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Legend is that bridesmaids serve the important role of protecting the bride from malevolent spirits. To confound evil doers, the attendants are supposed to dress just like the bride; assuming the ploy works, the spirits get wicked confused about who the bride is and are thus unable to bring bad juju to the marriage. My two sisters of honor (FSIL Hot Cocoa and Sister HC) and four friends of honor aren’t going to be dressing like me on my wedding day. But I’m fully expecting them to ward off any evil spirits (No-show vendors? Misbehaving guests? Psycho exes I don’t know about?) who seek to wreak havoc on the wedding.
Given their importance, I had to find a special way to ask them to be a part of my wedding party:
I presented the ladies with:
1. A bottle of Soy Vay, with a tag that says “A little flavor of our wedding.”
Mr. HC and I find Soy Vay hilarious. Like our wedding, Soy Vay is “produced by a Chinese girl and a Jewish boy.” And like us, Soy Vay is kosher, delicious, and saucy. Try us. We are good on chicken.
2. A handcrafted card.
The front of each card is decorated with a dress and bouquet. I designed each dress to reflect the card recipient’s personality, and I made the top of each dress with origami paper, the belt with a bit of ribbon, and the skirt with crumply gold paper. Each dress “hangs” on a paper clip hanger. And the bouquet is simply a cluster of star-shaped punches. I attached everything with Zots, which are awesomely sticky and fun to say.
On the back of each card, I printed a black and white photo of me with the card recipient (here FSIL Hot Cocoa), and placed on top of that a vellum overlay on which I laser printed a personal note telling each person how much they mean to me, asking her to be part of my bridal party, and promising not to dress her in some wackadoodle polyester/crinoline monstrosity.
3. A little informational “booklet.”
I made the booklet by punching two holes on each piece of paper (cut down to 3×3 in.) and stringing ribbon through the holes. The front cover has a punch of the Chinese character for prosperity. The first square has the contact info for the other members of the bridal party. The second square has the event details. And the third square details the aesthetic of the wedding, says that the bridal party will probably all wear different style dresses in the same color, and describes the attendant’s responsibilities (”Enjoy yourself. Give love, support, and advice. Be the last ones on the dance floor.”).
Lucky me, all six ladies I asked agreed to be part of my juju-warding retinue.
How did you ask the special people in your life to be a part of your wedding day?
@shannamt: LOL. That is a lovely way of asking your bridesmaids to share your special day. I just needed to procrastinate from doing real work with a craft project. 
Yeesh, that article gave me a case of the heeby-jeebies. Soy Vay is hilarious!
@Miss Hot Cocoa: I too was a phone caller asker bride. I’ll DIY and be crafty and creative for many things in my wedding, but considering how well they all know me, a practical short and sweet phone call was the ticket. I think in general my line was “Our wedding is that week in April. What are the odds that you can be there for the full week ahead of time? Cause I am going to need my bridesmaids there to help with last minute stuff!” They all laughed. Not perfect - just me.
I must admit it never occured to me to ask them in a fancy way until I started stalking weddingbee. By then it was too late, I was a phone call asker too. But I don’t think any of them really cared or expected much more….
@Starry-Eyed Barefoot Bride: I love that!
@Erin: LOL. I think that while the ladies are definitely appreciative of my DIY efforts, most of them privately worry I’ve got too much time on my hands. Time I should spend writing.
I found this cute bridesmaid’s necklace from Mindy Weiss that comes with a nice story on a card for $8. This was a great price and very special way to ask my four bridesmaids.
That is such an adorable and unique way to ask them! The pictures with vellum are so sweet!
I asked my girls with gift baskets I filled with things in my wedding colors (red & black): stationery, note cards, Bath & Body goodies, candles, mini wine bottles, candy, and corny personalized mix CDs with songs that remind me of each BM. I wrapped pretty red and black ribbon around the baskets and gave them a “Will you be my bridesmaid” card (really cute ones from Bella Ink Designs). It worked out pretty well 
Miss HC that is too cute! I just stamped a Martha Stewart notecard and then colored it in with colored pencils and wrote a note on the back. Your cards and gifts put mine to shame. It was very funny when FSIL called me and said thanks for the card, do you remember asking me on the 4th when we were drunk? I laughed and said Of course not, I was drunk!
That is very cute! I really like the Soy Vay and the information booklet!
For my ladies, I bought a box in our color scheme and filled it with a framed picture of the bridesmaid to be and me, a calendar book, a Bridesmaid Guide book, and some pens - I put the picture on top. I tied up the box and an accompanying note with ribbon. The note thanked them for being a bridesmaid and had a lil info about our relationship, some wedding info, and contact info for the other ladies. I made a point to ask each one in person and then presented them the box. =] I think they really liked the books!
I asked them by giving them these:
http://commerce.idmi.net/ecommerce/catalog_detail.asp?CID=121&CI=382&PI=25360
The box says “Will you be my?” and on the inside is a tank with bridesmaid written in crystals. I thought they would be fun for the bachelorette party and other wedding festivities:)
I love the way you asked your bridesmaids! You’re so creative!
That is soo much better than mine!
I found this cute delicatessan that sold great stuff and bought each of my six brides maids some strawberry balsalmic vinegar (my theme has pink and turquoise in it)which was a great pink and I put them in cute little bottles. I designed tags for each which said “Will you be my bridesmaid?” on it with a description of what was in the bottle (the vinegar goes well with rocket and vanilla ice-cream!!) I then wrapped them up in bright pink and turquoise tissue paper and tied it up with pink and brown ribbon.
These are all such great ideas! There are some lucky and beloved bridesmaids out there.
I asked 5 very special friends to ward off the evil spirits along side me!
They all knew of each other but didn’t really know each other! They all were significant of a time in my life, childhood, high school, college, sports, family.
I too sent a heartfelt card, non as elaborate as yours, just store bought funny cheesy ones! Inside the card I inserted a contact sheet and a bridesmaid’s survey. I asked for the surveys back so we could share them later and get to know one another better. I asked 15 or so questions, some I knew, some I didn’t but they all wound up being fun to read and really reflective of each personality. I also stuck a few questions in there about things I was contemplating getting them for gifts, like “what’s your shoe size?” and “what’s your favorite color?”
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Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 30, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: April, 2008 Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey About Me: I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
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