Category Archives: Bridesmaids

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30 (That She’ll Totally Love Too)

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30 (That's She'll Totally Love Too)Staying on a budget with bridesmaid gifts can be tough. You have to buy x-number of the same item, which means the item itself can’t be that expensive. But you still want to get your girls something thoughtful, personalized and fun. These bridesmaid gifts under $30 (and most are under $25) will make your maids smile and keep you on budget too. 

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30: Personalized striped tote with rope handle

This personalized tote comes in black, pink, blue and gold, and you can even customize the lettering style. I love the rope handle detail, and how spacious they are. You could definitely fit a lot in this bag! $24.95 each.

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30: Personalized cosmetics bag with gold details

You can honestly never have too many cosmetic bags. They are just so handy! In addition to cosmetics, I store jewelry, pens, and even tampons in mine when I’m traveling. I love the gold details on this personalized cosmetics bag, $21.50 each.

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30: Personalized sleep masks perfect for a bachelorette party or bridal party gift

Guys, I’m kind of obsessed with these personalized sleep masks from Sleepy Cottage. This version says “SHHHH, Sleeping Off Tilley’s Bachelorette,” which you can obviously personalize with the bride’s name and the color of your choice ($22 each). But they have so many other adorable options! Can I suggest the Wake Me For Mimosas version ($15 each)?

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30: Flamingo pool drink float and swan pool drink float

Perfect for a bachelorette party favor or to stuff in a beach wedding welcome bag: flamingo and swan drink floats, set of 2 for $12.99!

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30: Tropical fern botanical gift set with lip balm, soap, lavender bath salts and rescue skin salve

This sweet botanical travel set ($29) has so much going for it. The bag itself if adorable, with a tropical fern print, and it comes stuffed with a soap and lip balm of your choice, lavender detox salts, and a skin rescue balm.

Bridesmaid Gifts Under $30: Personalized stemless champagne flutes. These are perfect for mimosas on your wedding day!

These personalized champagne flutes are perfect for mimosas as you’re getting ready with your bridal party! $16.95 each.

This post contains affiliate links. Ultimate Bridesmaid carefully selects our affiliate partners to only work with companies and promote products we 100% love. Thank you for supporting Ultimate Bridesmaid! 

Completely Custom Bridal Shower Invitations with Basic Invite

Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows you to customize almost every element of the invitation. I’m not just talking the font color and type here. You can literally change the color of the background and each design element to perfectly match your party theme. Below I’ve created three inspiration boards to show you the versatility of Basic Invite’s bridal shower invitations—a Kate Spade bridal shower, a Paris boudoir bridal shower and a tropical bridal shower. P.S. Brides, you’ll find equally customizable wedding invitations, wedding save the dates and more!

Kate Spade Bridal Shower

For this Kate Spade bridal shower inspiration board, I left the Basic Invite Kate Spade invitation exactly as designed since the color palette was already 100% perfect for the Kate Spade theme. Literally every element of this invitation can be customized though, from the color of the stripes to the tones of the flowers and leaves. The no-fail combination for a Kate Spade bridal shower is black and white stripes + pink flowers. Here are a few tips to put together a gorgeous Kate Spade bridal shower.

  • Adorn cookies or macarons with stripes, polka dots and cute sayings like “Pop, Fizz, Clink” and “Eat Cake for Breakfast.”
  • A bold black and white striped look for the bride is the perfect twist on traditional bridal shower white.
  • Add sparkle with a pink sequin table runner and glitter-dipped champagne glasses.
  • Don’t forget lots of pink blooms, like peonies and roses. And check out this cute bridal shower balloon game to complete the party.

Plan a Kate Spade bridal shower with these ideas. Start with a completely custom Kate Spade bridal shower invitation from Basic Invite, then add lots of black and white stripes and pink accents. Click for more ideas!

Image credits: Basic Invite Floral Stripe Bridal Shower Invitation, Kate Spade cookies and macarons, polka dot and striped straws, striped bridal shower look, balloon bridal shower game, pink sequin Kate Spade table decor, Mrs. fireplace decor, glitter-dipped champagne glasses

Paris Boudoir Bridal Shower

As the city of love, Paris is the perfect inspiration for a bridal shower. I used a French patisserie as my staring point and incorporated a classy and feminine boudoir theme to give the event a little extra French flair. I started with this Basic Invite Paris bridal shower invitation, which I customized with a few tweaks to perfectly fit the event. I updated the font, switched the bride’s name to a matte gold and added a blue accent.

  • Ask your guests to dress in comfortable and chic boudoir attire—that could mean tulle skirts and floral corsets or silky pajamas with flowing robes.
  • Set up a flower crown crafting bar or arrange for a class so that guests can create beautiful headpieces of their own.
  • French macarons are a must, of course. A signature drink like this refreshing rosé cocktail is the perfect complement.

Does the bride love Paris? Plan her a Parisian boudoir bridal shower with these ideas! Start with a completely custom Paris bridal shower invitation from Basic Invite, then add a flower crown crafting bar, a rose cocktail and plenty of macarons of course. Click for more ideas!

Image credits: Basic Invite Paris Bridal Shower Invitation, boudoir bridal shower attire, white Parisian salon decor, rosé cocktail, bridal shower slumber party, macaron bar, flower crown crafting bar

Tropical Bridal Shower

For this last inspiration board, I wanted to show you just how powerful the Basic Invite editing tool is, so I literally changed EVERY single color on their Garden Party Bridal Shower invitation. The original is on the left and my updated version is on the right.

Completely custom bridal shower invitations from Basic Invite. The invitation on the left is the original and you can see every element has been customized on the right! Perfect for a garden party bridal shower or tropical bridal shower. Click for more inspiration.

My new vibrant colors gave the Garden Party Bridal Shower Invitation from Basic Invite a more tropical vibe, perfect for a summer bridal shower. Here are a few more tips for putting together the perfect tropical bridal shower. Plus, check out our Pinterest board for more ideas.

  • You’ve seen a mimosa bar at every bridal shower—switch it up with a sangria bar!
  • Incorporate tropical flowers, succulents and summer fruits like pineapples and watermelon into your decor for a lush summertime vibe.
  • Serve fresh, light dishes like summer fruit salad in a coconut shell or watermelon popsicles.

Plan a tropical bridal shower with these ideas: Start with a completely custom bridal shower invitation from Basic Invite, add a sangria bar and decorate with plenty of fresh summer fruits and flowers

Image credits: Basic Invite Garden Party Bridal Shower Invitation, palm tree balloons, sangria bar, pineapple piñata, watermelon popsicles, tropical table setting, coconut summer fruit bowls

This post is sponsored by Basic Invite. Ultimate Bridesmaid carefully selects our sponsorship partners to only work with companies and promote products we 100% love. Thank you for supporting Ultimate Bridesmaid! 

A Cheerful Citrus Bridal Brunch

For this beautiful citrus bridal brunch, a group of vendor pals got together to plan the perfect fresh and modern party—and take a turn in front of the cameras! A palette of light aqua mixed with lemon, lime and orange gave this party an almost tropical vibe, while beautiful greenery was the perfect contrast to the bright summery shades. The menu included lemon tarts, mini blackberry pancake stacks and a warm spinach and cheese quiche. The team took the time to tie the theme throughout the entire apartment, framing coordinating wall art, styling a bar cart and creating linens to match the color palette. Each guest took away a coordinating custom pouch.

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Photographer: Kelsey Nelson Photography | Event Planning: Magnolia Grove Weddings and Events | Staging: Minted Spaces | Invitations and Bar Sign: Raleigh Calligraphy | Design, Paper Goods, Pouches: Shelby Dillon Studios

The Ultimate Bachelorette Party Packing List

This bachelorette packing list isn’t just about what to bring—it’s about how to pack smart so you have everything you need, but aren’t weighed down by tons of luggage. I just took a five-day trip to Belize for a wedding and carried on my luggage (including four pairs of shoes), so let’s just say I know what I’m doing. Carrying on your bag has so many pluses! There’s no risk of losing your luggage and no time spent waiting at the bag carousel. Plus, you’re going to be sharing a hotel room or house with a lot of ladies, so keeping the amount of stuff you are lugging in there to a minimum will be greatly appreciated by all. You’ll stay more organized and keep your temporary roommates happy too.

You can also download a printable PDF of the Ultimate Bridesmaid bachelorette party packing list.

Step 1: Know your itinerary
Before you start packing, it helps to have an idea of what’s planned for the weekend. For example, you may be spending Friday night at your rental house making dinner and playing drinking games, while Saturday will be party night on the town. That makes a difference in what outfits you’ll want to pack. Is there beach time involved? Hiking planned? Yoga class in the mix? Have a basic idea of your itinerary so you can pack smart.

Step 2: Pack neutrals with one accent color
Next, and this tip works for any trip, try to pack neutral colors with one accent color. That way, everything you pack will go together and you’ll have a lot more outfit options. Blue counts as a neutral in this equation because, hi, jeans, so your colors would include blue, black, grey, white, navy, brown and tan. You can safely throw both gold and silver in there too. Then pick your accent color based on what’s in your closet, the season and what you’re loving right now.

Step 3: Pick your travel outfit
Remember to set aside the outfit you’ll be wearing during travel! I always wear my bulkiest shoes on the plane so that I don’t have to waste packing space on them. Wear any jacket you may need to save space as well.

Step 4: Lay out your outfits
Lay out all your clothes on your bed and count through each day. Envision two outfits for each day—it helps to even line them up—one daytime look and one evening look. Remember that might just mean changing your top and shoes, but still wearing your jeans. Factor in bathing suits or special activities. Once you have those outfits laid out, if you still have space, you can add two extra tops and one extra bottom to give yourself a few more options. Be brutal with your choices though. I often end up eliminating a dress or top rather than adding. Packing light is only hard if you aren’t willing to make cuts in your clothing options. Commit to your favorite pieces and be OK with leaving things behind.

Step 5: Roll it up
Make sure to roll your clothing—it both saves space and keeps your clothes from wrinkling.

Wear during travel:

  • 1 pair of dark blue jeans
  • 1 T-shirt
  • The bulkiest shoes you want to bring (tennis shoes, boots)
  • A jacket

In your carry-on:

  • 1 pair of dark blue or black jeans (if you aren’t wearing them during travel)
  • Your favorite pair of shorts or a skirt (2 pairs if you aren’t packing any other bottoms)
  • 1–2 going-out dress (I recommend an LBD)
  • 1 sundress (especially if there is a shower planned)
  • 3 T-shirts or tops you love (2 casual, 1 fancy)
  • 1 pair of heels or wedges (choose a pair that can go with both your fancy dress and fancy top + jeans)
  • 1 pair sandals or flats
  • 1 pair pajamas
  • Underwear for each day, and a few extras, just in case
  • Bras: Think about your outfits when choosing which bras to bring. Do you need a nude one to go under a semi-sheer shirt? A strapless one for your dress? Wear one of the bras you’ll need and pack one extra in your suitcase.
  • Socks and/or tights

Pro tip: Pack your underwear, bras, bathing suits and socks in the top mesh portion of your suitcase. This makes it easy to find these small items during travel.

  • Small clutch/purse for going out
  • Flight001 travel bags: I love these and always carry one with me when I travel. They are great for wet and sandy beach things. I also put sandy/dirty shoes in them, or fill them with my dirty laundry to keep the other clothes in my suitcase smelling fresh.
  • Hair dryer, curling iron and/or straightener: Try to be selective about how many of these you need. I can get by with just a hair dryer. You can also buddy up with a friend. Tell her to bring her curling iron and she can use your straightener.
  • Makeup bag + makeup removal wipes or face wash
  • Liquid toiletries. You’ll need: Shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, lotion, sunscreen, body wash, face wash, bug spray. If you use a loofah in the shower, put it in the same bag as your liquid toiletries. Now you have all your shower things in one place.

Pro tip: Add all your liquid toiletries to a Ziplock bag, seal it well and place it in the OUTSIDE zip pocket of your suitcase. This way, if something explodes and leaks, it will not get all over your clothes. Make sure to get 3 oz. travel-size items of everything (samples are great for this too—great way to try out those Birchbox items you have lying around).

  • Non-liquid toiletries: These go in a separate bag from your liquid toiletries. They include deodorant, toothpaste, floss, nail file, nail scissors/clippers, tweezers, etc.
  • Medicine: I always carry a separate ziplock bag filled with medicines I might need while traveling. Mine includes stomach medicine like Tums, a painkiller like Advil, an allergy medication like Claratin and band-aids. If you have prescriptions, be sure you include them as well.
  • Jewelry: Accessories are an easy way to jazz up a simple outfit without adding bulk to your suitcase, so you get a little more leeway with this. Find a small jewelry tote (I like this one) and fill it up with your favorites.
  • A lint roller and Tide pen
  • Any gifts or party favors you need for the weekend

If you’re going to the beach, add:

  • 2 bathing suits (they’re small, so you get 2)
  • 1 pair flip-flops
  • Foldable beach tote
  • 1 beach cover-up
  • Foldable beach hat (like this one)

In your purse:

Your purse is your second carry-on. Choose a big one for your trip. You’ll need:

  • Cell phone
  • Cell phone charger, including power cord and TK.
  • Portable solar charger: I love these. We use them all the time on trips. When your battery is dying and you’re moving from place to place, these are a life saver.
  • Small umbrella
  • iPad or Kindle
  • Lip gloss or lip balm
  • Cash!: I know a lot of people don’t carry cash. But a bachelorette weekend is one time you should make a special trip to the ATM. Cash will come in handy so often when you are trying to split bills, pay some one back for a drink or pay for a taxi. It can’t hurt to have it! I recommend taking out $100. You can always redeposit it after the weekend if you don’t spend it!
  • Checkbook: Likewise, if you owe the host a good bit of money for lodging or bachelorette activities, writing a check may be the simplest option. That, or see if the host has Venmo (more about that below).
  • Passport or ID: Whichever you need for your destination.
  • Tissues
  • Small mirror
  • Snack: I love Larabars and always have one in my bag. Way better for you than airport food!
  • Printouts of your boarding passes and itinerary

Download:

Venmo: If you’re not a cash person, Venmo is a great way to pay for things as a group.

Lyft, Uber or another ride-share app: Super handy for getting rides in a city you’re not familiar with.

Enable iCloud Photo Sharing and create a shared album: The best and easiest way to share photos from the weekend with the group instantly.

The Ultimate Bachelorette Party Packing List

A Destination Wedding Bridesmaid Dinner in Austria

When Catherine of Wild Connections Photography was planning her destination wedding, she felt that she needed to entertain her guests the night before the wedding. But when guests showed no sign of heading home as the night went on, she began to regret her decision. “I so desperately wanted to take care of the guests who had traveled thousands of miles to celebrate with us, so I organized a meet and greet at our apartment. But the nice, relaxing evening I had wanted turned into me playing hostess and almost losing my nerve when nobody would leave and all I wanted to do was clean up, have a bath and get a good night’s sleep.”After that experience, Catherine decided to partner with destination wedding planner Kajsa Reisenbauer to create an inspiration shoot for the perfect night before the wedding, this time spent with your bridesmaids relaxing, enjoying dinner and a glass of wine and pampering yourself before getting a good night’s rest. A beautiful holiday apartment in the Austrian province of Tirol made the perfect setting for this luxurious getaway.

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Photography: Wild Connections Photography | Paper Goods: Emily Kate Hamnett | Florals: Innenleben | Hair Stylist: Intercoiffure POCK | Event Planning: Weddings By Kajsa | Venue: Wilder Kaeser

The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Each season, we love to see what’s new in bridesmaid style…and what’s stayed the same. Certain timeless styles will always be in the mix—but we also love seeing how brides step outside the norm and incorporate their personal style into their bridesmaid looks. This year hemlines got longer, mixing and matching got bolder and new fabrics (like velvet) and silhouettes (like jumpsuits) arrived on the bridesmaid scene. Here, our favorite bridesmaid trends of the year (plus, the one dress that gets its very own entry—because it’s just that big right now).

Pretty Pastels

This year we saw pastels everywhere! While soft blues and pinks have always been popular bridesmaid colors, they really had a resurgence this year and became the most popular color palette for bridesmaid looks in all seasons.

Pretty Pastels. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Style Me Pretty

Total Freedom to Mix and Match

It takes a bold bride (and some stylish maids) to go completely off script and let your bridesmaids have total freedom in picking their dresses, but we love seeing a mix and match bridesmaid look come together. You don’t even need to worry about selecting a specific shade! These bridesmaid chose dresses in shades of orange that ranged from soft peach to vibrant coral, and patterns that included lace, florals and stripes. The result? Spectacular.

Total Freedom to Mix and Match. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via 100 Layer Cake

Unique Fabrics like Velvet!

We love the soft, romantic feeling of these tea-length velvet dresses. An uncommon bridesmaid dress fabric, velvet is perfect for a winter wedding. Your maids will stay warm and look hot.
Velvet! The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Green Wedding Shoes

Wedding White

When the tradition of incorporating bridesmaids in a wedding first began, all bridesmaids wore white to match the bride. For awhile, wearing white at a wedding became a taboo, but white bridesmaid dresses are back and here to stay. We love short styles that let the bride stand out in her long gown.

Wedding White: The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Style Me Pretty

Florals

A killer floral makes an amazing statement and brings color and pattern into the wedding palette. We love vibrant floral frocks like these for spring and summer weddings.

Florals. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Style Me Pretty

This “It” Brand

Every year, a dress comes along that captures the hearts of brides everywhere. This year, it’s these floor-length floral maxi dresses from Show Us Your Mumu. This breakout brand has popped up everywhere, with light and flowy gowns that are perfect for beach weddings. They also carry adorable robes and rompers perfect for getting ready with your girls.

Show Us Your Mumu: The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Green Wedding Shoes

Casual Skirt and Top

For an intimate, casual wedding, this bride chose a green corduroy skirt and asked her bridesmaids to add a lacy white top. This look is the ultimate in bridesmaid style that you will be able to wear again.

Casual Skirts and Tops. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Green Wedding Shoes

Floor Length Stunners

Long dresses are it right now. There’s just something about a floor-length stunner that adds a special touch to the occasion. Makes a lady feel fancy! Plus, the movement and flowy drape of the skirts makes for some gorgeous pictures.

Floor Length Stunner. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Style Me Pretty

Patterned Skirts

Party on the bottom, business on top (well, sort of). A patterned skirt makes for a standout bridesmaid look, especially when paired with a neutral top. This palm print is perfect for a beach wedding, but try any pattern to fit your theme!
Patterned Skirts. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via Style Me Pretty

Jumpsuits!

Bridesmaid #goals. To all my ladies rocking a bridesmaid jumpsuit, you are everything. I applaud you.

Jumpsuits. The Best Bridesmaid Looks: Our 10 Favorite Bridesmaid Trends This Year

Photo via 100 Layer Cake

4 Tea Party Bridal Shower Themes

Tea parties remain one of the most popular bridal shower themes, but that doesn’t mean every tea party shower must look the same as the last. We crafted four tea party shower inspiration boards to show you how you can customize a tea party theme to suit the bride’s personality. Choose from a classic English high tea with pastel hues and floral patterned plates, or go modern with a vibrant color palette and bold patterns. Go for over-the-top opulence with a Marie Antoinette French tea party, or get wacky (or bookish) with an Alice in Wonderland tea.

A Classic Tea Party Bridal Shower

To create a classic high tea, you’ll need pretty patterned china and a few traditional tea snacks, like this honey pound cake or soft angel food cake cut into hearts and covered with layers of creamy frosting. Soft colors should run throughout the decor, from the flowers to the table settings. An English tea dress code will give your guests a change to wear springtime sundresses, feathered hats, flower crowns or even lace gloves.

Tea time dessert table | Tea leaves | Floral patterned plates | Honey tea cake | Heart-shaped tea cakes | Vintage tea party style

A Modern Tea Party Bridal Shower

To throw a modern tea party, change up the color palette. While a traditional tea incorporates soft pastels and vintage florals, go with bold, vibrant colors and patterns for a modern twist. We love the orange accents in this tea party or the abstract patterned tablecloth in a modern navy motif. And don’t be afraid of black! The letter board at this modern tea party gives the perfect updated twist. You can also look beyond Europe for inspiration and explore other tea cultures. What about serving a Moroccan tea or having a Japanese tea service?

Modern tea sandwiches | Orange tea setting | Black modern tea | Tunisian tea | Blue modern tea | Earl grey fig tea cake

A Marie Antoinette French tea party bridal shower

A Marie Antoinette tea holds on to the elegance of a traditional English tea, but turns the fancy up to 10! The traditional palette is pink, blue and white, but we love accents of gold to channel French rococo glam. Host your shower at a cute French cafe and serve pink floral teas and French macarons. Marie’s classic catch phrase (“Let them eat cake”) must be on display, and the aforementioned cake should make an appearance too. This type of tea party also screams for the addition of alcohol—we love this pink champagne granita as a finish to your meal.

White and pink vintage shower | Floral open-back dress | Gold vintage china photo backdrop | Cake | Pink floral tea | Let them eat cake macaron | French cafe | Pink champagne granita

An Alice in Wonderland Tea Party Bridal Shower

Alice in Wonderland is a versatile theme, as there are two parties in the book you can take inspiration from: the Mad Hatter’s wacky tea party or the Queen of Hearts’ croquet lawn party. If you’re going Mad Hatter, incorporate whimsical colors with mismatched vintage china. A grouping of clocks or vintage glass bottles makes for simple yet stunning table decor. Color chaos is your goal. You can use vintage wallpaper samples to create a shabby chic photo backdrop that completes the look. For the Queen’s garden party, your palette is black, white and red. And if you’ve got a hedge, use it! This one is dotted with red roses and oversized playing cards. Fancy hats will add an element of fun and whimsy to a party that’s fit for a queen. And don’t forget these DIY flamingo croquet sticks!

Wonderland bridal shower | Vintage wallpaper photo backdrop | Pastel dessert spread | Fancy hats | DIY flamingo croquet sticks | Daisy layer cake | Wonderland place settings