Typically, your bridesmaids and your maid of honor are your relatives, sisters and best friends. They’ve taken time out of their busy schedules and most likely have spend quite a bit of money for the event from their bridesmaid’s dress and other clothes for the event and of course their wedding gifts for you. Because they’ve been there for you so much and are supporting you on your big day that they deserve a special bridesmaid’s gift for everything they’ve done. There are many different kinds of gifts that you can get for your bridal party, and 0f course it is up to you on what kind of gifts you think that your bridesmaids will enjoy and use. Here are a few popular bridal party favors and gifts that you can give as a special thank you to those wonderful ladies who giving up their time and money to support you on your big day.
Make Your Own Gift Baskets

Grab a few baskets and filler at a nearby thrift store, and fill them with some wonderful goodies you think your bridesmaids will like. Your gift baskets can have any kind of theme to them that you like, such as coffee, chocolate, lotions and oils, bubble bath and spa gift baskets or even flowers. If you are having a wedding theme, then make your gift baskets go along with your theme. For example, if you are having a summer themed wedding, then use some giant colorful beach bags and fill them up with all kinds of goodies, like flip flops, towels and other fun summery stuff.

Personalized Bridesmaid Gifts

Many brides who purchase their bridesmaid gifts off of the Internet want to personalize the gifts for their bridesmaids to make it a little bit nicer for them. Many companies will personalize nearly anything, so your options are pretty open. You can give your bridesmaids personalized t-shirts, purses or handbags and even jewelry. It’s something you know your bridesmaids will enjoy, not only because it is a gift from you a memory of your wedding, but also because it is personalized with their names.

Miscellaneous Bridesmaid Gifts

If you’re on a limited budget (and to a point, every bride’s budget is limited), then you may want to look at some smaller kinds of bridesmaid gifts. Look at some stationary with fun colored pens, a single bottle of lotion or even some home made candy with a personal note from you. Your bridesmaids will appreciate the time and effort that you took to thank them for their time.

No matter what kinds of gifts you choose to get for the women in your bridal party, make sure that there is some kind of a personal touch so that they know and understand that your gift has come from the heart. That way your best friends, relatives or sisters will know how much you appreciate them and they’ll cherish the gifts that you give. I gave my bridesmaids a necklace and earring set to go with their bridesmaid dresses so that everyone would match, and I also paid for all of them to get their hair and make-up done for the wedding. It was a fun time to spend time with my sister and my new sisters getting our hair and make up done, and I know they enjoyed it as well.

Tags: Bridal Party, bridal party gift ideas, Bridal Party Gifts, bridesmaid gift ideas

I had someone write in a few weeks ago with a very interesting question, that I’m sure many brides face when choosing their maid of honor or bridesmaids. This young lady had just gotten engaged, and wanted to ask a very good friend of hers to be her maid of honor, but the girl lived several hours away, and didn’t know if this would work or not. She did not want to make things difficult on her friend with a lot of traveling, and I believe she really wanted someone nearby to help her out with her wedding planning if she needed it. It was an interesting question. So the question being, should you choose a maid of honor that lives far away even though they are your best friend? I believe yes. There are plenty of things a maid of honor can do over a distance to help you out in your wedding planning, and here are just a few of them to think about.

Choosing a Wedding or Bridesmaid Dress

One of the tasks that the maid of honor is typically given is to help the bride choose the dresses that the bridesmaids will wear, as well as be with the bride when she is picking out her wedding dress. This can be done from a distance, though it may be a little difficult. For the bridesmaid dresses, ask your maid of honor to look on the Internet and/or try some dresses on to come up with some favorites for bridesmaid dresses. Then, you can easily email pictures back and forth. If you really want your maid of honor to be there when you are looking at wedding dresses, and the distance between you isn’t too far away, then plan a weekend when ya’ll can get together, and run and look and bridesmaid dresses and reception venues, and anything else you want to do with her.

Planning Bridal Showers or a Bachelorette Party

The Internet is a beautiful thing. If your maid of honor wants to throw a bridal shower or bachelorette party for you, it can still easily be done from a distance. Find a location you want (like a friend’s home or a restaurant), and then via the Internet she can easily make her reservations, buy any decorations she needs, and even send invitations to invited guests without living in the same town as you.

Being the Brides Right Hand “Man”

The basic duty of the maid of honor is to be there for the bride in whatever she may need. Your maid of honor can still do this for you if she lives farther away. By means of telephone calls you need her to make, some projects your maid of honor can do on her own out of town, and much more. Plus, she should be with you a few days before the wedding so you can get some help and friend time before the wedding as well.

When my husband and I got married, his best friend lived in Alaska at the time, and we live in Texas. There was no question in his mind that he still wanted his best friend to be his best man, and they just made it work. But if you think about it, the best man really doesn’t have as many duties as the maid of honor does, and it kind of got me to thinking a little bit. Hopefully this article has been a help to you, and if you have any more questions or examples about how this has worked out for you in the past, don’t hesitate to write and ask.

Tags: Bridal Party, duties of the maid of honor, maid of honor

Believe it or not, choosing your Maid of Honor and bridesmaids can be more complicated and difficult than you might think. Asking a dear friend or family member is a special honor, and it comes with a certain amount of responsibility, one that some may not be able to handle. The maid of honor is the head, chief, and main personal attendant of the bride for her wedding and wedding day. Therefore the maid of honor dress is typically slightly different from the rest of the wedding party, as is the maid of honor bouquet. Specifically, she is the primary attendant with the most honors and duties of the bridal party, and is considered the equivalent of the groom’s best man. They also have many responsibilities in this role that they may or may not realize. While each wedding and bride are different, the tasks will vary from wedding to wedding, but the basic tasks of the maid of honor are listed below.

Assistance with General Decision Making

While the bride and groom are responsible for making the majority of the important decisions regarding the wedding, the maid of honor is there to give opinions, offer support, and lend a hand wherever and whenever needed. This does not mean that she should stay glued to your hip from engagement to wedding! Phone conversations, email, and brainstorming girl’s nights are a great way to get another viewpoint without ruling your maid of honor’s life.

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Tags: best man, Brainstorming, Bridal Party, bridal shower ideas, Bridal Showers, Bride And Groom, bridesmaids, Dear Friend, duties of the maid of honor, Guest Lists, Important Decisions, maid of honor, maid of honor bouquet, maid of honor dress, Mail, Opening Gifts, Organizing Parties, Personal Attendant, Phone Conversations, Wedding Invitations, Wedding Party