Gifts for bridal party

rachie29

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some advice and guidance on gifts for the bridal party!

First question, who exactly did you buy a present for?
Second question, what did you buy them/how much did you spend?

We have 2 best men, 5 bridesmaids, 1 page boy. Also there are our parents. Did you buy for both your Mum and Dad? I have two "step" parents, do you think it would be right to buy for them too?

Thanks in advance for your help and opinions!

Rach

lazer

What i bought was a follows:

Bridemaids - Got them a necklace and bracelet to wear on the day and keep, and then a bottle of Paul Smith perfume as a gift to give after the speeches. (used clubcard points etc to get best prices!)

Best Man/Groomsman/Usher/Fathers - A personalised bottle of Whiskey (These were quite expensive as bought from the distillery and 75cl bottles - but I'm sure you can get cheaper alternatives)

Mothers - A bouqet of sweets (Flowers is the normal gift I think!) - £50 for the 2.

Flowergirl & Pageboy - A little Flowergirl & pageboy teddy. (Ebay - about £5 each I think)

In terms of your step-parents - I think it depends - how long have they been step parents, were they partially responsible for bringing you up or only enter you life as an adult? I think a gift is nice if they have been a major part of your life, and even if they haven't a small gift so as not to cause offence.

themull1

My last wedding i gave my mam a silver box with a pink sapphire ring inside, my dad a silver wine coaster, best man - pocketwatch, adult bridesmaids - swirly glass topped mirrors for their handbags, younger bridesmaids a heart shaped trinket box personalised. I also bought all the bridesmaids jewellery.

Faith177

For my wedding we tried to go for personal gifts were we could for each person we got the following.

My mum - we brought her a star in the Pisces constallation
OH's Mum - a pandor charm with MOM on it (that's what OH calls her)
My Brother (usher and gave me away) - We brought him a cuddly toy and mug of the shark from Finding Nemo as he loves sharks and is vegan (the shark is vegetarian) and brother of the bride socks (again an in joke)
Best Man - A personlised hip flask
Usher 1 - Jager lighter
Usher 2 - tankard with usher written on it in the style of the singer (in joke)
Bridesmaids got the most really - they had a sleepover kit the night before which had new pj's, fluffy slippers, dressing gowns, a little teddy bear in a bag, and a no7 gift set plus their necklaces and earrings.

For the reception they had little bags with Hotel Chocolate chocolates, a cuddly pink Nessie with Prettyness written on it (we got married at Loch Ness), a heart shaped stone with friendship written on it, selection of bathbombs and heart shaped soaps.

I brought my Grandad a tie to match our scheme as he was riding in bridal car with me.

The bridesmaid and my mum each got a personlised champagne flute and the ushers shot glasses. The bridesmaids one had sillouttes of them in their dresses done in glitter with their names on the base.

I also got my mum a MOB survival kit, a mug with MOB on it and she got the sleepover kit and chocolates too.

I got my OH a celtic pocketwatch, a groom survival kit and socks with in case you get cold feet written on them.

The survival kits were fantastic I got them from Amazon they were £6.99 and they were little bags with little gifts in them and a card to explain each item. So for example there was love hearts in the MOB to say I would always apprciate the love that she had shown me over the years.

I may have gone a little overboard but eveyone loved their gifts and it was our way of saying how much we apprciated them travelling so far and for everything they helped us with.

rachie29

Yikes! You have all been so generous! I'm not sure I can afford to be as generous as you guys.
We are paying for hair, makeup and dress for bridesmaids, just shoes they will have to pay for. I'll also be buying them their jewellery. It's mainly the parent's bit i'm stuck on but you guys have given me some good ideas. I think sometimes it's hard to think outside the box as you get a lot of "well what's normally done is..." but things aren't always like they used to be anymore! Thanks for your suggestions so far :j

moonbabe58

Bridesmaids
Lipstick & nail polish to wear on the day - £4.50
Personalised top to wear whilst getting ready - £4.50
Personalised hanger to hang dresses on - mainly for the photographs - £3
Swarovski heart necklace - £8.50
Hair flower to wear on the day - £2

Plus I bought their dresses and flower corsage bracelet

Flowergirls
Little name bracelets with flowergirl charms on them

Plus I bought their dresses

Best Man
VW cufflinks - £12

Paid for his suit too

Best Woman
Swarovski heart necklace - £8.50

Plus I paid for her dress and flower corsage bracelet

Mother Of The Bride
Personalised top to wear whilst getting ready - £4.50
Personalised hanger to hang dresses on - mainly for the photographs - £3
Engraved silver photo frame - £15

Mother & Father of the Groom
Engraved silver photo frame - £15

Father of the Bride
Engraved silver photo frame - £15

Ushers
We have paid for ties and corsages for them, will probably get them alcohol minatures or bottle of wine!

nikkilou1984

moonbabe58 wrote: »

Bridesmaids
Lipstick & nail polish to wear on the day - £4.50
Personalised top to wear whilst getting ready - £4.50
Personalised hanger to hang dresses on - mainly for the photographs - £3
Swarovski heart necklace - £8.50
Hair flower to wear on the day - £2

Plus I bought their dresses and flower corsage bracelet

Flowergirls
Little name bracelets with flowergirl charms on them

Plus I bought their dresses

Best Man
VW cufflinks - £12

Paid for his suit too

Best Woman
Swarovski heart necklace - £8.50

Plus I paid for her dress and flower corsage bracelet

Mother Of The Bride
Personalised top to wear whilst getting ready - £4.50
Personalised hanger to hang dresses on - mainly for the photographs - £3
Engraved silver photo frame - £15

Mother & Father of the Groom
Engraved silver photo frame - £15

Father of the Bride
Engraved silver photo frame - £15

Ushers
We have paid for ties and corsages for them, will probably get them alcohol minatures or bottle of wine!

I love the personalised hanger idea!
Hope you don't mind me asking, but where did you get these from?
Thanks!

moonbabe58

nikkilou1984 wrote: »

I love the personalised hanger idea!
Hope you don't mind me asking, but where did you get these from?
Thanks!

I have done a DIY version as pre made personalised ones are really expensive! I bought a 5 pack of wooden hangers from Primark, then ordered these personalised hearts to tie/glue to the top of the hanger - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151093144913?var=450195340935&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648

I ordered the hearts to say their name, their role (bridesmaid, MOH) and then the wedding date.

ska_lover

People are far more generous than we have been able to afford to be.

TopQuark

So far, all I've thought to do for my bridesmaids (3 of them) is to make them a teddy bear each, like this;http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRADITIONAL-TEDDY-BEAR-MAKING-KIT-mohair-jointed-/151102580548?pt=UK_Dolls_Bears_RL&hash=item232e6a6744
and get them a pretty satin dressing gown. Making them a personalised hanger for it is a very good idea!

I might get a bottle of champagne for each of them too. I'm getting married in France (OH is French and we live in Switzerland, so much easier logistically than the UK - and sunnier - it's the Med!) and they are all flying over, staying in accommodation etc., so I want to give them something that I've spent time on and is meaningful.

For the others, I really don't know. OH's best men are his 2 brothers, who won't expect anything but will probably get a bottle of pastis each.

For the Mums and Dads, I also have no idea. My sister got married in April and she bought watches/jewellery, so I don't think I can do that. Someone suggested to me to buy some nice wine as gifts but I don't think that will work; for the French side, it's like taking sand to the sahara and on my side, my Mum doesn't drink and my Dad will drink anything from lambrini to chateauneuf du pape with equal relish, so it's a waste of time.

Need to get my thinking cap on.

Faith177

ska_lover wrote: »

People are far more generous than we have been able to afford to be.

All my pj's ect for the bridesmaids and my mum came from Primark

The No.7 kits I got in the Boots January sale left it till the went down by 75% so got them for £7.50 each.

The teddy bear bridesmaids bags I got in Tesco a couple of days before the wedding they were on sale £2.50 each reduced from £13

I just put little bits away as and when I saw them my mums spare room was full of wedding stuff for nearly 3 years lol She is so glad to see the back of it all lol