On Friday morning, after I shared my usual Things I’m Loving Friday post, I received a comment from Amanda. She loved the framed verse that my sister gave to all of her bridesmaids on her wedding day and requested a follow up post with additional bridesmaid gift ideas.
An excuse to write about something wedding related!? Sign me up!
Prior to my own wedding in 2010, I had never been in a wedding myself and wasn’t sure what to give my wonderful bridesmaids on my wedding day. I wanted to find a gift that would let my best friends know just how much their friendship meant to me and how much Ryan and I appreciated them being such an integral part of our special day.
Here’s what I ended up giving to my fabulous bridesmaids:
- Wishbone necklace (from FreshyFig on Etsy) because they helped make “all my wishes come true” along with a cheesy poem I wrote
- Eco-friendly tote bag with their initials
- Embroidered towel wrap
I got married before the days of Pinterest (I am both bummed about this and extremely grateful for this at the same time) and I wish I would’ve done something craftier and more personalized for each girl, but I still see my girlfriends wearing the delicate wishbone necklace, so I’m happy that particular gift seemed to go over well!
Since my own wedding, I’ve had the honor of being a bridesmaid in six weddings (and I can’t wait to stand up with my wonderful friend Kristen at her wedding in July) and since my friends are basically the jam, I’ve received some extremely thoughtful and memorable gifts.
Here’s a highlight of some of the wonderful bridesmaid gifts I’ve received and ideas I’ve stumbled upon or brainstormed that I think might be a hit with bridesmaids out there!
Bridesmaid Gift Ideas
- Vintage Cocktail Ring
This gift absolutely blew me away. My friend Merri lives in New York City and shopped around to find vintage cocktail rings to give to each of her bridesmaids. All of our rings were different and she had a reason for choosing certain rings for each of us which I thought was incredibly thoughtful. Since all of our bridesmaid dresses were different, the funky rings simply enhanced the eclectic look of our dresses. I still wear my ring all the time and love jazzing up an outfit with a piece of jewelry that means a lot to me.
- Makeup Bag
My friend Michaela gave all of us beautiful makeup bags that she bought on Etsy. It’s the perfect size for traveling and has since become my go-to makeup bag for face wash, lotion, toothpaste and floss when I travel. Some pretty and affordable makeup bag options under $10: Romantic rose cosmetic bag, Tribal print teal makeup bag
- Necklace with Special Meaning
I will often see the beautiful and delicate necklaces made by Dogeared pop up for sale online on HauteLook and I always think they would make such a fabulous gift for bridesmaids. Since each necklace comes with a quote or special meaning, I think this makes them the perfect gift for bridesmaids since they already have a thoughtful message attributed to each necklace. (Some of my favorite necklaces: Best Friend Ever, State Charm <—personalized to each woman’s home state) I also love the idea of an initial necklace for each bridesmaid. (Pretty initial necklace options: Olive Yew lowercase initial necklace, Kate Spade initial pendant)
- Nail Polish + Nail File
My friend Laurel added a bottle of beautiful lilac nail polish to our bridesmaid gift bags and I loved that she selected a polish color that matched our dresses. Whenever I paint my nails with the soft purple color, I think of her special day!
- Bracelet or Earrings to Wear with the Bridesmaid Dress
It’s always so nice not to have to think about what to wear with your bridesmaid dress and I know I appreciate it a lot when a bride-to-be says not to worry about accessorizing the dress. Plus, it takes the worry about selecting something the bride may not like out of the equation! As someone who doesn’t have her ears pierced, I was very moved by two of my closest friends when they actually had clip on earrings made for me to wear with my bridesmaid dress so I could match the other bridesmaids. Talk about extra thoughtful!
I love this alternative to a robe or towel wrap. I may be partial to this gift idea since I sleep in soft boxers nearly every night, but I think many bridesmaids out there would love lounging in comfortable shorts that look cute, too! Whether they wear them on the day of the wedding to get ready or not, I think most women out there welcome a cute addition to their pajama drawer. (The boxers pictured above are from the Etsy store Lola Lane Gifts.)
My sister received a personalized tumbler for her best friend’s wedding and I thought it was adorable. Since I use a tumbler or water bottle every single day, this gift gets point for practicality, too! (The tumblers pictured above are from the Etsy store All4MyGirlz.)
- Comfortable Dancing Shoes
This can be something as simple as a throw-away pair of flip flops! At my wedding we had a basket of cheap Old Navy flip flops on display for women to slip into so they could comfortably dance the night away. It was a huge hit! (You may see the basket here.) My friend Leah gave her bridesmaids blush pink Toms as a bridesmaid gift and everyone really appreciated them. (I saw TOMS on sale on Zulily last week, so they do go on sale sometimes!) An added bonus to this gift? The more comfortable bridesmaids feet are, the more likely they are to tear it up on the dance floor!
- Framed Quote or Bible Verse
My sister gave all of her bridesmaids a little bag packed with thoughtful items, but my favorite was, without a doubt, the framed Bible verse she chose for each of us. When Leslie gave us our gifts, she explained that within the bag was a small picture frame with a Bible verse framed in it that she chose specifically for each of us. It meant so much to me and I thought this was such a unique and heartfelt bridesmaid gift.
- Unique Robes
When I found these Plum Pretty robes I thought they were way too cute! I love the idea of patterned or floral feminine robes and love wearing super-comfy clothes when I get ready for a wedding, so this is right up my alley. Here are some more affordable options: Vertical stripe robe, Undersea blooms satin robe (I also see tons of cute, inexpensive robes at Marshalls and TJMaxx all the time!)
- Mini Champagne Bottles
If your crew of bridesmaids is anything like me and my girlfriends, a mini bottle of champagne for each bridesmaid will definitely be a hit. It’s a small addition to a gift bag, but I know we loved it when my friend Leah made them for all of the bridesmaids to sip on while we got ready for Merri’s wedding.
Questions of the Afternoon
- What is one of the most memorable bridesmaid gifts you’ve ever received?
- For the married folks: What did you give your bridesmaids?
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Note: This post is not sponsored in any way and is simply a list of some gifts I think would make fabulous bridesmaid gifts. Some affiliate links are included and I sincerely appreciate your support!
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Julie, as a Bridesmaid what has been a popular gift from the bridal party to the bride for the shower? Something off the registry or something more original?
Wonderful Ideas! I’ve been in 6 weddings so far and have gotten some great gifts, I also feel like I’ll be an expert by the time I get married lol so my bridesmaids are in for a treat!
you NED to write for loverly.com. seriously. i am not a bride, not YET a bridesmade and i don’ even categrically LIKE wedding but all of your advice/recaps make me veil-crazy (;
Haha!! Thank you Emm!
Hey Julie! Would you mind posting a link for those satin TOMS please?? I’ve googled everywhere and I can’t find them!!!
*NEED ughhh my keyboard hates me apparently
Well I got married in the stone ages when you went to Things Remembered and picked out things like crystal clocks and engraved keychains. I don’t expect any of them to still have them and I am SOOOOOOOO glad Pinterest wasn’t around when I got married. If I had Pinterest around, I think I would’ve been an insane person because I’m very type A. LOL We still have people 17 years later saying it was the best wedding they’ve been to raving about the food, music, etc so I guess I didn’t need it anyway. 😉
I love these ideas!! I definitely want to include earrings for my bridesmaids to wear on the day of my wedding – but like the idea of adding some fun extras – this post has some adorable things! Thanks!
So happy you posted this! I’m trying to plan my own wedding and have no idea what I’m doing. Those tumblers are adorable!
Love these ideas! I’m going with monogrammed wine glasses, and prob throw in a few other goodies too! I’m actually giving them their gifts at the bachelorette instead of my wedding so they can use them all weekend 🙂
Julie,
Thank you so much for including our monogrammed boxers.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LolaLaneGifts
You’re so welcome! They are adorable!
Love those tumblers! Not at the wedding but at my friends bachelorette party the other weekend her maid of honor got us all Lolita shot glasses, a mini bottle of vodka and Essie nail polish in bachelorette bash, so cute!
I planned my wedding in the Pinterest age! It was helpful and discouraging at the same time. 🙂
Thanks for the etsy store referral for the tumblers! I am my best friend’s matron-of-honor and I’ve been looking for a good place to find one for her!
I gave my entire wedding party leather flasks with their first initial engraved on it. The guys got black and the girls each got their own color. It was a hit!
Love that idea!
Random, but I believe I just came across a picture of you and your husband on pinterest. haha it was from your wedding day, you’re holding one of his hands from the other side of the door, wiping a tear from your eye! 🙂
Love these ideas. Especially the mini champagne bottles 🙂 I gave my girls personalized tumblers, a bottle of wine, and a necklace that had a gem (I chose their favorite color for each of them) and a little initial of their name. Found em on etsy and they were super affordable!
Although I’m already married, these would actually make great gifts for any occasion! I’m definitely going to keep these in mind for the future. Thanks!
Love all these ideas. I gave my bridesmaids bracelets for the wedding day and robes to get ready in. For the bachelorette party they all got tumblers stuffed with survival goodies like advil and snacks 🙂
So many great gift ideas for bridesmaids or just for friends in general! Love those Etsy necklaces you got your bridesmaids 🙂
Thank you for sharing these ideas, Julie! I will be needing them soon! I love the unique robes and dancing shoes : )
These are all great ideas! Makes me want to get married again so I can use some of them! 😉 kidding! I’ll definitely be sharing this post with some of my engaged friends!!!
So cute – I love all these ideas! T
Thank you! I love your sense of style and gift ideas.
Love the ideas…. makes me think back to my wedding and how much I stressed on what to get my girls. I gave them coach makeup bags from the outlet…a wine glass that fit a full bottle of wine, gift cert. to get their hair done for the wedding, earings, and a pair of flip flops to change into at the wedding – also wrote a personalized thank you letter to them on how much I value their frienship ….they all seemed to love the gifts and I get so excited when I see them still rocking their gifts today!
Such a cute round-up! I’d love to see one on bachelorette party games ideas… I’m in the middle of planning one right now and I want to make sure the bride-to-be has the best time!
Ooooh! That would be a fun one!!
These bridesmaid gift ideas are so great! The dogeared necklaces are my favorite 🙂 Weddings can be so overwhelming with all the little details to consider. I love when you post tips with budget-friendly and creative weddings ideas (your bachelorette party post was full of helpful ideas). Thanks for the post!
http://newenglandoutlook.wordpress.com/
Great ideas thanks for sharing! Do you have recommendations for bridesmaids shoes?
I gave my bridesmaids a small heart Coach bracelet that I also wear daily. All my ladies are across the country, so it makes me think of them every time I see it 🙂
I love those makeup bags! For my wedding, I had clutches made from It’s So Clutch on Etsy. Each clutch was customized for each girl and I put Fast Flats in each one, as well as sparkly hair elastics. Our groomsmen received monogrammed decanters from Pottery Barn.
I gave my bridesmaids monogrammed makeup bags. That’s been almost two years ago, and I still see all of them using it! I love it 🙂
I also appreciate the jewelry to match the dress as a bridesmaid gift. To make it even better, a friend of mine made us jewelry for her wedding! It still wear it, it’s super cute!
I’ve already received the shoes the bride wanted us to wear as a gift. Practical yet awesome!
I’m paying for my bridesmaids hair or makeup appointments (their choice) on the big day !
Thank you so much for featuring our tumblers! Love your blog!
You’re very welcome! They’re adorable!
I just got married March 8 and gave my BMs a necklace and earring set and a pashmina scarf. I love jewelry so I wanted to be sure what I gave them was good quality and something they could wear after the wedding. They ended up wearing the scarves during the ceremony and will be able to use them during the winter.
I got all my girls these amazing journal boxes and wrote them personal thank-you notes on the day of our wedding! Now every year they will remember the wedding day when that page comes up on the calendar journal, and how thankful I am! They’re hand-made 🙂 http://www.theboxbros.com/store/p19/%22The_Calendar_Journal_Box%22.html
The are some great ideas. I am partial to the “getting ready” robes. The company I work for – The Paisley Box @ http://thepaisleybox.com – sell these along with other bridal party gifts. They are fun to wear while getting ready on the wedding day and they are great to use for a long time after.
The vintage cocktail rings are really hot right now and are also a great gift!
Thanks for sharing!
These are such great and useful gifts! The soft boxers and robes stand out – they made for great getting ready photos and the bridesmaids can use them often.