When do you give gifts to bridesmaids?

mrsdelkins

Hi all,

I got my BM's some super awesome thank you gifts and I was wondering when the best time was to give them out.  For example, I know I want to hang onto the robes until the day-of so the gals can get ready in them but don't have to worry about packing them and not forgetting.  But my big question comes here:  I also got them tank tops that are bedazzled with "bridesmaid" and "maid of honor."  My thinking was to give those to the girls earlier because they could be super fun to wear at the bachelorette party or maybe the rehearsal day, I don't know.  It just seems like giving those tanks on the day of the wedding is a little late to do anything fun with.

Does anyone have any cool ideas/suggestions/experience/words of wisdom to offer?

Thanks in advance!

sarawifenow

I am giving my gifts out at the RD. Curious, did you just get them robes and tank tops? It might be nice to get them something that is custom to their tastes as individuals.

southernbelle0915

mrsdelkins said:

Hi all,

I got my BM's some super awesome thank you gifts and I was wondering when the best time was to give them out.  For example, I know I want to hang onto the robes until the day-of so the gals can get ready in them but don't have to worry about packing them and not forgetting.  But my big question comes here:  I also got them tank tops that are bedazzled with "bridesmaid" and "maid of honor."  My thinking was to give those to the girls earlier because they could be super fun to wear at the bachelorette party or maybe the rehearsal day, I don't know.  It just seems like giving those tanks on the day of the wedding is a little late to do anything fun with.

Does anyone have any cool ideas/suggestions/experience/words of wisdom to offer?

Thanks in advance!

As far as when to give BMs their gifts, it's personal preference. We gave our WP their gifts at the rehearsal dinner. I've heard of people doing this the day of also.

As far as their gifts though, if you're expecting them to wear these things the day of, they're not really guest of honor (BM) presents... Especially robes and one-time use tank tops that say "bridesmaid"...

mrsdelkins

Thank you for your input.  Maybe "gifts" isn't the complete right term, but I'm not sure what else to call them.  Accessories, maybe?  These certainly are not the only things that my girls are getting, but they are the one 2 things that I have questions about.

They are absolutely getting some very personalized thank-you gifts that are separate from the items mentioned in the first post.

sarawifenow

mrsdelkins said:

Thank you for your input.  Maybe "gifts" isn't the complete right term, but I'm not sure what else to call them.  Accessories, maybe?  These certainly are not the only things that my girls are getting, but they are the one 2 things that I have questions about.

Thanks for that clarification! That helps a lot.

 

In that case, I would definitely give the robes the morning of if you are wanting them to be on when everyone is getting ready.

 

The tank tops I would give as optional before the bachelorette party. Maybe they don't want to wear them? (Most likely they will though).

 

What else did you get them? I just love hearing about gifts. I am weird like that, though.

southernbelle0915

mrsdelkins said:

Thank you for your input.  Maybe "gifts" isn't the complete right term, but I'm not sure what else to call them.  Accessories, maybe?  These certainly are not the only things that my girls are getting, but they are the one 2 things that I have questions about.

Phew! Good deal. 

I'd probably just give it to them the day of before you get ready. Obviously they can wear whatever they want to get ready, so don't be offended if they don't want to get ready in a robe. Personally robes drive me nuts. Further I would NEVER be pictured in a robe getting ready. I know that's all Pinterest-y and popular, but don't pressure them into doing this.

ETA: about the shirts - you can give these to them whenever. It's never mandatory that they wear them to any event (yes, even the bachelorette), so it doesn't really matter when you give it to them. I went to a bach several weeks ago where we had "Bride's Posse" tank tops. I used it to wash my car last weekend.

ShesSoCold

If you want them to have the option (key word - option) to wear the shirts at the bachelorette, you can just give them to your BMs as you see them. MOH coming over for dinner and trashy TV? Give it to her then, Meeting another for a movie? Give it to her then. But I would give the robes/rest of gifts to them either at the RD, night before the wedding or morning of. I gave my MOH her gift like a month after the wedding. Oops. Edited to PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE add paragraphs. Edited again because nope.

Alikat9614

Our RD ended up being more a family welcome dinner, so we felt awkward giving gifts to them at that time. I gave my BM's their gifts the morning of the wedding at the salon when we were getting our hair done. The salon is appointment only on Saturdays, so it was just the 2 stylists, two BM's, one of our DOC's who brought us fruit, bagels, and mimosas, and myself.

mrsdelkins

Thank you all so much for the ideas!

mrsdelkins

SaraBrideSoon, I kind of did a 2 prong approach for my girls. 

The first were things that I wanted to do for them because they had expressed a desire but concern because of money.  When I asked them if they wanted to get their hair and makeup professionally done (so I could reserve time, etc.) most said yes, but 3 are traveling from NY to AZ and were concerned about money, so I told them that my fiance and I wanted to do this for them if they wanted it.  This wasn't really a gift, though, it was more of just a "thank you" because if they were making such an effort to be there for me and wanted to get all glitzed and glammed up but worried about money, I wanted to take that burden off of their shoulders.

The second, more "gifty" things I got them were nice bags, like large purses, but I got them to fit each girl's personality (some are high fashion, and some prefer things homemade).  I also got each a hand painted wine glass from Etsy with their names, the wedding date, and roses and a dress painted on it.  I also got them each travel cups with their names.  I got them super cute clutches to use the day of the wedding so they could carry anything they wanted with them.  I'm also going to do picture frames with photos from the wedding day and send to each girl, but that will be after the wedding.

Also, I'm kind of a cat lady (and proud of it), so I have a cute little kitty figurine I'm giving them.