A Guide To Choosing Your Bridesmaids' Gifts

Showing Your Appreciation

Gifts are given to the bridesmaids not only to commemorate the wedding day but to thank them for their long friendship and service to the bride. They have been there through thick and thin, providing a shoulder to cry on, sharing happy times and supporting their friend. They can be lifelong or newly found friends or even relatives of the bride. Whatever their relationship, they are people that the bride trusts and can depend on to make her wedding one of the best days of her life.

Considering how hard the bridesmaids work, it's no wonder they receive gifts for their role in the wedding. They help with planning, coordinating the service as well as the honeymoon, calm the bride's inevitable jitters and doubts and help the wedding and reception go smoothly. They also plan and host the bridal shower and the bachelorette party. Bridesmaids interview and line up caterers, make the reservations for the reception and arrange the entertainment. They help the happy couple plan their honeymoon and do the research needed for the travel plans.

What Kind of Gifts?

When choosing gifts for bridesmaids, remember to make them memorable and personal. You'll want your friends to remember their important role in your wedding and to know how much their taking part meant to you. You might choose to give them some jewelry to accent their dresses, a compact mirror that they can use every day or a monogrammed bathrobe they can relax in at the end of the day. Engraved items such as a picture frame or album are also popular and very much appreciated. Monogrammed jewelry boxes can accompany a pair of special earrings or a necklace.

Make Them Personal

Some brides prefer to give practical gifts like monogrammed luggage and some like to give certificates for the local spa-another excuse for a girls' day out before the wedding! They'll always remember the fun they had with you on that day before the wedding. A gift of jewelry to wear with their wedding party gowns is also a good idea, or you could give them each a fine silver or gold-plated hair ornament. By giving them something that they can wear often, not just in the wedding party, they'll be able to remember what a good time they had being part of your wedding.

Since a bridesmaid makes a lot of calls on your behalf and writes endless lists, a premium label personalized pen is also an appropriate gift and something she can use frequently.

Whatever sort of gift you decide to give your bridesmaids, be sure that it is personal and something that lets her enjoy happy memories of your wedding day.