Weddingbee

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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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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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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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!

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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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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!

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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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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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Gift giving is always fun, but it’s extremely hard when all your bridesmaids have different personalities and styles. I still wanted to give them the same things, so that they would all have gifts that were representative of our wedding.

I had a really hard time figuring out what I would give them, but after months of searching, I finally found some things I thought they would all like.
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… on their own gifts!

I surprised my bridesmaids a few weeks ago with a trip to the 1154 Lill Studio in Lincoln Park to make custom handbags as their bridesmaid gift. I was able to keep it on the DL until they arrived, which was no small feat, and treated them to a little champagne, cheese and these amazing key lime tarts. I gave each ’maid a gift certificate to cover the cost of a Grace plus tax and let them go to town!

The LP store is their flagship store, so there were two floors of custom bag goodness.

All the fabrics!

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