Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
I’m really looking forward to spoiling my bridesmaids; giving them their gifts is going to be so much fun. (Seriously, I just can’t wait to see them wearing them.)
Just like last time: girls, if you’re reading, please stop now. Peeking makes baby jaguars cry… and you don’t want to spoil the surprise, do you?
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
Finding the perfect gifts for my bridal party has been a bit of a challenge. I just don’t think it’s possible to find any gift that will show these women just how amazingly awesome they are. Impossible, actually. But…I found the bridesmaids something that I just know they will love. I am so excited (and actually a little jealous that I didn’t get one for myself)!
Before we get into details, let me remind you a little bit about the bridal party. On my side is MOH/Sister Hippo plus three bridesmaids. Then, I have another five ladies that make up the house party. While I’ll be posting about gifts for the entire group in another post, I have one extra special gift for the four ladies that will be standing up with me during the ceremony.
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
If there’s one thing I love doing, it’s shopping for other people. I’m that girl who has all of her birthdays planned out in advance, who has her Christmas gifts over and done with by October…it’s just how I roll. So when it came to finding the perfect gifts for my girls, I was really looking forward to searching for that special something for them.
Before I get into that though, I thought I would share how I’ve worked out money & ‘necessities’ for my bridesmaids—and how we worked out who is paying for what.
First off: their outfits. I was fairly honest about what they would be paying for when I asked them initially—and I verified many, many times to make sure they were okay with purchasing their own dresses. All three of them were just fine with that. I had a budget in mind that I didn’t want to go over, and they agreed: however the ultimate dress decision was completely up to them. It’s great that we found something that all three liked nice and early.
Miss Oatmeal, Fresno, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical Device Sales RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Police Officer/Captain in the US ArmyEngagement Date: February 16, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Private Residence, FresnoAbout Me: I am a toast-loving, list-making, occasionally crazy California girl getting dangerously close to marrying her crime-fighting, patient, man's man fiancé. I’ve never left our hometown of Clovis, CA, I love Anthropologie so much it almost hurts, appreciate promptness, love that our 4lb. Chihuahua, Murphy, smells like Fritos, am irritated by windshield wipers that move too fast for the amount of rain, love me some cold weather, have an unhealthy obsession with boots, and wholeheartedly think that my family is everything. Mr. Oatmeal is, oddly enough, my brother's best friend. He's also the best thing that's ever happened to me, and together we are planning a vintage chic, backyard, spring wedding with a few nontraditional touches while trying to keep up with our crazy lives.
Let’s talk about something that everyone likes…gifts! While we’re still a ways away from thinking about bridal-party gifts (I’d love love love some suggestions, by the way!), I did get my main gals a little something at the beginning of our engagement. I included these sweet monogrammed necklaces with my version of a “Will you be my bridesmaid?” card.
Mrs. Eggs Benedict, SeattleAge and Occupation: 29, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, AttorneyEngagement Date: December 5, 2009Wedding Date: February 2011Venue: IslandWoodAbout Me: I'm a Northwest girl who spends my time goofing around with Mr. Eggs Benedict and our dog, hiking, traveling, drinking wine and planning a wedding that will showcase the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. I also love photography, beating Mr. Eggs Bene at Mario Kart, and watching the most ridiculous natural disaster flicks you can think of (seriously, how can you deny the awesomeness that is The Core or 2012?? That's right, you can't). We are planning our weekend wedding adventure at an environmental educational center, and I can't wait for the fun to begin!
When it came time to ask my girls to stand up with me, I wanted to do something a little bit different. Especially since none of my girls live in the same city as me (though now I’m in the same city as three of them—yay!), it would be tough for me to get together and ask them face-to-face. And I didn’t really want to do it by telephone, which would have been the other option. So I decided that I would make something that I could send along with a card asking them to be a part of our big day. I’m pretty sure that I had spoken to each of them beforehand, so I don’t think it was a huge shock that I wanted them to be bridesmaids, but I really liked the idea that they would have something to remember how I asked them.
Since I love making photo collages, I thought I would start there. I found some square frames at Michaels (yay coupons and 50%-off sales!) and thought they’d be perfect. Big enough to have a few pictures of me with each of my girls, but not so big that it would be annoying to find a place for it. And there was one hinged frame left in the bunch, so I decided to use that one for my sister, my maid of honor.
Me and my sister through the years—I love how happy she looks holding me as a newborn.If only she knew what a pain-in-the-butt little sister I’d end up being, she probably wouldn’t have been smiling so much!
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Four of my amazing ’maids flew to Austin to throw me a fantastic bachelorette. As a thank you/holiday gift I wanted to give them something to commemorate the trip. Enter Maptotes.
Maptotes are totes (and other products) that feature silk screens of adorable map illustrations. They have designs showcasing dozens of cities and areas. They even have Palm Springs–-oh if only I had a unlimited out-of-town bag budget…
The Austin bag was the perfect gift for the Texas-traveling, karaoke-singing, vodka-drinking, cupcake-eating Cheetah Girls.
Mrs. French Toast, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Marketing & PRFiance's Age and Occupation: IT geek by day, self-proclaimed handyman by nightEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Palm Event CenterAbout Me: I’m a city girl at heart who moved to the suburbs a year ago. Now I’m adjusting to life with a front lawn, nosy neighbors, cooking attempts, and making sure the garbage pail is pulled out on time every week! When I’m not traveling, Mr. FT and I enjoy marathon sessions of Law & Order: SVU, snowboarding, photography, spoiling our 3-year old yorkie-poodle Mokka and disagreeing over what music to listen to in the car. We’re planning a small winery wedding while incorporating some cultural elements into the day as a nod to our Chinese backgrounds.
Miss Pancakes’s post on doilies couldn’t have come at a better time because I was just about to share my DIY post on the adorable canvas totes, made possible by said doilies.
A few months ago while browsing through the glorious world of blogs, I came across a tutorial for this cute canvas tote:
Mrs. Eggs Benedict, SeattleAge and Occupation: 29, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, AttorneyEngagement Date: December 5, 2009Wedding Date: February 2011Venue: IslandWoodAbout Me: I'm a Northwest girl who spends my time goofing around with Mr. Eggs Benedict and our dog, hiking, traveling, drinking wine and planning a wedding that will showcase the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. I also love photography, beating Mr. Eggs Bene at Mario Kart, and watching the most ridiculous natural disaster flicks you can think of (seriously, how can you deny the awesomeness that is The Core or 2012?? That's right, you can't). We are planning our weekend wedding adventure at an environmental educational center, and I can't wait for the fun to begin!
We still haven’t decided exactly what we are going to do for the girls’ dresses yet. I have several ideas, but one thing I knew I wanted to do was to create jewelry for them to wear. (Mainly because I love the idea of making something for my wonderful friends, and also if they end up hating it, it wasn’t something super expensive that they’ll never wear again!)
So I spent some time on Etsy* and bought some blue beads, and black beads, and green beads, Read more…
Mrs. Eggs Benedict, SeattleAge and Occupation: 29, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, AttorneyEngagement Date: December 5, 2009Wedding Date: February 2011Venue: IslandWoodAbout Me: I'm a Northwest girl who spends my time goofing around with Mr. Eggs Benedict and our dog, hiking, traveling, drinking wine and planning a wedding that will showcase the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. I also love photography, beating Mr. Eggs Bene at Mario Kart, and watching the most ridiculous natural disaster flicks you can think of (seriously, how can you deny the awesomeness that is The Core or 2012?? That's right, you can't). We are planning our weekend wedding adventure at an environmental educational center, and I can't wait for the fun to begin!
I wasn’t sure—I really wasn’t. The last time I remember sewing anything it was some ridiculous pillow thing that I made on my mom’s sewing machine with leftover scrap fabric she had from making quilts for my sister and me. Yeah—my mom makes quilts, I play with leftover scraps. It’s fun!
BUT—I really wanted to give it a try, specifically because I really wanted to make part of the gifts that I plan to give to my girls. (So girls, if y’all are reading any of this, well, feel free to keep reading, but just know that you’re likely to see something similar to one or both of these projects prior to the wedding!)
Now that that’s out of the way—let me show you what I made. (And we’ll just keep quiet about how long it took me to make these, m’kay? Thanks!)
The first project I took on was this clutch that Mrs. Peep Toe blogged abouthere. Now, first off, I should note that I’ve had my sewing machine since I was in college. And I graduated from college in 2004. And I had yet to ever take it out of the box. It was still sealed and everything. Oops. And yes, I have lived in multiple places and carted this thing around with me the whole time. Anyway. Finally decided it was time to break it out. I don’t have tutorials here because I’m linking to the tutorials that I used (and also because I didn’t want photographic evidence if I messed it up royally). But I’ll take pictures of the process next time, I promise! (And all of these photos are taken by moi. I’m working on getting better with my d5000—I love the camera, but need to play with it more!)
And I thought it turned out pretty well: Read more…
Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera MayaAge and Occupation: 30, Application EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: Al Cielo / La LagunaAbout Me: I’m a tech-savvy tomboy with an affinity for hot tea and good sushi. Us Meerkats are just a couple fun lovin’ geeks from Michigan. We love anything having to do with movies, books, video games or technology and we hold a special place in our hearts for our two very spoiled shih-tzus, Wicket and Bravo. We also LOVE to travel. We love it so much it only took us 12 hours after we got engaged to decide to have a destination wedding. We are working our little Meerkat tails off planning a rustic-chic, travel themed destination wedding in the Riviera Maya with a semi-formal, vintage-turned-modern, outdoor at home reception back here in Michigan.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
I so badly wanted to post about the bridesmaids’ gifts before the wedding, but when one bridesmaid told me she wouldn’t be able to resist peeking, I knew I had to wait. Finding the perfect gift for eight bridesmaids was tough. I could have tried to get them all something unique and different, but that was just too hard to do with eight different girls. Then one day while shopping at the Gilroy Outlets, I saw the cutest little Coach wristlets on major sale and snatched up eight of them. Over time, I added more and more to the gift until I had something that kind of resembled a “nights out/nights in” theme. I was going to label the gifts to reflect the theme, but I ran out of time in the days before the wedding and decided not to label them. Had I made the theme more apparent, it would have been:
PART 1: “For exciting nights out on the town”
Each girl got a champagne-colored Coach wristlet – a lot of the girls used it to hold their essentials during the reception.
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
Mrs. Plaid, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Pastry ChefFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Cabinetry CarpenterEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Kindred Oaks, GeorgetownAbout Me: I am a Jersey girl born and raised but have since migrated to Texas and embraced its twang and Tex-Mex. I could probably eat chips and queso every day but instead I eat popcorn. I use the word “awesome” way too much but I just can’t seem to stop myself. I am addicted to all things DIY and am planning what I call a Texas-Chic wedding. I love snuggling with my two adorable dogs and of course, my adorable fiance. I can’t wait 'til I can call him my husband some day! October 2010, here we come!
As promised, here’s my tutorial on making fancy dress hangers on the cheap. I found these simple wooden hangers at Jo-Ann’s in the clearance bin.
1. I started by choosing a font that I liked and printing out each name in that font. I used a font called LSLeaves. I believe I found it on www.1001freefonts.com.
2. Once the names were printed out I used a pencil to shade in the backside of each name paper.
3. Then I taped each name to a hanger and traced the name. The pencil on the back allowed me to transfer the name directly on to the hanger.
4. Using black paint and a small brush I painted the outline of each letter.
You can see my name paper above the hanger. Read more…
Mrs. Plaid, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Pastry ChefFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Cabinetry CarpenterEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Kindred Oaks, GeorgetownAbout Me: I am a Jersey girl born and raised but have since migrated to Texas and embraced its twang and Tex-Mex. I could probably eat chips and queso every day but instead I eat popcorn. I use the word “awesome” way too much but I just can’t seem to stop myself. I am addicted to all things DIY and am planning what I call a Texas-Chic wedding. I love snuggling with my two adorable dogs and of course, my adorable fiance. I can’t wait 'til I can call him my husband some day! October 2010, here we come!
With gifts, of course! Mr. P and I decided that we would spend a max of $50 on each wedding party member. Although it was a pretty modest amount, I knew I wanted to make the most of it!
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my girls—C, K, and J—and what I’d like to get them as bridesmaids gifts. I know I still have plenty of time to choose what I’d like to get them, but I’m having fun looking!
I bought myself this Love necklace from Etsy right before Christmas. I think it would be really cute if I got each bridesmaid a necklace from this buyer, personalized with her name.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
