I’ve been so blessed to have so many great people in my life. I’ve kept the same circle of friends for many, many years, some whom I have known for almost 16 years! That is why it might have come as a surprise to some when Mark & I decided to only have a best man and maid of honor in our wedding party. If we were to have a “big” wedding party, I would have had my 3 sisters whom I’m very close to, 6 of my girlfriends whom I’ve known since middle school through college, and of course my cousin Katrina who will be my maid of honor. We chose to keep it small though as far as the “wedding party” goes. That still won’t take away from the fact that all these ladies are very important to me. Although I know they won’t be standing next me physically on my wedding day, they’ve stood by me for so long and so I will honor them. Since you’re allowed to do whatever you want on your wedding day, I’ve named these girls my “Friends of Honor.” And so just like many girls had a “special” way of asking their friends to be their bridesmaids, I chose to do something similar. I’m still working on something for my sisters and cousin but here is peek at what I did for my girlfriends….
I custom made a greeting card through Snapfish. I choose the 12 photo template and inserted pictures of me and my ladies throughout the years. I ordered 7, one for me to keep and so I could also use it as practice.
Once I received the cards in the mail, I created a word document and adjusted the page size to fit the size of the card. I created a monogram (since I didn’t have the professional monograms just yet) and on each card wrote a personal note to each girl. I’m glad I ordered an extra card because you can see from the picture, it came in handy since I made a few errors using my home printer. Since the card is glossy, I allowed the ink to dry on each card for 2 days under a desk lap. With my practice card I found that even after allowing them to dry for a few days, the ink would smear a little if touched.
So each girl loved their card and glad fully excepted the position as what they’ve termed themselves, my “unofficial” bridesmaids. I’ll eventually frame my card to remember all the support they’ve given me over the years, the planning process, and on my wedding day. They are the BEST!
Wow- I became speechless today when my best friends emailed me the details of my bachelorette weekend which has been a surprise until now. Since I’m not even getting married for another 9 months they didn’t want the details to leak before they could tell me themselves.
They have already sent out an invitation (via time & money saver Evite!), booked our rooms at the Caesar’s Palace, and planned out the entire bachelorette weekend festivities! I LOVE them SO much and am so lucky to have these girls in my life. From what I can tell this weekend is going to be lots of FUN and one to remember! Or maybe not remember…we all know what happened to the guys in the movie “The Hangover.” Super hilarious movie!!
An inspiration board I whipped up really quickly right before my trip to California (which makes me guilty of not being able to give credit to anyone for the pics- please, please, please let me know if these are yours and I will update the photo credit asap!). I was asking my cousin, Katrina to be my Maid-of-Honor while I was there (she lives there) and I wanted to show her the color scheme I was shooting for. I think I might go for a champagne color for our mothers’ dresses, but I’m still having an internal battle with myself (they are the worse!) on which color I like more for a bridesmaid dress, “oasis” blue or terracotta?
Any suggestions?
Another super cute idea…this time for a Bridesmaid gift if having a destination wedding. How appropriate are these cute little suitcases packed with all the essential bridesmaid “survival” items for your wedding day!? Style Me Pretty featured these DIY Bridesmaid and I thought these were sooo adorable and had to share. Fill them up with needle & thread, gloss, perfume, tissues, or whatever else you think one of your best girlfriends might need to get you or themselves out of a wardrobe or other beauty malfunction on your day!
Clockwise: Bari Jay, Saks Fifth Avenue, Anna Elyse Bridesmaid via Kenzie Kate, Saks Fifth Avenue
I do like these as options for my MOH. I’m thinking knee length since it will be summer time, but there are some really pretty floor length dresses out there. I’ll be visiting my cousin in a week and will ask her to be my Maid of Honor. I won’t be having bridesmaids although the more I look at dresses, the more I wish I could have all 9 of my favorite girls in my wedding because I think they would all look so beautiful! The venue we’ve picked would only allow me to have 4 due to the small space at the alter. So for me it was all or nothing when it came to the bridesmaids. My girls know how important they are to me though and I’ll still be celebrating their friendship in another special way as we get closer to the wedding.
