Miss Taffy, Ann Arbor
Age and Occupation: 28, Color and Materials Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Automotive Designer
Engagement Date: May 9, 2008
Wedding Date: May 2009
Blogging Since: September 14, 2008
Venue: University of Michigan Union
About Me: I’m a girl who is crazy about Mr. Taffy, sewing, dancing, almost all types of sweets, and our cute pet canaries. I dislike touching fuzzy fabric of any kind, eating somewhat squishy food, and Michigan winters. Mr. Taffy and I are having a blast planning our Ann Arbor wedding, and cannot wait to share our day with friends and family.
Are you one of those girls that can’t stand floral inspired perfume? Would you prefer to smell like old books from a library or burning leaves? How about smelling like an experience, for example, a day at the beach in 1966? If unusual scents are up your alley, check out I Hate Perfume, an unconventional perfume shop that I stumbled upon during a trip to Brooklyn a few summers ago. I don’t usually wear perfume, and I loved the peculiar, yet romantic scents in this shop.

I think that these would make wonderful, unique bridesmaid gifts. A perfume reminiscent of the season that your wedding is held would be a nice way that the bride or wedding party could bring back the memories in the years to come. I would tell you I am thinking of this myself, but I wouldn’t want to give anything away to my lady friends who may be reading.
I love how Chris (the artist behind CB I Hate Perfume) explains all of the scents.
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Miss Ballet Flat, New Orleans
Age and Occupation: 24, Geographic Information Systems Analyst
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, IT Analyst
Engagement Date: March 16, 2008
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: September 25, 2008
Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Church/Jefferson-Orleans North
About Me: I absolutely love wedding planning, spending time with Mr. Ballet Flat, various crafts, watching football, baking, pop music, bargain hunting and ice cream. My idea of a great date night is dinner and clearance shopping with Mr. Ballet Flat! I currently live below sea level in the suburbs near New Orleans, where I make maps all day, everyday for my job. I'm slowly becoming more and more obsessed with anything New Orleans related for our wedding, and I can't wait for the big day!
Being that our wedding colors are teal and brown, I found it very complicated to find jewelry in those colors that was formal and wedding ready. So, what’s a bride to do? DIY!
I haven’t made jewelry since the friendship bracelet days in elementary school. Remember these? Ahh… days!
However, I thought well, maybe I could try this. If it doesn’t work out, no harm done! If it works out, one less thing to shop for!
I knew I wanted simple dangle earrings for my bridesmaids that would work with my plan of combining swarovski crystals with pearls in their necklaces. So, I started my search looking through my bridal magazines for inspiration. This is what I came up with after playing around with bead patterns.

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Mrs. Hydrangea, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 26, Administrative Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network Analyst
Engagement Date: June 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: January 14, 2008
Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W Hotel
About Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
I mentioned in my bridesmaid gift post that I created necklaces for all of the girls. I actually made these necklaces for all of the bridesmaids, readers, and house party. Now that the rehearsal dinner is over, I can share with you my creations!
We live in a small town east of Dallas, but the funny thing is that there is this incredible bead store in my hometown, which has caused Mom H and I to dabble in jewelry making for the past several years. We decided to take a quick class at our local bead store, and off I went to shop and create. After the class, I purchased sterling silver clasps and chain, as well as real pearls and Swarovski crystals. I played around with the lengths and with mixing the different beads. Here are my results:

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Mrs. Hydrangea, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 26, Administrative Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network Analyst
Engagement Date: June 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: January 14, 2008
Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W Hotel
About Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
But this time, the presents aren’t for us! The presents are for my girls—the four special ladies that will stand by my side on Saturday.
Before I go any further, I have to tell the girls not to read any further…
And I mean it…
Bridesmaids, stay away!
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Mrs. Cookie, Denver
Age and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial Analyst
Engagement Date: September 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: May 8, 2008
Venue: Ten Mile Station
About Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
It’s crunch time, and here are just a few more DIY projects to squeeze in before the big day. Welcome to my hodgepodge of last-minute project mania.
First up, we have our programs!
I Goccoed the programs using the same screen I used for our invites. I was going to Gocco the whole program, but I have run out of lamps and there seems to be a lamp shortage.
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Miss Pomegranate, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 27, Technical Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software Engineer
Engagement Date: August 23, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 5, 2008
Venue: R.H. Phillips Winery
About Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!
Part I
In the second installment of bridesmaid bandit-dom, I’ll share with you the first of a few projects that was ripped out of my hot little hands and turned into another DISE project. Not that I’m complaining—it’s just that I felt so entirely guilty to bestow what I felt was one of my “bridal duties” onto another person. Which is silly, because ultimately, I could have easily purchased these gifts from a vendor and felt just fine.

Image via whatigotsofar
Again bridesmaids, this is the stopping point for you! If you peek below the cut, you’re in BIG trouble!
Read more…
Mrs. Cookie, Denver
Age and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial Analyst
Engagement Date: September 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: May 8, 2008
Venue: Ten Mile Station
About Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
My aunts on my father’s side have this gift giving tradition that involves a yellow purse. In the 1970’s, one of my aunts received this ugly yellow purse as a Christmas present from her aunt. For the last thirty years, this purse has been re-gifted to each of one my aunts. Everyone waits in anticipation around the holidays to see who gets that ugly yellow purse. Now that all of the grandchildren in my family are in their 20s and 30s, the purse is being re-gifted to the next generation, and guess who got the yellow purse last Christmas?
When it came to buying gifts for my bridesmaids, I hated the thought of giving them a “yellow purse”—a gift that they would think was ugly. I was especially fearful when it came to jewelry, because each of my bridesmaids’ tastes are so different. I wanted to get each of them a piece of jewelry to wear for the wedding, but I also wanted that jewelry to be something that they would wear again. So, I searched Etsy for some jewelry makers that I liked, and sent links to each store to all of my bridesmaids. I then asked my bridesmaids to send me links to pieces that they really liked. Here are the pieces that they each picked out for themselves:
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Miss Pomegranate, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 27, Technical Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software Engineer
Engagement Date: August 23, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 5, 2008
Venue: R.H. Phillips Winery
About Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!
When budgeting for the wedding, Mr. Pom and I didn’t discuss what I intended to spend on gifts for my bridesmaids. We had decided that we would purchase gifts for each side of the bridal party respectively, and we would choose our own budgets. With six bridesmaids on my side and four groomsmen on his side, I had to be more frugal with my funds than he— but that didn’t stop me from attempting to maximize my monies! Of course, there was TONS of DIY involved—and a little DISE as well.

Image via ThingFling.com
Sorry bridesmaids, this is the only sneak peek you’ll get at your gifts! If you peek below the cut, you’re in BIG trouble!
Read more…
Miss Pomegranate, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 27, Technical Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software Engineer
Engagement Date: August 23, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 5, 2008
Venue: R.H. Phillips Winery
About Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!
Let’s go back a year or so ago….
After deciding upon the girls that would be standing by my side, I was too impatient to send them a card, or a gift, or to announce it at dinner. I called each and every one of them immediately and asked them, “will you be my bridesmaid?” I was, of course, ecstatic when they all happily said yes. However, I soon realized that I had missed out on an opportunity to craft!
I decided to set up a Bridesmaid Luncheon for a future weekend and got to crafting! Not only would we be trying out some bridesmaid dresses at the local David’s Bridal (this was Pre-Choose-Your-Own-Black-Dress), but we would also be having lunch where I would surprise them with some small tokens of my affection. First, I had to choose a photo of each ’Maid with myself.

My Maid-of-Honor
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Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, Montana
Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse Practitioner
Engagement Date: August 26, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: April 1, 2008
Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National Park
About Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
Hot on the heels of Mr. Cherry Pie’s post about his groomsmen gifts, I present my gifts for my bridesmaids!
That means no peeking, ladies!

Not unless you want to ruin the surprise. Err, surpriSES. Unlike Mr. Cherry Pie, I have several things in store for my bridesmaids. Some are more traditional and others are definitely different.
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