Asking the Bridesmaids

Where we last left off, I was determined to ask my friends to be bridesmaids in a special, surprising way.  I had a few details secured, and asking them was next up on my to-do list!

Even though there are a lot of great options, I decided that simple, handwritten cards in the wedding colors would be best for me.  I used this design from Wedding Chicks for my cards.  It's simple to use, and has plenty of colors to pick from.  Actually, it was while designing my cards that I settled on our wedding colors - teal, dark purple, and champagne.  I was playing around with a few other combos and I didn't like how they came out in the print, but I love how these did. I used "Grape Jelly" for the text and "Tiffany Blue" for the scroll.

image downloaded from Wedding Chicks

For size, I used a whole sheet of paper for each and I folded down the middle to make the card.  I was worried it would be too big, but I had a lot to say to each girl, so I ended up needing that space.  I printed the front design as a single picture (5x7), and made sure to orient it the right way (with a test run or two!).

And here's how they turned out!

I made four bridesmaids and one Maid of Honor card./All remaining photos are personal. 

I think that the slightly metallic paper made the colors look so much better.  I used the Champagne Pearl from this "Royal Metallics" paper that I found at Target.

And I wrote a note inside for each girl, describing how much it would mean for me to have them be my bridesmaid.  I also included some info at the top with the date, location, and venues.  All in a purple pen, of course.

And I got mocked for including our names at the top, as if they don't know us.   I just wanted to be thorough!

I took our sisters, BM C and MOH R out to dinner the night before my dress shopping appointment and gave them the cards, and of course they said yes!  (We went to one of our favorites, Katie's, and had a great meal and drinks.  If you're in NOLA, I highly recommend.  It was on DDD, but I wouldn't call the place a dive.)

Back at my house after our dinner.  My sister/MOH R is on the left, and Sphinx's sister BM C is on the right.

BM E couldn't make that dinner, so I gave her the card a week later, and she said yes too!

BM TPerk and BM M are both out of town, so I mailed those cards that next week.  I was SO nervous to hear back from them.  I told Sphinx that I didn't know how he had handled the anxiety leading up to the proposal, because this was just sending cards to my bridesmaids and I was so nervous to hear back!  Fortunately, they didn't let me sweat too long and called me when they received the cards that weekend to accept.

If I could offer any advice - don't sit down and write them all at once.  I kept a page in my wedding binder to jot down ideas for the cards (heard the song that BM M and I love to sing to each other on the radio - make sure that goes in the card!), and I even wrote some rough drafts.  It made it much easier to write when it came time to it, and I didn't have to force anything.  I didn't make myself finish them all at once, and I think that helped make them very sincere, which is what I was aiming for.  I'll be sure to do this whenever we're doing cards closer to the wedding, like for our parents.

The cards had a good response, and they served the purpose I needed without stretching my artistic abilities too far (or...at all, really).  I have some incredible friends and I am so glad that they will be by my side all day for the wedding!

How did  you ask your bridesmaids? Did you have to adjust your color scheme mid-project?