Wedding Party Gifts

I really wanted to share this part of our wedding planning, as it took some thought and work to get it right. It was really important to us to give both our wedding party and mom’s a nice thank you gift. I did a lot of research on wedding boards, to get an idea of what Bridesmaids do and don’t want as a Thank You gift. Seemed to me most brides gave jewelry (that could be worn during the wedding) monogrammed “Bridesmaid” clothing, or clutches (that could be used during the wedding). In the message boards where previous Bridemaids discussed these gifts, it was pretty unanimous that they all felt a gift that was to be used during the wedding, was NOT actually a gift, but just a way for the bride to force you to wear a piece of jewelry they like. I really didn’t want to do that. Likewise for Groomsmen, we really didn’t want to do Cuff links, Flasks, bottle openers, or anything they would need to wear in the wedding.

It’s definitely hard though, when you’re on a budget and you have 5 Groomsmen and 5 Bridesmaids, it adds up fast if you give quality gifts. In the end I personally was thrilled with what we were able to give our party, and I hope they like them too!I felt like they were useful and special to all of them.

FOR THE LADIES:

-“You Can Wear it Again” A Celebration of Bridesmaid Dresses Book (I wrote a small note in each one, these books are awesome!)

-TIGI Bed Head Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo (Because it works great no matter what hair you have)

-OPI Nail Polish (I picked a color I thought each of them would like)

-Trader Joe’s Organic Jelly Beans

-Grey Rose Hair Pins (2 each, and yes they could, but didn’t have to wear these in the wedding)

-Kleenex

-Lint Roller

-Makeup Wipes

I also ordered these custom cards (in Grey with each girls name on them), which I altered a little.

To put all of their goodies in, my sister Taylor and I made these Doily Monogrammed Bags for each girl. I purchased the bags online (I can’t remember where) but they were less than $5 a bag, seriously. Then I used this tutorial to paint on the design and the letter. We used black and white fabric paint to make a dark grey paint. I then tied a big pink bow on each one to make them super cute! (sorry for the crappy photos, it was a very last-minute photo shoot)

FOR THE GUYS:

-T-Shirts (picked out specifically for them by Mr. Gaunt, most came from Thredless)

-Landjaegers (more delicious than Beef Jerky)

-Red Bull (safest bet for drinking and non drink Groomsmen)

-Monogrammed Branding Irons (for Steaks, or themselves if they get drunk enough. These were a big hit, and not expensive!)

(one of J’s Groomsmen did a huge favor for me and played on his guitar a song I had picked to walk down the aisle to. For him, I want to give a little something just from me, and gave him this beautiful guitar strap)

For cards Mr. Gaunt picked out unique postcards for each guy and I turned them into cards for him to write in. To put all their goodies in I went to the Dollar Tree and got blue gift bags with orange bows…GO BRONCOS!

FOR THE MOMS:

-Monogrammed Bath Robe (These were really good quality for the price. Also you have to order them online)

-Bath and Body Works: Super Rich Body Cream 

-Bath and Body Works Cracked Heel Cream (they both have tough mom feet)

-Bath and Body Works Smoothing Foot Scrub

-Cinnnamon Bears (for my mom)

-Trader joe’s Thai Lime Cashews (for Mr. Gaunt’s mom)

It was actually really nice that we felt comfortable getting them identical gifts. I hope they both use them and feel a bit pampered!) I put both of their gift packs together in identical reusable totes from pier 1.

Lastly I ordered these AMAZING cards (in yellow), which I felt went so nicely with our wedding invitations. I got 5 of these and gave them to our moms, grandparents, officiant, and couple other folks. I loved them!

We gave out all of our gifts at our Rehearsal dinner. It was really nice to just acknowledge these individual people who really did spend a lot of time and money to help make our day so special. I suppose one piece of advice I would give to other brides who would like to do unique gifts, is do it early. Part of what makes a gift special is the personalization of hunting down the right item and ordering things monogrammed and all of that takes a lot of time. But it’s worth I think.