Gifts for Bridesmaids

maadee91

My fiance and I are having our wedding in my hometown, Myrtle Beach, SC, and every single member of the bridal party will have to travel to make it for the wedding. Fortunately, my family owns a hotel on the beach and we are thinking that we're going to offer free rooms to the bridal party as the "gift". They would pay for their flights, but we would offer to host them for as long as they like (aka they can make it into a vacation if they want). That way we can cut down on some of their travel fees, etc. If that acceptable etiquette for destination weddings (although I'm not even sure if ours would be considered a destination wedding, since I'm from there... probably 75% of our guests are from outside of the state, though)? Should we also give physical gifts as a thank-you? We are on a tight budget and although giving away free rooms may not seem like a big cost, we'd be giving up quite a bit in revenue we may be able to bring in otherwise, so I want to take that into consideration.

Also, I'll be asking my friends if they'll be in the wedding soon, and I want to be able to tell them if they'll get free rooms when I do ask, so they can take the cost into consideration. Would that be okay?

mbcdefg

I think it's generous to cover the rooms. If you are 100% sure you can offer this to them, then I think it's fine to mention that if they accept your invitation to be a bridesmaid.

I would still get them a little something else, since the room is something that's related to your wedding. It doesn't have to be major, though ... maybe a $10 bottle of wine, a box of nice chocolates, a CD or DVD you know they'd like, a $25 or less gift card to something they like (Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, iTunes, Target).

My BM loves Gwen Stefani and her L.A.M.B. brand, and when I was at Marshall's I found this tote that Gwen designed and I only paid, like, $20 for it. Poke around a store like TJ Maxx or Target, or even a thrift store (the same friend got me a great vintage salt and pepper shaker set from a thrift store), and see if you can find a little something to give them.

And a thank you card with a heartfelt message will go a long way.

erollis

I think that offering to pay for their hotel rooms is very generous. Especially if your family and you can afford it. Since you mentioned they could turn it into a vacation I would let them know that but give up to x number of nights that would be covered. Such as, if the wedding portion lasted 2 nights they could stay 5 more nights free. So 7 nights would be the max they could stay for free, as an example. 

You should give them something other then the nights free. A nice thank you/ I appreciate you card would mean so much to them. Then find a little trinket or something they would like as a gift. It doesn't need to cost much or if you are crafty you could make them something special.