XP Need to find a better BM gift...help?

mabapunta · March 2013

After buying the items to wrap our wedding party gifts, I realized last night that one of the presents for my BMs isn't quite on par with the rest. And I may be over stressing on this, but I am asking for your help if you will offer it.

One BM, we'll call her Rae, loves to read and is a big fan of cats and mice/rats. So I got her a custom made stamp on Etsy that has a picture of a book, cat and mouse and says "I belong to 'Rae.'" So she can stamp her books, DVDs, games etc that she uses or lends out. I know she is in a book club and brings the book she's reading with her everywhere, so I figure it's a practical gift - which she will appreciate. It's really cute!

I thought my MOH would be the most difficult to shop for, and it did take me quite a while to figure out what to get her, but this item seems pretty fitting. She loves and misses the beach because she just moved from SC back home to KY. We also went to college together and took the same French classes, and traveled to France together. I got her a custom bracelet from Etsy that says "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net forever" (except in French).

My other BM, we'll call her Amy, has actually been the most helpful with the whole wedding process. For her actual gift, I bought an upcycled small bag that can clip to her bicycle - it would be good to hold a phone, keys, wallet, etc. She enjoys riding and even did the ride across Iowa last year, and plans to do it again this year. Plus she appreciates items that are green, recycled, local, etc. So it's fitting to her personality, but not quite as special as the gifts for the other girls.

Because she has been such a great help, I was already planning on getting her a second item to offer her separately, before the wedding, to show her our appreciation for her support. So maybe I will offer the upcycled bag as her secondary gift, or maybe I'll absorb as my own if I find something else to replace it.

So a little about BM "Amy" - She's a nurse and is working within the cancer research field now. She loves to bake and is definitely a foodie - loves to eat, loves our farmer's markets - it's a shared interest of ours. She appreciates beer, and as mentioned before is a pretty dedicated cyclist.

I'm making a mixed CD for each of my girls as well because we're all driving several hours to and from the wedding and like to jam out in the car! And right now, the pair of these two items for each girl would be their present. If I find money and inspiration later, maybe I'll add to it.

Anyone have any ideas? I'm trying to find something that's more personalized like my other BM and MOH main gifts. I know you may not be able to tell me exactly what to get her, but do you have any ideas for types of personalized items based on her interests?

Thanks!

EDIT: I'm going to crosspost in my April wedding month board.

AddieCake · March 2013

I don't have any suggestions, but I just wanted to compliment you on how much thought you have put into those gifts!

bridalmarch · March 2013

Is there a local brewery that you/Amy like? Could you ge a ift card or take her to dinner and drinks there as a thank you?

mabapunta · March 2013

I hate beer actually, but no, if we do have any breweries around, I don't know of them or whether she likes them.

I still might do something together as our thank you - like get our nails done, or go out to breakfast or dinner together.

I'm mainly trying to find an item that will be personalized that I can actually present to her when we give our WP gifts at the RD.

"Amy" is about to graduate with her Master's of Science in Nursing, so maybe I can find something awesome to celebrate that. Checking Etsy, so far I've found an ID badge reel? Not big enough to be a gift in itself, tho.

erinlin25 · March 2013

I think the gifts sound perfect for BM gifts; and if you want to do something extra for your other friend, I think taking her out to dinner/drinks or for a mani/pedi would be a nice extra after the wedding. If she gets an "extra" gift with the other BMs, they may be slighted that she "got more." Better to just do the extra on your own time.

minko1986 · March 2013

If she loves to bake, what about a nice budnt cake pan? My aunt loves to bake - I got her a bundt cake pan from William Sonoma for one of special occasions, and she loved it. She still talks about it. IDK, may be it's not so fitting, but just an idea.

bellinibellini · March 2013

An elaboration on the cookbook idea--

If Amy is into baking French pastries in particular, the famous French patisserie Ladurée recently came out with a cookbook for their sweets. It's very reasonably priced (~$25) and the recipes are fantastic and turn out well. Importantly, it's not your average looking cookbook; it's covered in velvet, the pages are edged with gilt, and it comes in its own beautiful box with tissue paper. It'd be a very appropriate BM gift. You could personalize it by writing a dedication on the inside cover. I have very similar tastes--foodie, farmer's markets, baking, good beer and wine--and this book is very much in line with those interests. If she's not into French pastry, Williams Sonoma makes several great cookbooks in a wide variety of categories.

Kudos on being so thoughtful!

mabapunta · March 2013

She actually has been working in the nursing field for several years now. She has just been going to school on the side.

Any additional item or outing for her will be taken care of before the wedding. My other BMs will probably never know - ie I wouldn't give "Amy" an extra or larger gift at the same time as the other girls. I know better!

I do appreciate all of the ideas! I feel like there's extra pressure to make it the perfect gift because she has helped us so much with the wedding already, and because she already gave me a good Christmas gift and then gave us a shower gift...and I haven't had anything awesome for her yet! So I'm sure I'm overstressing.

XP Need to find a better BM gift...help?

Re: XP Need to find a better BM gift...help?

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