When you’re planning a wedding, you know there are the big, expensive, high-profile things you need to figure out. You need to find a venue and a photographer and what about the dress?! But for me, my favourite parts have been the little things along the way. Designing the Save The Dates with my fiance, having cocktails with my mum before my first bridal boutique appointment, or going to the boozy menu tasting at our venue. (Read my wedding planning diaries over here!)
And one of those little things I enjoyed so much, was putting together little gift boxes for my bridesmaids. I just love the idea of giving them each a little gift as I ask them to be a bridesmaid on my wedding day. I know it’s quite cheesy and American to do things like this, but I thought it would be cute.
But the thing is, when you start coming up with ideas for these boxes, you realise that things start adding up. Like you’ll get a cool idea but then times it by how many bridesmaids you have and realise it’s a bit much. I had the idea to get monogrammed make-up bags for my gals, found a cute one for £30 but then realised that was £90 and was only one thing. So I scrapped that one.
I was also keen not to be too tacky about it. Like I didn’t want to give them a load of tat that had “Team Bride” or “Bridesmaid” over everything, that they would 100% never use again.
So it was tricky finding things that were affordable, cute and personal, but I think I put together a nice little gift. I read lots of blog posts and watched lots of YouTube videos when I was coming up with mine, so I thought I’d put together a little post showing you what I put in mine and a few more ideas to help with yours.
My DIY Bridesmaid Proposal Boxes
Ok so first up, what did I end up putting in mine? Like I said I wanted them to be lovely but affordable, and I think I fulfilled the goal with these little bits.
- A mini bottle of red wine – I immediately thought about adding a mini bottle of prosecco, it is a celebration after all! But the more I thought of my friendships with these lovely people, I realised red wine was more relevant. I’ve had lots of fun nights with all three of them involving lots of Campo Viejo Rioja!
- Mini cactus/succulent – So I have this idea that I’m going to have mini cacti at our wedding that would act as the favours and the name cards. I’m not 100% on it now because I don’t know if anyone really takes favours home at weddings? But either way I will have cacti and succulents on the tables regardless, so I thought giving the gals one would link in with the big day and be quite cute. (These ones were £2.50 from Sainsbury’s.)
- Bubble bath – My favourite Sunday Rain bubble bath to be exact. It doesn’t link with my wedding or our friendships but it’s just really nice bubble bath. Who doesn’t love bubble bath?
- A cute pin – I often gift my friends pins, so it felt like something I would buy them. And even though I said I didn’t want any tacky bridesmaid crap, I felt like having one special thing that said Bridesmaid and wasn’t really big, would be nice. More of a keepsake, y’know? I got these gold ones from Etsy.
- A polaroid of us – I was going to do a card but then thought instant photos felt more me. So I printed one for each of the girls on my Instax link printer and wrote “Will you be my bridesmaid?” on the bottom.
I considered buying fancy boxes at one point but then found these little spotty boxes in Hobbycraft for a couple of quid, secured with some sage green ribbon (one of my wedding colours). And I think they look fab!
I mentioned that I wanted to keep them budget (I mean I have lots of wedding things to buy and this just felt like a lil token present) and I did pretty well. All in all they came to £16 each, so under £50 for the three of them. And I think that’s pretty decent?
What Should You Put In Your Bridesmaid Boxes?
Something related to your friendship – It doesn’t need to be big or expensive but do you guys have a running joke you could incorporate? Or a snack you both love? A drink you always get when you go out?
Something related to your wedding day – I liked the idea of setting the tone for the wedding you know? These guys are guests after all. So think about whether you already know your wedding theme or certain colours you will be using. Then it all ties in nicely.
A small “Bridesmaid” keepsake – Like I said, I think a lot of the Bridesmaid stuff is cute in the moment but then never gets used or looked at again. And that might be the case with my lil pins too. But I think having something small and cute as a token thing is a nice idea.
Things everyone likes – I don’t think this stuff is essential but if you want to put one or two nice things in that they will deffo like and use, go for bubble bath, bath bombs, a candle, a face mask or other sweet little self-care bits and bobs.
A cute card and/or photo of the two of you – This is the main thing for me. I think if you’re on a budget just getting them a nice card with a photo of you guys on it is all you need to do.
I hope you like my little Bridesmaid proposal boxes (they all said yes!) and I’ve given you some ideas for yours. Happy wedding planning! (Click here if you want more wedding goodness, lads.)
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