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In case you weren't aware, it's traditional for the ide and groom to get each of their attendants a gift to say "thank you" for being part of the wedding. This was particularly important in our case, as most of them not only purchased or rented a dress or tux for the wedding, but plane tickets, hotel rooms, and so on since it was a destination for nearly everyone.
At first, I wasn't really sure what to get the girls. But I slowly started building the gifts, piece by piece. Now that I look back, perhaps I overspent. (There isn't a set amount that's appropriate for a idal party gift; just consider how much of their time, effort, and money that they're putting toward your wedding). However, because I did it all slowly over the course of several months, I didn't realize how much I spent -- nor do I regret it.
First, I started by finding a tote bag that I thought each girl would like. For instance, Jenny K, who is a huge Arizona State fan, got a bag with an ASU Sun Devil on it (her husband might have been even more excited than she was). Cheryl, a teacher, recieved a tote bag that says "Live, Love, Teach." My older sister, Kate, got a black bag with the words "Maid of Honor" emblazoned in blue. Lauren got a large blue and white polka-dotted tote from Forever 21 (we love to shop there together), and Liz and Jenny H. both got Quotable bags that I just thought fit for them.
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For Liz:
For Jenny:
Then it was time to figure out what to actually put in those bags. I hemmed and hawed over flip-flops or personalized wine glasses. I thought about college sweatpants from Victoria's Secret, but they didn't have University of Maryland on their list.
I knew, however, that I wanted them to have matching jewelry, so that was first on the list. Luckily, my mother-in-law runs her own jewelry business, Gems by Georgie, and she was kind enough to put together some gorgeous faux-pearl necklaces and earrings, tied together by an ivory ribbon. You can see them in this professional photo, taken by Holly Blood:
Then, I also included a pair of cropped pajama pants from Old Navy. They looked something like this, though they each got a different color/pattern:
Finally, just because a gift just gets so much better when you include some booze, I picked up a bottle of wine each for them. I had asked previously what type of wine they liked best, so I knew which type they would most appreciate.
Overall, I probably spent about $50 for each of them, but I was happy to do so. They seemed to be really excited about their gifts, and like I said, picking things up in increments made it a lot easier to shell out the money.
Thanks, girls, for being such great idesmaids!
