Every day seems a tiny bit easier but there is not a day that goes by that I do not miss him. He'll always be with me in spirit. I know he'll be looking down on me when I walk down the aisle to meet Wade on our wedding day.
Now, the bridesmaid gifts!
There were 4 very special ladies in my life I knew I would be asking to stand by my side when I marry Wade on May 13, 2017. Not to mention the help with the planning, the DIY crafts and decor, and the bachelorette festivities coming up!
I started perusing through Pinterest (which can be a black hole...it's so hard to stop once you start!) to get ideas for how to propose to my bridesmaids and maid of honor. In the end, these eclectic little gift baskets came together through random occurrences of stumbling across something that caught my eye and I found to be just perfect for the situation.
I wanted to keep the gifts and proposals personal and give gifts that the girls would find useful. BUT! I had a budget in mind as well. With a little bit of planning and a little bit of lucky happenstance I managed to keep the total of my 4 bridesmaid's gifts under $80.
Here's how I did it:
These cards had each girl's name on the front. The inside read "I can't say 'I Do' without you" on one side with "Will you be my Bridesmaid?" on the other. I found some thicker card paper to use in order to create more professional looking cards.
Cost: $0
Cost: $15.28
Cost: $7.20
Cost: $0 (using gift card prize)
Cost: $0 (using gift card prize)
A big thank-you to DaintyDaisyJewellery and nijionline for their help in shipping these bracelets to me overseas to be here on time for me to get them to my bridesmaids when Wade and I held our engagement party. These ladies both have beautiful (and very affordable!) pieces in their shop so do please check them out.
Average cost each bracelet: $13.39
Cost: $53.56
Cost of each bridesmaid box: $19.01
Total cost of bridesmaid gifts: $76.04
Now, I am no expert. I mean, this is my first (and should be my last) time to think about the actual process of figuring out what to give to my bridesmaids to ask them to be a part of my wedding day. But here's my best advice for any looking to be in the bridesmaid gift buying situation in the future:
--Stick to a budget
--Buy practical things the girls will actually use
--Shop the sales
--Shop around for great prices
--Buy unique, one-of-a-kind gifts from specialty stores that your bridesmaids will appreciate (like those on Etsy)
--have fun! You may be only doing this once.
Oh, and in case you are wondering, each of them said yes!