Gifting the Girls

As I've mention many times, most of my bridesmaids traveled to attend the wedding.  They also threw me a kickass bachelorette party in Vegas and in general were amazing all through my wedding planning process.  I knew I wanted to gift them appropriately, and I used the last year to accumulate lots of little items to show how much I appreciated everything they did for me.   

Photo from MOH Curls since I forgot to take on before gifting.

A day or two before the wedding, I gave them their bags.  I know tote bags are pretty standard, but I wanted to put all the gifts into something usable.  I found these cute damask bags with a fleur-de-lis at a local jewelry show and figured they'd be perfect.  Once I saw the girls using these and how much they were able to hold, I wish I had picked one up for myself as well! 

I went with dark wood hangers with magenta flowers for the bridesmaids and a white flower for me./Photo from Two Broads Design.  

I'm not sure I'd consider the personalized hanger a gift, since it was really a wedding prop, but I gave it to them all the same.  I waited pretty late to order the hangers (I figured if the budget was running out, it was an easy expense to skip), so I had to search out an Etsy shop with a quick turnaround time.  I decided to order from twobroadsdesign because the prices weren't too bad and they offered an option for flowers instead of bows.  There was a little bit of a snafu, because BM Dino's hanger was missing from my order so I had to get them to send it separately.  Overall it worked out fine though, and the hangers looked nice and did their job.

 The girls took to calling each other by their robe color all morning.  "Hey, Teal! It's time for your makeup!" /Photo by Momma P.

When it came down to something to wear in the hotel room, I knew I wanted to go with robes instead of a monogrammed button down.  I'm a big fan of robes and wear one all the time at home, and they just  seemed like the comfier option.  I went with the Etsy seller silkandmore and would highly recommend!  She has a very clear form to fill out that allows you to customize each robe with color, size, length, and sleeve length.  Shipping was good for a made-to-order item; I received them about two weeks after ordering.  The bridesmaids absolutely loved their robes and didn't want to take them off when the time came to get dressed.  There was talk of wearing the robes down the aisle.

I grabbed these cute polka dot Kate Spade makeup bags from the outlet last year, and they were the perfect thing to hold all of the other goodies inside of the tote bag.

Personal photo of my necklace.  I also have one for my new last name!

I wear this cute initial necklace all the time, so I figured it would be something great to share with my bridesmaids.  I found mine a few years ago at the jewelry show from this seller, although I've seen these kind of necklaces popping up other places too.  I like that it's a large pendant, so it makes a statement, but it's simpler than a customized three-letter monogram.  These weren't to wear with the dress, but I've seen several of the girls wearing these since the wedding, so I think they like them!

E45 Small Tapered Blending, E55 Flat Shader, F35 Tapered Highlighter, E35 Tapered Blending from Sigma Beauty

Part of the responsibility of being a beauty addict is to share knowledge and products with your friends and family, so of course I had to add in some of my favorite makeup brushes for my bridesmaids.  I have two full sets of Sigma Beauty brushes, and I've been nothing but satisfied with the quality, so I felt comfortable gifting this brand.  I picked out four of my favorite brushes that I thought were pretty unique and not something the girls would already have, but still usable for the different levels of makeup proficiency.  

The magnificent Beauty Blender from Sephora.

If you're into makeup and haven't tried a Beauty Blender, you're missing out!  They're so easy to use and multipurpose - they can totally change your makeup application game!  Sephora also released a special radiant orchid one this year, so I figured that was too perfect and grabbed them during a 10% VIB sale this spring.

Also found at the aforementioned jewelry show.

Finally, I gave the girls crystal chandelier earrings to wear for with their dresses.  With the neckline of the dress, we decided against necklaces, so we went for super blingy earrings instead!  

As an additional way of saying "thank you," I also treated the girls to manis, pedis, and brunch the day before the wedding.  But you'll hear more about that later on!  

I hope my friends appreciated their gifts, but I know that these were just small tokens compared to the time, money, effort, and sanity that they gave up to be part of the big day!