Wedding Party

Bridal Party gifts

Hi all,

just looking for some advice. We're having a small wedding , super simple my only request has been for my ladies to wear black dresses knee length or longer but any style they want/hair they want/make up etc.

We're having a Halloween party weding (if that matters) reception and ceremony at a legion hall..

I am considering the following for the bridesmaid gift (I have 6)
- Personalized pocket/purse mirrors
- personalized make up/travel bags
- mini make up brush set

Is that a sufficient WP gift? We definately haven't asked ppl to spend a lot or anything like that and there's not a whole ton of events leading up to the wedding so cots are very minimal for the WP.

Thanks!

Re: Bridal Party gifts

  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_bridal-party-gifts-24?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:37Discussion:e12a2fdc-4395-48e0-aadd-4b26003202a5Post:07bca852-bbfb-4612-9eb7-84d1de09a9c0">Re:Bridal Party gifts</a>:
    [QUOTE]Do all of your girls travel a lot and love makeup related stuff? Would you give each of them this for their birthday or Christmas? If the answer to these questions is yes, then you're fine. However, personally, I think the gifts sound a little generic and pointless personally. Unless these gifts really fit each girl's personality, I'd get them something else. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it should look like you picked it out with that person in mind rather than just coming up with a mass gift.
    Posted by StageManager14[/QUOTE]

    I agree with all of this.  These gifts sound like generic, run of the mill, typicall BM gifts.

    You don't need to spend a lot of money on each girl but each gift should reflect each girls personality and likes.  So if that means you end up with 6 different gifts so be it...at least they are personal and shows you put some thought into it.

  • No we're all to dirt poor to travel but they all wear make up.
    I just think the other option is jewellery and they are all super picky about what they wear or don't wear any... so I feel something along those lines would just sit and never get used.

    NONE of them are drinkers so wine/ glasses is out


    :S

  • Oh dear lord, stop and think about what each girl likes to do or what her hobbies are.  What would you get them if it was their birthday or Christmas?  Would you get them all the exact same thing?  I doubt it.

    Listen to Stage, she gave you some great examples and even if none of them are into books or coffee or whatever, use her examples as a way of figuring out what is best for each person individually.

  • I think the problem here is that you seem to feel pigeonholed into getting them "typical bridesmaid gifts."

    It's MORE than O.K. to (for example) get one girl a DVD box set, to get another girl a little bottle of her favorite perfume, another girl can receive minor league baseball tickets for her favorite team, and you can give a Target gift card to the girl who got a new apartment. Just get them each something they will use and enjoy, and don't buy the gifts based on what's "typical" or what "goes with" your wedding.

    In all honesty, when you see websites or magazines full of these "typical bridesmaid gifts," are any of those items really the things you would use/want in real life? I don't know anyone who has ever said, "Oh, I would love to buy my friend that monogrammed travel bag/tiny compact mirror/painted wine glass!" outside of a wedding. I don't know what it is about weddings that suddenly makes women want to buy their friends a bunch of useless, ugly crap.

    When you're exchanging birthday or holiday gifts with these girls, what do you normally buy for them? Start listening for hints about stuff they need/want, ask their boyfriends or sisters for advice, or see if they have an Amazon or Etsy wish list out there somewhere.

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  • Honestly, wasting your money on some random "official bridesmaidy" junk just so you can say you got them something doesn't benefit anyone, except maybe the wedding industry that wouldn't be able to sell its monogrammed crap otherwise.

    Figure out your budget per person, and shop for each attendant as if that were your budget for their birthday.  They don't all have to get the same thing, unless you can come up with one thing you think they'd all genuinely like.
    This is a neglected planning bio.
    This is a belated married bio, with no reviews yet because I'm lazy.

    image
    Sometimes I feel like people think that brides are delicate little flower princesses who get all dressed up and pretty for one special moment of their dreams, when really they're just normal people who just happen to be getting married. Things shouldn't have to be sugar-coated for grown-ass women. -mstar284
  • I'm going to be odd woman out on this one, but honestly, if it's a gift that all your BM's will like, and you KNOW they will like and use them, I don't see any reason why they can't be matchy-matchy. When I was MOH for my best friend, she got us all matching necklaces to wear for the wedding. I have worn mine since. I don't think ANY of us (there were 5 of us) said, "I can't believe she got sucked into getting us matching gifts, she should have gotten us all something a little more personal." Just because it's trendy, or "official," doesn't mean you CAN'T do it, as long as you think it's appropriate and not just a cop-out because you couldn't think of anything else to get. If you put the time and thought into matching gifts, I think it's all good.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
  • aerinpegadrakaerinpegadrak member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited August 2012
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_bridal-party-gifts-24?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:e12a2fdc-4395-48e0-aadd-4b26003202a5Post:1d6775ce-3c60-4cc0-a5fb-b03d8bd171f4">Re: Bridal Party gifts</a>:
    [QUOTE]I'm going to be odd woman out on this one, but honestly, if it's a gift that all your BM's will like, and you KNOW they will like and use them, I don't see any reason why they can't be matchy-matchy. When I was MOH for my best friend, she got us all matching necklaces to wear for the wedding. I have worn mine since. I don't think ANY of us (there were 5 of us) said, <strong>"I can't believe she got sucked into getting us matching gifts, she should have gotten us all something a little more personal."</strong> Just because it's trendy, or "official," doesn't mean you CAN'T do it, as long as you think it's appropriate and not just a cop-out because you couldn't think of anything else to get. If you put the time and thought into matching gifts, I think it's all good.
    Posted by UberBiz[/QUOTE]
    I also got all of my attendants the same thing (a leatherbound copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales).  But it was a happy accident that I discovered one thing that I knew they'd each like, and I went into the shopping with the mindset of birthday/Christmas shopping.<div>
    </div><div>And I don't think anyone would ever think the bolded statement; rather, they'd accept it politely while thinking, "What the hell am I going to do with this thing?"  Surely that's not a reaction that anyone wants.</div><div>
    </div><div>Trying to make the gifts match or coordinate is almost universally more of a hinderance than a help.  If you really want to do something matching, then start by thinking about the interests you share with each of them and see if there's a common thread (for me, it was a mutual love of literature and Disney), and use that to shop.  But if they all have wildly differing tastes and interests, don't feel that you have to force it.</div>
    This is a neglected planning bio.
    This is a belated married bio, with no reviews yet because I'm lazy.

    image
    Sometimes I feel like people think that brides are delicate little flower princesses who get all dressed up and pretty for one special moment of their dreams, when really they're just normal people who just happen to be getting married. Things shouldn't have to be sugar-coated for grown-ass women. -mstar284
  • This is a good thread! I am lucky in that all of my maids are easy to shop for, but they are all verrrry different people, so their gifts will not be matching, unless I get lucky like Aerin (by the way, that sounds adorable). For example...one girl loves makeup/girly stuff, one is allergic to almost every product on the market. One girl is my "coffee buddy" and one won't touch the stuff with a ten-foot pole. I think if I tried hard enough, I could find something all of them would like, but it would honestly be easier and probably more appreciated overall if the gifts are unique.
  • Fear not I've abandoned the idea ..

    Except for the purse mirrors because I think they are useful.. and I'd want one.. ordered myself one as well and they are all getting different designs with their name on it not just one generic one.

    I'm going a bunch of different routes.. pandora beads for the two with bracelets, fairy/dragon figurine/chime for the one into that, snowflake jewlry for one, monogramed monkey towel for the one who loves monkeys (and has 3 kids to deal with) and my BFF I'll get something done by a designer we both like, or arrange for us to get matchign tattoos (we've been debating for some time)

    Thanks for your input.
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