Weddingbee

I have been saving this post for the longest time considering that I finished a majority of the bridesmaids’ gifts in December! I wanted all the items to be a complete surprise for my lovely ladies (a few of whom are regular readers of Weddingbee) so I had to wait until after the wedding.

I wanted each gift to be practical yet personal, particularly because they each have such different style preferences. I also didn’t want any of the bridesmaids to feel obligated to “use” any part of the gift on the wedding day (hence, why I didn’t buy coordinated jewelry or clutches, although I was certainly tempted to every time I saw cute jewelry or purses!)

Last summer, I saw the coolest totes at the Marc Jacobs accessories-only store in the Village. They were printed with names and defining images of various cities and towns around the world so I picked out ones that corresponded with each girl’s personality or travel preferences. My favorite is the T-rex and the London telephone booth!

Now onto the fun part—filling the bag with goodies!

• At the Marc Jacobs store, I also picked up compacts—a definite necessity for hair and makeup checks. Plus, they were too cute to pass up in shell and heart shapes. The girls loved these and definitely used them.

• Charmed and Dangerous necklace. I ordered a different charm necklace for each maid personalized to their interests. A few of them even wore them on the wedding day!

• Dear Diary journal from Marta Designs

• Makeup bag from Etsy seller SewArtsy. This was one of the best finds. I was able to select custom combinations of inner and outer fabrics and the bags arrived in less than a week! The girls all loved them and used them to carry their phones and wallets as well as makeup.

• Heart-shaped Foot Petals to keep their feet comfy.

• And if that didn’t work, a pair of flip flops. The girls wore shoes of their own choosing, but I wanted them to be able to toss them off once they got uncomfortable.

• A pack of tissues for sweat or tears.

• A fan, which was a last minute addition, but one of the most popular. Our wedding day was definitely a hot one and even the groomsmen tried to steal the fans to cool off.

• A personally selected note card detailing all the reasons why each of them is so awesome. I purchased most of these at the Renegade Craft Fair.

• Last but not least, a folder packet (not shown), which included a contact list and schedule.

And of course I didn’t forget about the junior bridesmaids, who received similar little goodies but got Target totes and Pink Loves Brown stationery and bookplates instead.

I presented the girls with their bags the night of the rehearsal dinner so that they’d have everything for the day of. I choked up thanking them for all their support and friendship. I am pretty sure they were very happy with their gifts!

Snack pack: Sofia champagne, personalized cookie, and mini-tote (from Michael’s)

Even one for the bride and groom!

I saw them all put the items to good use on the wedding day and everyone seemed pretty happy with everything, except not about the 7:00 AM start time! Though I think I made up for it, by providing little snack bags right when we got into our limo ::cough:: party bus ::cough::. I had personalized cookies from Meli & Angi (thanks Miss Cupcake!) and a can of Sofia (pink!) champagne. The champagne was hardest to find at a brick and mortar store. I didn’t want to order them online because the shipping cost as much as the product itself so I looked at several wine/liquor shops in Manhattan and found them at Union Square Wines and Spirits. For the bridesmaids who didn’t drink or like me, were alcohol intolerant, I picked up a pack of Izze in pomegranate flavor so they could share in the fizzy festivities.

After the wedding, one of my bridesmaids emailed to tell me how much she loved the goodies and how she was so touched that I “had thought of everything.” I got the warm fuzzies.

What are you doing for bridesmaids gifts? Are you putting together a few items or just one big item?

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