Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Gift ideas for the bridesmaids and maid of honor

Your friends are there for you, as you get ready for the big day. They are going to be right there with you as go from bride to wife. You want some way to thank them for being there, interrupting their lives for fittings and rehearsals. You have just spent the last weeks if not months preparing for your wedding. Now you need to come up with the right gifts for your bridesmaids and maid of honor.

Personal gift are the best. These are your friends and family, you know them well and should be able to find each one a personal gift to say thank you. This does take more time, and can be more expensive then giving everyone the same gift. It is nice to be able to give some thing that each person will appreciate and enjoy and lets them remember your wedding. Often a small token is more appreciated if time has been put into it to make it special to the person receiving it then a uniform expensive gift that everyone receives.

Cost and time are always deciding factors in buying gifts. A small token is perfectly fine and appreciated and so is going extravagant if you have the budget for it. It is a lot of fun to spend time finding the right thing for your friends. I can spend a lot of time gift hunting. Often times you can find some great pieces or gifts in local shops and malls. However if you don’t have a lot of time, shop on the Internet. This lets you find thousands of gift ideas in all price ranges. This will save you time and the items you pick will be delivered to you

1) Jewelry is the most common thank you gift, and is often worn at the wedding. There are some wonderful sterling silver pendants, chains, earrings and brooches that will fit any budget and it is easy to find individual pieces for each person all in the same price range.

2) Gift basket or bag with a mix of items is the next popular thank you gift. These can be made to fit any budget. Often gift baskets will have specialty food items, coffee, tea or an alcoholic beverage, candy, some sort of memento like a mug, wine glass, or vase, some times jewelry, gift certificates, perfume, personal care products like body cream, bubble bath, etc. What is great about gift baskets is that you can put whatever you want in them. Very easy to fit your budget and have each basket designed for each person. It is also very easy to match the look of the basket with the look of your wedding with the use of color and flowers. If you have the time to make them yourself it can be a lot of fun, however if you don’t then there are 100’s of places that will make them up for you, both local and online.

3) Find a local artist to make something for each of your bridesmaids and maid of honor. As there are often many different types of artists that work in many different mediums this opens up a lot of unique one of a kind gift ideas. I like the individually handcrafted pottery. This can be dish sets, a unique serving bowl, vase, or just about anything. There are some wonderful sculptors, painters, and even musicians who would love to make something for you to give as gifts, either all unique or a matched set. Don’t forget the local crafters who also make the unusual and one of a kind pieces. There are usually a few stores that carry local crafters work, or local craft shows to go to. I have seen some wonderful handcrafted unique jewelry at craft shows, and I know that you can often have the crafter make a set for each person, or the same set for each person in your bridal party. Some crafters will even have their own online store so you are not always limited to local talent.

4) Gift certificate to a spa or a treatment at a spa is a good way to go, very appreciated after several days of stress and hard work. There are many price ranges available. You can give a pedicure or manicure at a reasonable cost. Or you can go as far as the full spa day treatment if your budget allows and any thing in between.

5) A sitting with the professional photographer for a portrait or family picture just for them is a wonderful way to say thank you for helping you on your wedding day. This is some thing that most people do not think to give themselves Often you can get a good deal if you use the same photographer for the wedding and each of the bridesmaids and maid of honour pictures. It can all be arraigned as you arrange for the wedding pictures. What is great about this is that the pictures can often be taken on the same day as the wedding when every one is already dressed up and having fun or you can make arraignments with the photographer for individual studio sittings.

6) No matter what the gift is, what is appreciated and most often kept, usually with the wedding photos, is the thank you card with a hart felt handwritten note from you to them.

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