Thoughtful Bridesmaids’ Gifts That Don’t Break the Bank!

Let’s face it: planning a wedding is tough. Many brides admit that planning their wedding would be much harder if it wasn’t for their bridesmaids. Often your bridesmaids help with logistics and things that just can’t be handled by a single person. So when it comes time to say, “Thank you!” to these lovely ladies – we know you want to pick out special bridesmaids’ gifts. But after the expense of a wedding, adding any other expenses can be a challenge. Here are some of our favorite bridesmaids’ “Thank you” gifts that are thoughtful and won’t have you reaching the top limit on any credit card.

Personalized Makeup Mirror. Many women like to touch up their makeup during the day, and what could be better than a personalized makeup mirror as their bridesmaid’s “Thank you” gift? This is an ideal gift, as they will think of you each time they use it and it is reasonably priced. Best of all, it is personalized with their first name or monogram for a sophisticated and elegant look. Any bridesmaid will appreciate this gift ideal for daytime and evening use.

Birthstone Jewelry. This is a thoughtful gift for your bridesmaids and you’ll find a wide selection of birthstone jewelry to choose from. There is personalized birthstone jewelry and simply birthstone jewelry that features the lovely gemstones on their own. One of the best things about this choice is that each woman will feel special and remembered as “their” birthstone month is uniquely their own. While they are there to share your Big Day, their “Thank you” gift is something that remembers them as unique individuals. You’ll find birthstone jewelry for every budget price and both daytime to evening looks.

Handmade Gift. Now this can be a very special and thoughtful gift if done with care. A handmade gift is best when it is created specifically for the recipient. So you are using their favorite color, their name or initials and including themes or topics that they enjoy. Any ways you can make this special for them or about your friendship/relationship will make this a grand-slam gift. Let’s say you are known for making delicious chocolate pretzels. So you choose to make this as your bridesmaids’ “Thank you” gift. Make this even more special by dipping each bridesmaid’s set of pretzels in their favorite color of sprinkles. And then put them in a pretty re-useable tin or jar. Include a thoughtful note saying how “sweet” they are. You see? Your handmade gift suddenly becomes something uniquely about them.

Plan a Fun/Girly Activity for After Your Honeymoon. This is a great choice especially if your bridesmaids are conveniently located and can all come back together. Treat them to a “Thank you” barbeque, fancy picnic or day at an amusement park. Or go be girly together and take them for manicures and pedicures. The key is to choose activities and themes that they will especially enjoy. Simply remember that this day is not about you as a bride or your getting married but about your friendships and celebrating them.

How to pick your perfect wedding dress

If you ask most women what the most important thing is on their wedding day, we’d take a guess that the majority are dead set on finding that dream wedding dress to walk down the aisle in.

Women spend more time and energy looking for their dress and more thought is likely to go into this decision than any other!

Of course, everyone has their own idea of what their perfect wedding dress looks like with some preferring sleek and elegant gowns and others opting for more traditional full skirted dresses and of course there are endless options of length, colour, styles and accessories to choose from as well.

A few things to remember about choosing your wedding dress is that you’ll be looking at these pictures for years to come so picking a dress with timeless elegance, rather than going with the latest fad style is probably better in the long run so your pictures will always be something you are proud to show off.

Pick a style that suits you. It’s all very well falling in love with a style of dress that looks fantastic on the hanger but shows off all of your lumps and bumps or doesn’t show off your best features. Try out a variety of styles, and take along a trusted friend or relative to help you choose a style that makes the best of all your attributes. Try everything on, sometimes a style that you think will look horrible on you will actually turn out to be the one that you fall in love with, it’s worth trying as it’s a once in a lifetime dress so you want to get it right!

The most traditional colour for wedding dresses is white and you’ll find that the majority of wedding dress stockists have most of their dresses in this colour. Of course white isn’t for everyone and you’ll be pleased to hear that many dresses are offered with other colour tones in them, resulting in many off-white colours such as ivory, cream, gold and many other hues. There are also dresses available in completely different colours so if you look good in red or blue there’s no reason why you couldn’t go for a wedding dress in those colours as well.

When you find that perfect dress, the best advice you can take is to buy it on that day, especially if it’s a dress on sale or there’s only one left in stock. There’s nothing worse than finding your dress, only to have someone else buy it while you think about it and come back a few days later to find it has been sold! You can tend to reserve dresses as well, so at the very least make sure you do this, you can always change your mind but once it’s gone – it’s gone forever! With Very.co.uk you can order the dress and try it on and of course, if it’s not the right one for you it can be returned.

Another important factor in the bride’s mind is the issue of bridesmaid dresses. Whether you’ve got one bridesmaid, or a dozen; coordinating them to wear the colour and style that you want can be tricky, especially if you have a few bridesmaids you are all different shapes and sizes.

The first thing to decide on is what colour you want, many brides will fit the bridesmaid dresses into the colour scheme, so if you’re having pink and white flowers and table centrepieces for example, it’s likely that pink will be a good colour for the bridesmaid dresses.

You could also go for a colour theme, such as purples, which include plums, lilacs and bright purple colours so you are able to find a colour that suits everyone.

Once you’ve chosen your colours, then you’ll need to find a style for your bridesmaid dresses, which again can be a little tricky if you have a few bridesmaids of differing shapes! The best thing to do is take them all to try on a variety of styles and pick out the one which is best across all of your bridesmaids.

If you’re going for block colours then you can dress up the bridesmaid dresses with accessories that match your colour scheme, such as corsages or hair pieces which fit into the scheme. This is often a nice idea if you’ve gone for plain block colours, such as cream as it brightens up the outfits and also makes the bridal party easily identifiable!

To get some ideas for your ideal style of wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses then there is a beautiful selection at Very.co.uk where you will find inspiration not just for dresses but also everything from accessories and jewellery right through to wedding shoes and veils to make your wedding day absolutely perfect.

How to Choose a Bridesmaid Dress Video

In this how to choose a bridesmaid dress video, an expert from Brides.com gives us some tips on picking bridesmaid dresses that our bridesmaids can actually wear again. A little-known secret about being a bride is that we have some sort of hypnosis or disorder when we’re planning our weddings that make it so we can convince ourselves that any dress we pick for our bridesmaids will be something they’ll be thrilled to wear again. Later, after the wedding fog clears, we realize that it ain’t gonna happen. Truly, after this video, I’m still not convinced, though she gives some good suggestions, like making sure the fabric and color are current or classic, pick something with a little detail (because, as she said, “nothing says ‘bridesmaid’ like a completely plain dress.’” She makes some cool suggestions, like choosing a dress with a pattern, and suggests different accessories to help the dress make the transition. Now, if they only offered different ways to wear that wedding dress!

For the Fellas – A Valentine Proposal?

While The Wedding Gal’s Snarky Cousin isn’t always the most romantic creature in the world, nothing gets me right at the heartstrings like a heartfelt and creative wedding proposal.  It’s a perfect moment in time, or it can be.  It’s not about the right table linens or the perfect bouquet.  It’s not about bridesmaid dresses that could ruin friendships or whether or not to serve shellfish at the reception.  It’s a moment of maximum potential, when two people first make a commitment to spend their lives together.  It’s a fresh, new, unblemished promise – unsullied by seating charts and unruly flower girls.

So you’ve got this perfectly unblemished moment, full of romantic promise and magic, so why not make it happen on what is supposed to be the most romantic day of the year?  St. Valentine’s Day!

I know what you’re thinking.  How could I, The Wedding Gal’s Snarky Cousin, possibly expect you to believe that Valentine’s Day is actually romantic?  A Hallmark holiday that makes every unmatched singleton feel rotten and every person that is in a relationship feel this unfair obligation to buy gifts and confections?  Phooey on Valentine’s Day!  Right?

WRONG!!  St. Valentine, according to one legend, married young lovers in secret when marriage was outlawed by Claudius Gothicus.  St. Valentine kept love alive in a time of war and oppression.  Romantic, huh?  So, in keeping with romantic tradition, here are some do’s and don’t do’s for proposing on Valentine’s Day:

Say It Sweetly

Conversation Hearts are the best-selling Valentine candy.  Made by Necco, they have been printing little sayings on the heart-shaped treats since the 1860′s.  The kind of conversation heart you can buy today have been around since 1902.  That’s a long history of being a Valentine’s Day staple.  Even though the company has tried to make their treats more current with sayings like “E-mail Me,”  you can go one better and use a fine grit sandpaper to remove the original message and add your own with a food coloring marker.  You can write “Marry Me” on all of them, or you can write what will be her married name on all of them.  She’ll get the idea.

DON’T go to all the trouble of sanding off the little phrases on a gajillion candies and then neglect to have something romantic to say.  You can do it.  Just don’t be all, “I got you this candy” and just stand there and look at her.  Creepy, Dude.

Nothing Beats a Romantic Dinner

I read somewhere that next to home, restaurants are the most popular place for wedding proposals.  I read somewhere else that 10% of Valentine proposals happen in restaurants.  Somehow that math doesn’t sound right to me, but you can imagine that it happens a lot.  We’ve all seen movies.  Speaking of movies, see the “Don’t” section below for some more tips, but for now I will say DO take her someplace nice.  I know they all tell you to take her to the place you had your first date or the first place you said “I love you.”  If your first date was at McDonald’s, you may not want to propose there.  Unless she really, really likes McDonald’s.  I know I do.  But not enough to get engaged there.  Do say something sweet to her.

DON’T put her ring in food or drink of any kind.  Why?  Why would you a) get chocolate or crab dip or champagne all over her nice new ring or b) take the chance that she’ll swallow it and then have to go to the ER and eventually have to have the darn thing removed or….worse?  Don’t do it.

Say It Loud, Say It Proud

Use a billboard, a scoreboard, a sky-writing airplane, or an ad before a movie showing, but ONLY IF YOU KNOW SHE’S GOING TO SAY YES!!!

DON’T go to all the trouble, expense, and possibility for public humiliation if you have any doubt in your mind that she’s going to balk.

There you have it, Guys.  Don’t say I never gave you anything.

15 Things I Learned from Being a Bridesmaid

Being a bridesmaid is a great honor but for grown-ups, being the bridesmaid, or worse, the maid of honor for one of your best friends can be an experience that you may not want to repeat too often or ever again!

Here are 15 things I learned as a bridesmaid veteran of five weddings:

1. Remember it’s not your day!  The bride is the center of attention and it is her big day so be prepared to cater for her every whim.  After all, as bridesmaid you only have to deal with Little Miss’ tantrums and spats for a few rehearsals and the day of the wedding, after that the poor guy she’s marrying has to deal with her for life;
2. While you may not be the center of attention as far as the wedding is concerned, you can be assured of being the center of attention for lots of guys!  I should know because I met my husband when I was a bridesmaid for the 4^th time but be careful if you are thinking this will be a great way to find a catch because:
3. Never, and I mean NEVER! Let a guy open the door and escort you if he calls you “Sugar”, “Babe” or worse, “Sugarbabe!”;
4. Do not let a bride convince you to wear grapevine as headgear.  Yes you can still find it, on a remote hillside in South Carolina on property owned by a gun toting hillbilly aged 72 and related to Jed Clampett as both his brother and second uncle;
5. Wearing woven grapevine leaves marks, both physical and emotional, which last for up to 6 months, if you have the choice, wear a crown of thorns instead;
6. Glue guns are a great invention for people who want to stick things and are not worried about whether they will explode or not – just remember that glue guns do overheat and will overheat because they are going to get a lot of use and as bridesmaid, you have to pitch in;
7. Brides want everyone to wear matching ear rings so be prepared to get your ears pierced if you haven’t already done so;
8. If you are asked to write a speech, do not retell the time when your “Best Friend”, who is getting married, was violently ill after drinking too much and ended the evening clinging to the toilet, swearing the world was ending and she couldn’t let it go because there was an earthquake (we lived in Ohio at the time);
9. If you are serious about catching the bouquet when the bride throws it, make sure you are wearing an outfit which will hold you in, as falling out of the top of your dress while stretching for the flowers can be very revealing resulting in more guys calling you “Sugar”, “Babe” etc;
10. Do NOT get drunk at the reception!;
11. The old saying, “Always a bridesmaid and never a bride!” is simply not true, I’m happily married to my husband whom I met when serving as a bridesmaid at wedding number 4;
12. Do everything you can to convince the bride that bridesmaid can get out of their dresses and into practical dress as soon as possible for the evening.  If she won’t budge on this, make sure the bridesmaids dresses are comfortable and practical if you have to spend the day in them;
13. The same applies to shoes!
14. Buying gifts for the bride and groom should really be about getting them things they will enjoy – people buy the most boring and unoriginal gifts which cost a fortune but the ones that make an impression are the ones where a lot of thought has gone into them;
15. Being a bridesmaid for five friends I am not interested in repeating the experience unless by new baby girl really wants me to do it for her !

Danforth Diamond, online wedding jewelry and fine engagement rings.

The Truth About Bridesmaids Dresses

“You will be able to wear it again”.

One of the biggest lies ever told about bridesmaids’ dresses.  This tall tale has been passed on for ages and the time has come to put an end to it.  It can be said that just about any woman, aged 30 and under,  has had  in her possession at least two bridesmaid’s dresses hanging in a dark corner, way in back of her closet.   And what about the matching shoes?  Let’s not even go there!   In the past, especially up until the mid 80’s, bridesmaids dresses were easily recognized, due to their pastel colors, huge bows on the butt, shiny fabrics and profusion of lace oozing from every sleeve, collar and hem.  We challenge these women to get up the nerve to wear these one-time wonders to any other function without feeling the least bit self-conscious.  Yes, bridemaid’s dresses have evolved over the years; and most now can be described as being in some kind of in-between “style limbo“…not quite looking like a bridemaid’s  dress, but still not something to be worn to any other important function.  This is especially true if the bride’s circle of friends is small, and attend many of the same social events.   Who wants to risk being seen in the same get-up?

The cold hard fact is this:  No matter what she may tell you, bridesmaids dresses are more often than not, chosen by the bride and selected with only one day in mind:  Her wedding day.  This is hardwired into her bridal subconscious.   She is unable to help herself, and so should be forgiven. Sure, she may feel guilty about the cost, but usually not at the expense of giving up her dream wedding ideas.   Any potential bridesmaid should be aware of this, and if the request is reasonable enough, be prepared to “suck it up”.

However, this doesn’t leave the bride “off the hook” completely.  She should be sensitive enough to consider each attendant’s best features, and choose colors, styles and fabrics that complement them as a whole.  It may also be a wise move for the bride to organize a meeting and have a civilized group discussion prior to selection.  Fabric swatches and a variety of styles should be made available for study; and if there are any out-of-town attendants, samples and photos should also be dispatched to them as quickly as possible.   In this way, a consensus can be made.

Let’s face it:  In all honesty, the odds of wearing these dresses again are most likely slim to none.   However, the fun and hilarity that goes along with the dress selection process can create memories that will last a lifetime; and  that for entertainment value alone, history will eventually show that it was  a couple hundred of dollars well spent.  Don’t believe me?  Go back and take a look at your mother’s wedding album.

Bridal Shower Themes

One of the jobs of a bridesmaid is to help throw a bridal shower for the bride. Depending on your personality, this can either be a very fun task, or a very daunting one. If you are not accustomed to entertaining, you may not know where to begin.

A great way to give a party a distinctive style is to pick a theme. The theme is some idea or design element that you choose to help bring the whole event together. It is fine to be eclectic, but you do not want to host a bridal shower that seems to have no direction or unified look. The theme will give you ideas about the invitations, decorations, food, music, games, and maybe even the gift.

There are some themes that are very traditional for bridal showers. One popular idea is a kitchen based shower. It dates back to the time when it was expected that every wife would be a homemaker. In considering this type of old-fashioned theme today, it is important to know the bride well. If she is a real “foodie”, then no doubt some gifts from the gourmet cooking shop would thrill her. However, if the bride is very career-oriented and has no interest in cooking, she might be insulted by a kitchen themes bridal shower.

These days it is more common to pick the theme based on the bride’s interests or her personal style. For instance, I once co-hosted a bridal shower for a very dear friend who loved cherries (she even had a tattoo of a cherry on her shoulder). We chose invitations with a cherry pattern on them, had dishes of chocolate covered cherries, and for the favors, I handmade soap with a cherry design. Of course, not everything at the shower was based on cherries; we served many of her favorite foods, and chose flowers in her favorite color combination, purple and orange. Remember to use your theme as a starting point, but not to take it over the top.

You can also use the bride’s wedding as an idea for the bridal shower. For example, if she is having a destination wedding, then why not throw a beach themed shower? It would be a great warm-up to the main event. You could send invitations with seashells or starfish on them, fill hurricane lanterns with shells and white candles for decorations, and ask all of the guests to bring a beach themed gift. The bridesmaids might even chip in together on a special present, such as a piece of handmade jewelry for the bride to wear at her wedding. For a destination wedding, a casual piece of wedding jewelry handmade with organic pearl wedding jewelry would be a great idea.

Another source of ideas for a bridal shower could be the bride’s background. Let’s say that the bride is a Southern belle who has relocated to New York City. She would be touched to have a shower that featured her favorite Southern things. You could serve regional foods and decorate with magnolias floating in water.

The most important thing to remember when choosing a theme for a bridal shower is that it should look like the bride. This is not the occasion to inject the taste of the hosts. Ask yourself, “would the bride love this?”, and if the answer is yes, you will know that you have found the perfect theme.

Look to Bridget for advice on planning your wedding. Check out how we can help with your bridesmaids jewelry at SilverlandJewelry.com. Handmade wedding jewelry is a beautiful and thoughtful gift.