Just got back from an awesome weekend in Toronto with D, and I thought I'd share a link I stumbled on on the Apple website. (Sorry, I totally don't know how to imbed a video...)
There's a new wedding movie coming out, called 'Bridesmaids'! It looks so funny... I love Kristen Wiig and am also super excited to see Suki from Gilmore Girls in a totally different role. I love movies with weddings in them, and after being pretty disappointed with 'Bride Wars' I'm excited to see this one! Maybe perfect for a relaxing afternoon to get your mind of the stress of planning... or a fun start to the bachelorette party!
Anyone else excited to see this movie?
So I've started thinking about what I'd like to gift my girls for taking part in our wedding. But first...
I have a few things in mind so far, but am looking for more ideas, so if anyone has any suggestions, please share!
So, first of all, I've seen a lot of brides buy cheap, cute flip flops and bedazzle them up a bit so the bridesmaids have something comfortable to change into at the end of the night. As much as I love this idea, I know that personally I have about a zillion pairs of flip flops, and there are cuter options out there! Such as...
1. Fold-Up Ballet Flats
There are a ton of these products on the market right now: CitySlips, FootzyRolls, DamnHeels, and the better priced Dr. Scholl's Fast Flats. They are all pretty similar in style, and range from $10 - $30 in price. Has anyone ever tried these? I never have, so I don't know which ones are best. I guess I'll have to find some reviews online.
2. A cute clutch/wristlet
There are a lot of options out there! Again, I'm not quite sure what I want to get, but I don't want to spend a ton of money on them - so that Coach wristlet is probably out of the question. There are tons of great finds on Etsy, so I will probably have something custom made on there.
3. Necklaces
All photos from here.Again, I haven't chosen anything yet. I think I will wait and see what dresses my girls choose, and then try to buy necklaces that match their dress and overall personal style. I will probably buy something different for each of my girls based on their style. I don't want to buy them some random necklace they'll never wear again. Also, I am not going to require them to wear the necklaces to the wedding, but they definitely can if they would like to!
4. Bridesmaid Tanks
I found this amazingly cute tutorial over on Weddingbee, so I am definitely going to add this to my list of DIY projects. I think they are so cute and this will be the perfect this to wear the morning of the wedding while we all get ready. (Of course, I'm going to make myself one as well!) So I am on the hunt for cute, inexpensive tanks to use and a bit of fabric or ribbon to craft the flowers. Question - Should I try and work this in to our wedding colour scheme, or not worry about it? I was thinking a white tank for me, and yellow ones for my maids... They are all brunette and can definitely pull yellow off. I guess we'll see what kind of tanks I can find and go from there.
Last but not least, I am going to pay for my girls to get their hair done for the wedding, should they choose. It's totally up to them if they want it done on the day of - I know sometimes people are more comfortable doing their own hair, or don't necessarily want it done by a stranger, so that's fine by me.
So far, that's it. Is that enough? I'll probably add little things here and there as I come across them, and probably find a cute reusable tote to put everything in. But if anyone has any suggestions, or if you think these gifts suck, please let me know!
What did you end up getting your bridesmaids to say Thank You?
So one of my other wedding tasks I did on the weekend was to make a newsletter for all of my bridesmaids. Oh, yes. I'm that bride. I tried to keep it light and fun, and really, I think it was necessary because we are pretty spread out and I wanted to update my girls on wedding plans and see how their doing with their dress selections. It was pretty easy to do and I think it came across okay. I tried to put some humour in it to keep it upbeat, and not too long.
I used a program called Print Shop Deluxe, which is basically low-tech, super basic free software I have on my Mac. Not sure where it came from, but it does the job well enough. So first I looked for some ideas online, for what to include in the newsletter and what I wanted to make sure was included as well. I also wanted to introduce the girls to each other (even though they already know OF each other and most have met) and exchange email addresses to make bridal event planning easier. Of course, stalking Facebook and finding ridiculous (but cute) pictures of all my girls was a must! Then I just added sections on attire, hair & makeup, bouquet suggestions (because I want input from them), and then some important info - dates of various events and a plea for crafting help.
All in all, I think it came together pretty nicely. I am just sending these out now, so I will have to let you know the reception I get with them. I'm not planning on making this a monthly occurrence, but I guess I'll see if anything super important comes up in the next few months and go from there.
Have you sent out a bridesmaid newsletter to your girls? How was it received? Do you think it is too over-the-top bride?
So BM N (who you might remember from that uneventful yet hilarious trip to Buffalo) texted me this morning - She bought her bridesmaid's dress! She came with me last weekend when I ordered MY dress, and the salon happened to be having this big sale, so she got a gorgeous black bridesmaid dress for only $50. Total score! She didn't buy it last weekend when we were there because we weren't 100% sure, but after leaving the shop she immediately regretted not buying it, so they put it on hold for her and she picked it up today. Yay!
The only thing about the dress is that the style is a bit risque, and needs to be altered. Let me start by saying I love it and it looks absolutely amazing on her, but it is a little low cut. As in, plunging neckline low cut. Looking at the dress straight-on it looks great, but when she turns to the side, there is a lot of side-boob action. Hm... definitely not 'church' appropriate. But the cut of the dress is so great, and after trying on lots and lots of dresses, this was definitely a favourite.
Not the dress, but the neckline is similar (Source) So she bought it. And we are going to make it work. She's going to start by having the chest altered, since it was a bit big anyways and that might have been what was causing the little peep show to happen. If that doesn't fix the problem, we are going to look into adding a piece of fabric to the 'plunge' - either some lace or a piece of fabric similar to the dresses material. I think it will look great and I can't wait to see her wear it on the big day. Her buying a BM dress makes the whole thing feel a lot more real. Like, not only do I have MY dress, but my girls are getting theirs as well. Very exciting!
So, one down, three more to go. Fingers crossed that my other ladies will find some lovely little black dresses at an after-holiday sale. That would be so perfect!
