So. You’ve said “yes”. You’re engaged. Every girl friend is calling and texting you to say congratulations but…is there something more hidden under those words? Do they want to know if they made the cut? The Bridal Party cut….
Maybe…Maybe not…but it was certainly one of those things that was at the top of my thoughts.
There are all sorts of articles on “how to be the perfect bridesmaid” and how much it can cost to be a bridesmaid and having been a bridesmaid twice, I always thought I would only have one or two bridesmaids max. I mean, I would be saving my girlfriends money in the long run too, right?
That was what I thought…until my wonderful groom decided he wanted to invite EVERYONE to be a groomsman. I’m pretty sure every guy he wanted to invite he wanted to be a groomsman. Luckily, I talked him down to 6. Still, way more than I imagined, but a number where I could invite only girls who I absolutely would want to be a bridesmaids…no “meh, I guess I’ll have her too…” or “if I invite her, then I have to invite her…and her.. and…” you get the point.
So with that I easily settled on my six ladies, representing my early through high school life, my college life, and my current (adult?) life. (note: this does not mean that the high school and college friends did not transition into the adult stage….they had to or they wouldn’t be bridesmaids!)
The next decision was…how do I ask them?? In a world of Pinterest, Facebook, and Reality TV….the options were endless…both in ideas and in price. I didn’t really want to buy something that they would just throw away, or something that would just take up space…lets be honest here, every wedding has a budget, and I was not about to blow mine on a pre-wedding gift. I thought about wine – its easy to create your own label with a picture and a “Will you be my Bridesmaid” but that would have really increased the shipping price and I was a bit nervous about mailing 5 bottles of wine (only one of my bridesmaids is in Vegas with me). So I kept searching…looking through website after website of bridesmaid gift ideas….until I found it. “Bleached Tees.” Remember in high school when you used to paint on your shirts for spirit days? When I was a Maid of Honor I did tanks for all of the girls where I painstakingly stamped and outlined “bridesmaid” etc in paint on every shirt.
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| Letting the bleach sit |
It said to stencil out what you wanted to write…but I didn’t. Just take a cutting board, cover it in a plastic bag, and write what you want with a Bleach Pen (I used Clorox Bleach Pen). I bought the t-shirts at Target and it just so happened that the color I wanted was the only one on sale!
I let the bleach sit on the shirts for an hour and then popped them into the washing machine with no soap and then into the dryer.
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| Completed! |
I have to say, I was pretty darn happy about them. I wanted something else though…
I was wandering around the BX (kinda like a Walmart but on base) and found some awesome nail presses – you know, those nail wraps that are all over Facebook right now? And they just so happened to have three different designs in the colors I wanted! Score! Now, these would be perfect for the girls to wear to the wedding, but I can’t expect them to hold on to those for 8 months! I’m sure I can make another BX run when it gets closer– and in the mean time, they get to try some out! (I even bought some for myself!) I found some “Bridesmaid” pins on Amazon Prime (seriously, if you don’t have Prime, you do not know what you are missing!) and finished the boxes off with the “request” card and a save the date print, and off they went!
Then…I had to wait. And I am pretty sure in the 3 days it took the boxes to reach the girls, every single one of them called me. Maybe it was just me but I could swear they were just waiting to see if I was going to ask!
Luckily, one by one today, via text, call, instagram, or facebook, my lovely ladies opened their boxes and said Yes!
So happy I have such wonderful friends. I cannot wait to plan things with them and let me know what is going on!
Oh, and that groom of mine? I don’t think he has asked his groomsmen yet. I even printed funny little cards that said “I *insert picture of mustache* you …Will you be my groomsman?
(get it?? I mustache you..”) I don’t think he appreciated my humor though…they are still sitting in the office.
There is something to this recent trend of asking your bridal party to be there for you. I enjoyed making the shirts and putting the boxes together and it was fun for me to receive them and send me pictures one by one. I would definitely recommend doing a little something for your ladies but don’t break the bank….the reality of a wedding is that there are always hidden costs that pop up that you didn’t expect. You don’t want to spend all your “extras” budget in the beginning!
Did you do something for your bridesmaids? Do you think that this trend is a waste of time and money? Let me know in the comments below!!
Kali