzzing* for days about the fabulousness of the sale!
The discounts were fantastic, and I’m glad to hear that you were able to take advantage of them!
I was just in a wedding and the bride gave us the best gifts! She got us pearl earrings that we then all wore, so adorable and totally classic. She actually bought them at Premium Pearl, which I totally haves since checked out and they have great quality jewelry at modest prices, perfect to stuff those bags with!
Love it! I am so getting the shawls for my bridesmaids. I thought they were way out of my price range {esp with EIGHT bridesmaids} but with the discount I can total swing these and some other stuff! Thanks, Mrs. Toucan!
i live in atlanta so i did the same thing.
[…] I pretty much bought all my attendants’ gifts early, Mr. Toucan, well… didn’t. He wanted to find something really good for them, but was […]
I bought my girls Longchamp purses — my sister lived in Belgium and got them a bit less $ than they normally are. Then, for my sister — the maid of honor, I got her the *most* amazing gift, (if I do say so myself A sterling silver charm bracelet with about 20 charms — each one representing something from our childhood or relationship. Ie — a little pair of scissors to represent the time I cut her hair when I was 3 and she was 2. She loved it, and it was so fun making it!
I just bought pashminas on overstock.com.
bulk package of 3. $33. I got three ivory ones for $33. It was great. you can either pick all the same color or a variety and they have a nice color selection.
