Honor Your Attendants with Unique Bridesmaid Gifts
Bridesmaids are the most important women in your life and the people you have chosen to stand next to you on your wedding day. Show your appreciation for them by giving them a well-chosen bridesmaid gift.
Bridesmaid gifts run the gamut in terms of price, style, and individuality. Some brides spend hundreds of dollars, while others chose to spend only a few, or chose to make something inexpensive yet time-consuming. Some people think that the cost of bridesmaid gifts should correlate with your wedding budget. Others say that the more time your friends helped you with wedding planning, the more you should spend on a bridesmaid gift for them. There's no right or wrong answer - do what feels best to you.
You can also choose to get everyone the same thing, get variations on a theme, or chose entirely different presents for each person.
Try to spend about the same amount on each present, except for the maid-of-honor's gift, which is typically more lavish than the other ones. However you chose to celebrate your wedding attendants, make sure they know how much they mean to you by inclosing a personal note with each present.
Here are some bridesmaid gift ideas to get you started. Scroll down to read more advice about choosing bridesmaid gifts, and how much you should spend.
Accessories for the wedding
A classic bridesmaid gift is something she can wear on the wedding day, but still use later on.
- A necklace, perhaps with a center stone that matches the dress.
- Beautiful earrings, perhaps personalizing each set to the style of the woman who receives them.
- If it's going to be a chilly day, a warm wrap or shawl. (Wedding pictures where the women of the bridal party are all wrapped in matching shawls are so befitting of a winter wedding and picturesque. I especially like it when the bride's shawl matches the bridesmaids' dresses and the bridesmaid shawls match the bride's dress.)
- Long white gloves
- In some cultures, it is customary for the bride to give the wedding day attire as a bridesmaid gift.
If you're having a destination wedding
- A beach towel and a great beach bag
- A gift certificate to enjoy a fun activity during their stay
- A beautiful coffee table book about the destination
- A gift bag full of goodies to help them enjoy and remember their trip. E.g. a New York destination bride might give a guidebook to the city, an "I love New York" t-shirt, a taxi cab ornament, a disposable camera, and some New York food treats.
Memories are made of this
- Personalized Photo albums
- A poem in her honor, tucked inside a keepsake box
- A traditional bridal shower activity is a charm cake, wherein guests pull ribbons attached to charms stuck in the cake before it is frosted. Which charm they receive tells them whether they are going to be the next to marry (a ring charm), have a baby (baby charm), come into unexpected fortune (dollar sign charm), or other prediction. If you chose high quality charms, a wonderful bridesmaid gift is a charm bracelet, given at the same bridal shower.
- a personalized CD of tunes that you both love
Do-it-yourself Bridesmaid Gifts
Pamper them silly
- Gift baskets full of lotions, soaps and other pampering items
- A manicure set
- nice pajamas or robes
- a spa gift certificate
- a makeup kit
- a beauty/makeup application lesson
All that Wedding Planning Makes People Hungry!
- A box of chocolates
- A great bottle of wine
- A French press coffee maker and some fancy or unusual coffee
- A gift certificate to a great local restaurant
- Gift certificate to cooking classes
- Some beautiful wine glasses
