Happy Friday, Beauties!
Blog Updates
I am slowly working on coming up with consistent blog posts - I have so many things I want to write about but it gets overwhelming so quickly and I start to spiral! I plan on covering the biggest challenges I am facing in starting a new blog and what I am doing to counteract them at some point soon, but in the meantime I am so excited to start writing "Weekly Roundups!" ... although I am not sold on that official name, lol, if you have any suggestions please comment!
Anyway, these weekly Friday posts will include some of my favorite moments from the week, any important life updates I want to share, and new products to check out or new shows/books/podcasts I might be obsessing over!
Life Updates
This week was a big one, since it included my 26 birthday! I am definitely no longer in my "early 20's" but I always try to look at getting older as a privilege and a blessing. I honestly didn't expect much as we are still in quarantine mode and not travelling much - because I am not usually working this time of year we almost always travel for my birthday. BUT, it ended up being an AMAZING day without having to go very far at all! I can't wait to share our adorable Parisian picnic and how Tyler made it the most perfect birthday yet!
Here is a sneak peak!
Travel Updates
We ventured out twice this week, for my birthday picnic and for a quick day trip to the Sequoia National Park! We had an amazing time seeing these incredible trees, it was so beautiful. They were so magical and fun! We did the whole trip in one day to avoid having to stay overnight at any hotels (we still really aren't ok with being out in public for too long yet due to COVID-19, especially with the new spikes in California). The trip took about 3.5 hours to get there and about 4 hours to get home, so it was a LONG day - but SO worth it! I will hopefully write up a whole post about our visit, and we definitely cannot wait to go back and stay at the adorable lodges in the park!
Recommendation for the Week
Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts - we binged this show so quickly! Both season 1 and 2 are on Netflix, and OMG it is fantastic! I highly recommend it, especially if you are a fan of Avatar The Last Airbender (which we rewatched last week, lol)! It is cute and charming, the cast is awesome and the music is killer!! We loved the message and the diversity we saw in the cast, too. It is a feel good, easy to watch kinda show that keeps you entertained without the stress of making sure you catch every single word.
Favorite Outfit of the Week
This week I also finally got my Abercrombie order along with some awesome gifts, which I will be writing about shortly! I was a little disappointed because a lot of the Abercrombie order was way too large ( a good thing in the long run, but frustrating when you are excited about new clothes), but one thing I did LOVE was this Jumpsuit! The color and the cut are so cute and it's so comfy and easy to wear.
Weekly Thankfulness
Finally, I will leave you with my "Thankful Moment of the Week"! I was so grateful this week for all the sweet love and birthday messages I received. I wasn't expecting much due to COVID-19 restrictions, but so many people made the day feel so special. I even had friends stop by to bring me gifts, since we couldn't go out to celebrate, it was so special to see there faces!
What did you guys do this week?
Until Next Time,
Lauren
Hi Babes!
Today I am sharing with you some advice on how to pick the perfect bridesmaid gifts! If can be so overwhelming when you start looking at all the pinterest inspiration!
For more bridesmaid gift inspiration check out my whole post on how I asked my bridesmaids and what I included in their gift boxes!
So let's get into it!
1. Pick a Theme and Let it Guide You
Weather this is your wedding theme, the theme for your bachelorette party, or just an individual theme, decide that part first and narrow down your gift search for items that work together in that theme.
Are you having your wedding at a vineyard? Personalized wine glasses would be perfect!
Will it be a destination wedding? Pick cute travel inspired gifts!
What are some things you and your honey love to do together? What are the feelings you imagine when you think about your dream wedding day? Answering these questions will help narrow down your theme and inform you what gifts might work best for your special day.
Tyler and I love gardening and spending time outdoors. I also love a luxurious vibe and we are having a destination wedding. I drew inspiration from my favorite luxe traveling items to help pick each gift!
See all the items in my box!
2. Pick Gift You Would Want To Receive
It can be hard to navigate picking affordable and adorable gifts for your crew, especially when you have a lot of them!
Something I did to help me narrow down the gifts I wanted to include was take myself shopping (one of my favorite things to do, obviously)! I went to my favorite stores and started looking for things I would want to buy myself if I were getting a box. I made sure to take note of the brands so I could look them up later.
I took tons of photos of stuff I wished I could afford to by and then went home and started doing research! It is AMAZING what you can find on Amazon. Beauty masks, makeup sets, luxe travel gifts - they were all so much cheaper than if I had purchased them in a store like Anthro!
Everything I ended up picking for my box was something I easily could have bought for myself, or it was a product I already knew I loved!
3. Get Personal
Do you LOVE Disney or have an all time favorite candle or bottle of wine? Do you know all your bridesmaids favorite colors or favorite flower?
Think of something personal that will remind your girls of you when they look at it! I opted for an adorable air plant because I love to garden, and have always been a bit of a Flower Child (hence the name, lol).
It is also a great idea to include a sweet note to each of your maids letting them know how they have impacted you and your future forever person!
4. Don't Forget The Packaging
One of the reasons we all love the bridesmaid boxes we see on Pinterest so much is because even if the gifts are simple, they are all BEAUTIFULLY packaged!
To me, this extra step is so worth it! It really brings your gift from cute to GLAM.
Think about the research and pictures you may have favorited - look at the color schemes and the overall theme of the box.
I stayed in a pretty neutral color pallet, with my pops of color being gold and pastel pink (two of my favorites).
Their are also so many great printables out there that you can use to personalize items in your box with! I cut out my bridesmaids names in gold vinyl with my Cricut machine to give them a personalized touch!
5. Make Sure To Ask The Question!
Making the perfect boxes can be so much fun, and even a little stressful, but don't forget why you are doing it! Your bridesmaids are your lifelong rocks - your ride or die girls (or guys!) who have been there for you and your future hubby or wifey. Don't forget to include the "Will you be my bridesmaid?" in your box somewhere or make sure to ask when you hand them the gift! You want to make sure it is obvious what you are asking so there is no confusion!
I chose to put my question on the inside lid of my box so it's front and center for my girls! There are so many creative ways to do this, though.
Some ideas:
Include a card with the big question
Include a piece of jewelry like earrings, and have the question on the earring packaging
Print a cute sticker and place it on a bottle of wine or a candle
I hope this guide helps you build the perfect bridesmaid gifts! No matter what you get your crew, they will be so excited to celebrate with you!
Have you built bridesmaid boxes before? What did you include!?
Until next time,
Lauren
To be honest, this was one of my most anticipated projects when after Tyler and I got engaged. I was so excited to shower my besties with little boxes of joy and to ask them to stand by my side for our big day!
Tyler and I decided we wanted a more intimate number in our bridal party. We both have two siblings (both a brother and a sister), and friends from when we were young that we knew would always be a part of our day and I also asked one of my closest California girlfriends to be a part of my party, as well! We each ended up picking 5 people and we made the cutest gifts for them to make sure they felt extra special!
It took me FOREVER to decide what I wanted to put into the boxes, and I wanted to make sure I included a special note for each lady since I wouldn’t be able to be with most of them when they opened it (4 of 5 live on the east coast, while we are located in LA). I also wanted to make sure I chose items that weren’t breakable since I would be shipping my boxes to each of them.
I wanted the gift to be luxurious and useful! Since, at this point we knew it would be a destination wedding with a garden theme I opted for a mix of my favorite travel and garden inspired gifts.
After thinking it through I landed on these items:
All of my girls say they love this! It is small enough to easily fit in a carry on and is perfect for weekend getaways (like a destination wedding weekend)!
They are all over Amazon and you can find just about any color or size you might want!
I always travel with at least one face mask, with all of our cross country flights I have found it is one small luxury worth having. Whether it’s using this on the plane to relax or using it once you are at your destination to rejuvenate tired skin, it’s something that really comes in handy.
They sell this brand, Lapcos, at Anthropologie for $$$ but you can find a 5 pack on Amazon so much cheaper!
They have different kinds that have different colored packaging, but I love gold and "Honey" fit our romantic garden theme perfectly.
This is one of my all time favorite products, especially when traveling. It smells amazing and it’s incredible how something as simple as a facial mist can make you feel so refreshed. It’s perfect to freshen up with after long haul flights or a long car ride.
Again, I purchased these on Amazon just to make it easier and buy everything at once, but Mario Badescu’s website sells this product for the same price.
ColourPop Highlight & Bronzer Duo
I love traveling with this set because on top of being a really easy highlighter/bronzer it also makes for great eye shadow colors! The duo I included was pretty compact but held a lot of makeup and lasts forever, making it easy for me to keep these in my carry on without worry that I will have to replace them every trip.
I got this duo on a bundle sale and can’t seem to find it anywhere now, but I have linked something similar here that would be just as cute and their website is full of great bundle sets.
Another great place to check for cute travel makeup products is Sephora’s check out line, they have amazing deals in that section and it’s perfect for gifting!
This was my touch of the garden in the box, since Tyler and I love gardening and absolutely love to be outdoors! We knew our day would center around that idea and I loved adding an organic element for my girls!
These also came from Amazon (shocker! lol). I had no idea you could purchase plants there, but they were great quality and looked so cute in the boxes!
To be honest: I also got myself an air plant when I bought these for the ladies and I killed the poor thing! I know the ladies had more success keeping them alive, you should be able to just soak them in water every once and a while and spray them every few days, but for whatever reason I can’t keep air plants happy!
The Packaging
I am the kind of person who loves product packaging and I think it is so important to take that extra little step to make sure a gift is nicely packaged!
I packed everything up in these beautiful boxes that have a magnetic lid (I am obsessed with them, they make the most beautiful gift boxes) and I also purchased this filling to fill out the boxes.
I will admit, these are a bit of a splurge, but they are so luxurious and also reusable! Amazon and Michaels have cheaper options, as well, but if you are going for a more elevated look, they really are great!
They are awesome to use around the house for storage, too.
I went with gray but there are a ton of color options!
Then I attached a gray card stock to the lid of the box for a pretty border, as well as a graphic I designed with a frame I bought from Creative Market (my most favorite place to buy pretty much any graphic or illustration).
I also wrote notes to each of the girls and printed it on vellum, which is so simple but so elegant. Most printers have no problem printing on it and you can find it on Amazon or at any craft store!
Finally, I used my Cricut to cut out each of the girls names on gold vinyl. If you would like a full breakdown of how I did this, I would be happy to share (let me know in the comments)!
I was so pleased with how they came out!
I wish I could have hand delivered each box, but I sent them through the mail and they all arrived no problem. Each girl called me with their answer, thank goodness they all said yes!
If you are thinking about making special bridesmaid boxes I highly recommend it. It’s so fun to think of how to theme them for your own event and I love giving gifts so any reason to make a special gift box, I will take it!
Let me know what you think, and if you have any other great bridesmaid gift ideas please share them below!
Until next time,
Lauren
