Bridesmaid Stationery Sets

I am thinking of finally getting the Gocco out of the closet and working on the personalized stationery sets for the bridesmaids. I am having a hard time picking colors though because Paper Source has so many good ones. I kind of like the idea of the sets matching the tote bags. The tote fabrics and lining fabrics are shown and then the paper colors I am considering. They also have cute box mailers that I could use to present them, maybe include a fun matchy pen and labels as well. I am too indecisive!

Shoes for the Bridesmaids

Please forgive my poor slide making skills!

Now that I have the dresses decided I can move on to shoes! I am thinking my only real options are either a metallic silver or pewter or going the dyeable route and having the shoes match the belts that I am hoping to find or have made (the belt in the picture was just to give an idea of what it will look like).

The fabulous Molly of These Little Moments suggested these lovelies from J.Crew and Nine West. She is the ultimate shoe-ru!

Can you tell I like peep toes! I am liking the ones on the far left the best, I like the embellishment without it being too much. Dyeable could be really cute but some of them are almost 100 bucks! No way. Or I guess I could have each girl pick out their own silver/metallic shoe.

Are you leaning towards matchy matchy or letting your girls pick their own?

Shoes from left to right found here, 1, 2, 3, 4.

Bridesmaid Travel Totes: Part Two

(the bags will look similar to these but with longer straps so they can go over the shoulder)

I am not sure what will be harder, choosing what items to stuff the totes with or what fabrics to make the totes out of. At first I was going to pick one fabric, probably something to compliment the pajama set and wedding colors but then I thought it would be nice to personalize the totes for each of my bridesmaids. Now the tough part is deciding which fabrics to use.

Bridesmaid 1: Graphic designer, likes vintage/modern, more graphic/less feminine

Bridesmaid 2: Favorite color is purple, environmentalist, likes bright colors

Bridesmaid 3: No idea what her favorite color is, really hard to shop for! Wears more natural colors, brown, olive, green

All fabrics are by Amy Butler, she has so many great designs it is almost impossible to choose!

Bridesmaid Travel Totes: Part One

I am so fortunate to have a great mom who is also very talented. She has generously offered to make travel tote bags for each of my 3 bridesmaids. She made me one last year and I love it and know my friends and sister would use one all the time. It is the perfect size for a weekend bag or a gym bag.
I want to stuff the totes with goodies, so far I am thinking:

• A matching cosmetic pouch, filled with some yummy Aveda travel size products perhaps.
• Pj set, green tank tops I got a deal on from Old Navy and order some pj pants from American Apparel in asphalt (grey and green are wedding colors) screen printed with a neat vintage floral design or something similar.
• A nice Snow and Graham candle or I could even fashion my own decorative container with the Xyron, maybe?
• Personalized stationery sets made on the Gocco.
• Possibly earrings or other jewelry from Etsy.

Any other genius ideas for great bridesmaid gifts?

I May Have Found One!!

I may have found the bridesmaid dress! This weekend I was checking to see if my fav sites had any new dress arrivals. I have never really shopped at Ann Taylor Loft before but I remembered seeing some cute dresses in there once. I found this dress online:

It has a grey vintage design that works perfectly with our venue, it is a flattering shape for all body types, and the best part, it is only $89! I am going to try and find a place that can make custom belts in one of the greens we are using. Probably just let the girls pick their own silver/metallic shoes, some sort of jewelry and viola!

What do you think? (you can be honest)!

On a Related Note, What is the Limit?

I was thinking about this in relation to the dress post so I thought I would go ahead and post this as well.

It doesn't seem there is a definitive answer to this question but I would love to hear your feedback. What is the limit on how much your bridesmaid's should be expected to spend? Between parties, transportation, hotels, dresses, etc. there is a lot of cha-ching that goes into being a bridesmaid. Although I have personally only been a bridesmaid twice I know first hand how things can add up.

I was really concerned about this because I wanted to ask my bridesmaids to do a dress shopping weekend. Unfortunately none of us live in the same state, I was thinking about hosting it at my parent's house in Minneapolis since that would mean a free place to stay and one bridesmaid would not have to travel. Then I felt that was asking a lot, they will already have to purchase plane tickets for the actual wedding. I am planning on paying for their hair and makeup for the day if they would like it (but it is not being forced by any means).

It just seems difficult to pick a dress without having them all there to try them on, I was thinking of hosting a brunch for them and making it a fun weekend. Maybe even doing a bachelorette party type of thing so there wouldn't be additional travel for that. I don't want anything outlandish and I don't need a bridal shower. I am just so afraid of asking too much. I know one of my friendships is now strained because the bride asked way too much and never seemed appreciative. That is the last thing I want to happen.

I was also trying to find a dress for everyone under $150 because there would still be shoes and alterations to consider. However, it seems I haven't had all that much luck and the dresses I like are closer to the $200 range.

What do you think is reasonable and what do you think is too much?

Dress Update

If anyone was wondering...I did receive all of the bridesmaid dresses I was considering. I still wasn't sure so I sent them to my sister to try on. Unfortunately the things I was worried about were still true.

The Maggie London dress from Macy's was too shiny and looked more silver than grey though the fit was really nice. The J. Crew rosette dress was the perfect grey and with the cute dots I was smitten! But the fit is all wrong for a girl with any sort of curves. You would have to get a few sizes too big for the hips to fit but then the top is falling off. With the price at $168 already alterations would be pushing it up to the $200 mark. Plus the flower/"rosette" looked a little sad and droopy in my opinion.

So back to square one, Jim Hjelm has a few shades of grey I want to check out and I still haven't gotten a chance to see the After Six/Dessy dresses I was interested in. I also found some adorable dresses by Siri but I am guessing their dresses are pretty expensive.

Here are my new prospects, any thoughts???


Jim Hjelm (in either Sterling or Steel)




Dessy (in Silver Fox) via House of Brides




I LOVE this dress from Simple Silhouettes, the detail at the neck is gorgeous but almost $300, I don't think so...

Dress Distress

I am once again obsessing, yes I admit I am obsessing, about the bridesmaid dresses. I care more about them than my own dress. I have found a few contenders but still I feel unsatisfied. Anything I like is either a. the wrong shade of grey or green or b. way more than I would ask my girls to spend. These could work...





J.Crew Strapless Florence Dress in Grey Mist, $250.00

Pros: Nice color grey, universally flattering shape, rope belt can be removed, not super "bridesmaidy"

Cons: Cost is $250 yikes, not everyone likes strapless (and one of my maids is fairly well endowed)



Macy's Maggie London Pleated Silk Dress in Vapor, $158.00

Pros: Only $158 and less likely to need alterations, not "bridesmaidy" and really could be worn again

Cons: Shiny grey has potential to look more like silver which I really don't want

J. Crew Polka-dot Rosette Dress in Light Pewter, $168.00

Pros: Pretty spring grey color, love the dots, non "bridesmaidy"and unique, could be worn again, decent price at $168

Cons: Not thrilled about the rosette, fitted through hips which might not be flattering on all bodies, can't find a free shipping coupon so I can order one to see what it looks like

UPDATE: Found a free shipping coupon from J. Crew, woo hoo, and Macy's had 99 cent shipping so I will let you know what the verdict is when they arrive! If anyone else would like free shipping for $100 or more e-mail me and I will give you the code.

To Buy or Not to Buy...

I came across what I think could be the most perfect bridesmaid shoes ever for our wedding. The problem is we haven't even started to look at dresses yet. I have an idea and a color but nothing even close to finalized. So the dilema, to buy or not to buy?

Those shoes, that color, want some? Get them here (but don't buy too many).

Reasons to buy:

1. They are on sale for the bargain price of 25 dollars.

2. They are the most perfect shade of chartreuse green which will be hard to find elsewhere unless I go the dyeable route but those seem to run in the $60-80 range.

3. They are adorable!

Reasons not to buy:

1. As I mentioned before, no dress yet, who buys the shoes before you have the dress?

Please, I need some input, stat!

Love at first sight

Because I didn't love J. Crew enough already... this is the most beautiful dress! If only it was reasonable to ask my bridesmaids to fork out $245 for their dresses. But I may just buy this for myself and wear it for the rehearsal dinner, engagement party, to the grocery store! Before I saw this I was settled on shades of green and gray with maybe a little touch of yellow for the wedding but now I see how great the orange looks with it I am going to have to find a way to include it as well. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Possible Bridesmaid Gifts

I love these notes from Pink Loves Brown. Brooklyn Bride featured them recently as part of her bridesmaid gift guide. Choose a different font and color scheme to match each of your friend's personalities. They have several cute designs to pick from.

I also love the idea of a monogrammed cardigan for the girls that they can wear on the wedding day (if it gets chilly) and many days after. This is the Jackie cardigan from J. Crew, $62 + $10 for monogram, they have several great colors to pick from, my personal faves are fresh clover and sour lemon (shown above).

Prints for Maids, Yay or Nay?

(Dresses found at Anthropologie and Nordstrom.)