Brides-to-be with a knack for canning can default to an easy DIY wedding favor in the form of homemade jam in cute wee jars. But just because you’re not particularly handy in the kitchen doesn’t mean you can’t have jam wedding favors – there are plenty of personalized jam wedding favors on Etsy and elsewhere, in addition to the less expensive non-personalized mini jams. Check out how pretty they can be:
When it comes to bouquet alternatives for the bride or for the bridesmaid, fans tend to pop into my head first – mainly because we gave our wedding guests fans as favors at our summertime Florida wedding. Yes, I know it’s the dead of winter – at least here in frigid MA – but that means it’s the perfect time to be thinking about (or losing ourselves in thoughts of) summertime weddings!
Fans for the bridesmaids can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be. Some brides choose rather plain sandalwood fans dressed up with ribbons or lace or even basic paper fans in pretty colors. Others go for something a bit more outrageous, like peacock feather fans or butterfly fans. Sound sweet? Under the cut you’ll find a taste of inspiration to help you choose the perfect fans for your bridesmaids.
Here’s a question the lovely Leah sent to me a while back:
I have been enjoying MftB for years but only now have a pressing question for you: a friend of mine is getting married soon and, at the request of family members, will be doing a registry. But it’s important to her to register with a company that has green/sustainable options for a lot of her household goods and is also “blue” (the human rights/labor rights version of being green) in its business practices–nixing most of the big-box retailers. Ideally, she’d like to register with a store that is good to the earth and to its employees, especially on women and LGBT issues. Problem is, she’s not really sure what companies those are, especially not that offer a fairly wide range of products so that she doesn’t have to register 14 places. She is not interested in doing a ludicrous super-registry list, just some household basics to start their new home–linens, towels, some basic kitchen stuff, etc. Do you have any leads on some sustainable, high-integrity businesses that do wedding registries, or perhaps another way to put together a registry altogether?
In a way, Leah, this is a toughie – finding supposedly green wedding registries isn’t the problem, since there are environmentally friendly shops that let brides and grooms (and anyone, really) create gift registries. But going blue hasn’t quite caught on yet, even if it should.
1. Somewhere to stash all that stuff:
It’s such a cliche, but the fact is that brides and bridesmaids need somewhere to stash their gear – and what better excuse for a new bag than that? This classy initial handbag is great because it doesn’t look like the usual bridalbridalbridal tote bag. Too serious for you? I’m also a huge fan of super cute (and huge) totes with fun and crazy patterns and graphics.
2. A break from planning:
What’s better than wedding planning? Taking a well-deserved break from it! I always advise couples to go on a few dates (at least) where wedding planning is an off-limits topic, but sometimes that’s just not enough to relieve the stress. I recommend buying every bride-to-be you know at least one fun or engrossing book, a la Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages, Sh*t My Dad Says, or Northanger Abbey.
3. Easy packing:
I like luggage, but I’m not surprised when I meet people who don’t have real luggage. It’s expensive and a lot of brides- and grooms-to-be haven’t traveled much. But for the honeymoon? Come on, it pays to have nice suitcases. With locks. And wheels. If you really love the bride in your life, why not give her a set of Samsonite luggage in beautiful shiny black (at a whopping 55% off!) for her post-wedding getaway.
4. Some peace of mind on the big day:
The wedding may be months away, but wedding day survival kits make great, easy stocking stuffers for the bride-to-be, the groom-to-be, and the bridesmaids. You can always DIY it with a cute makeup bag and supplies from the drug store, but Ms. a& Mrs. makes all-inclusive bride’s survival kits, survival kits for the groom and groomsmen, and bridesmaids’ survival kits.
5. Something blue:
If you’re close to the bride, why not offer to get her that special ‘something blue’? Or, better yet, get her something blue that she doesn’t have to figure out how to integrate into the wedding day look she’s already coordinated. I sure wouldn’t have minded a holiday gift of a cute Keep Calm pendant, a blue digital camera from Samsung, or a Le Creuset stockpot!
6. A little bit of relaxation:
Yes, soap is soap, but isn’t it just a little fun, pre-wedding, to pamper yourself with shower and bath goodies with scents like wedding cake and bridal bouquet? For the bride-to-be in your life, there’s the Philosophy’s Bride gift set and for everyone else in the wedding, there’s the Bridal Party gift set.
7. Something to giggle at:
Forget the Williams-Sonoma Bride & Groom Cookbook and give the happy couple The New InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook at $10 off the cover price. Why? First, it’s a lot more fun! And second, The Beard and I were recipe testers so we appear in the book! Really, the recipes are delish, and the book itself is pretty spicy.
8. Easy memories:
Finally, give the bride the gift of beautiful memories with a white wedding scrapbook, an easy wedding scrapbook page kit, and extra wedding scrapbook pages. Better yet, buy the books and the kits, wait for the wedding, and give the bride a belated holiday gift in the form of a scrapbook that’s already filled in!
You know me, ladies and gents, I am all about personalization. But honestly, it can be pretty difficult to find things that are personalized or customizable that are of good quality – think dot matrix decals on glasses that come off in the dishwasher and that sort of thing. So I’m always a little hesitant to recommend personalized wedding gifts because it’s difficult to know what’s great when you’re not holding it in your hand. But when one of you lovely people thinks so highly of something you’ve received as a wedding gift or given to someone else as a wedding gift, of course I’m going to share!
So the topic of today’s post is one Lexington Studios, recommended to me by a reader and friend, CarolynKM, who had this to say about her experiences (along with pics, yay!):
I found myself looking for both a wedding and an anniversary gift for two couples that are near and dear to my heart. The more traditional “cash” present just didn’t make sense for them – people who fall into the “I have everything I need category” – or from me – who takes great pride in the art of gift-giving.
After months of poking around blogs, running random Google searches, and asking around for ideas from some of my craftiest of friends, I happened upon a truly wonderful artist who had just the right solution for my predicament. As someone who is not easily impressed, I really enjoyed the experience of creating two one-of-a-kind gifts for my parent’s 40th anniversary and for a good friend’s wedding.
A lot of strange rumors float around the wedding world. You’ll hear all sorts of bizarre tales about what is expected of you and of your guests. Some of the most bizarre and most pernicious misinformation surrounds what should be one of the easiest and most pleasant parts of getting married: all those gifts.
So what’s the real skinny? I thought you’d never ask. Read on and find out.
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I had lunch with the awesome Carolyn Meenan of Bridaluxe the other day, and she suggested I tell you about this totally sweet – but unfortunately local – way of packaging bridesmaids gifts, groomsmen gifts, and maybe even wedding favors if you have an extra $4 per person sitting around in your wedding budget. I say local because I don’t know of anywhere other than Black Ink in Boston that lets you do this:
That’s right, I’m talking about sealing your gifts or wedding favors into proper aluminum cans! I’m thinking this could be a lot of fun, whether on a large scale or a small scale, especially if you printed your own custom labels that feature your wedding colors. What fits in a can? A gorgeous necklace with a matching pair of earrings for your bridesmaids, perhaps. Or a whole lot of candy, if you’re buying for your wedding guests. Is there something a little weird about choosing a wedding favor guests have to wait to open? Well, you could thoughtfully have a can opener on hand for the uber curious!
So at four bucks a pop, canning your wedding favors isn’t exactly a budget option, but if you love the general idea and hate the price (or are simply not near anywhere with a U Can It machine) you could always choose a favor that fits well and looks good in a canning jar or spice jar. It’s a bit more rustic and not quite as mysterious, but it’s not that difficult to find bulk deals on canning jars so at least the price would be right.
