Category Archives: Bridesmaids

A Chic Chevron and Stripe Handmade Bridal Shower

Chalkboard signs and paper rosettes, patterned burlap garlands and chevron table runners…this shower is just bursting with handmade touches, all done up in soft greys and pale pinks—with a few pops of color, of course. Photographer Megan Small couldn’t wait to plan a handcrafted shower for her best friend (since second grade!) Hillary. Guest book idea I’m stealing: Have the guests sign a cookbook next to their favorite recipe—now you know what to make when they come over for dinner! Check out Megan’s list of the stellar Etsy vendors who helped her pull off the event below.

Photography: Megan Small Photography | Patterned paper rosette garlands: Jennifer of The Papier Studio | Faux chalkboard signs: Katie of Lane Love Designs | Burlap pennant signs: Jessica of Cuter Than Words | Chevron printables: Heather of YouMakeDo | Rosette centerpieces: Lili of Beautiful Paper Crafts | Hillary + Adam bicycle print: Michael of DexMex | Catering: Susan Jodon of Swanky Catering and Events

A Mad Hatter Bridal Shower

As a longtime lover of all things Disney, Kentucky bride Nickie requested an Alice in Wonderland theme for her bridal shower, and her bridesmaids were happy to oblique with this whimsical Mad Hatter tea party. Photographer and matron of honor Whitney Knutson used vintage books, floral tea sets (borrowed from many of the ladies who attended the shower) and prettily potted succulents to bring the infamous tea party to life. A patterned floral sheet served as a simple photobooth to capture a few sweet moments with the bride (in a royal blue dress, à la Alice!).  I love all the little nods to the story that are scattered throughout the party. 

Photography: Whitney Knutson Photography

Featured on Weddings Illustrated: Keeping Your Bridesmaids Trendy But Timeless

Check out our special feature on Weddings Illustrated today, where I’m sharing my tips for keeping your bridesmaid look trendy but timeless. We’ve all had this experience: You’re flipping through an old wedding album—even one from just a few years back—and your eyes land on the bridesmaid dresses. The inevitable question pops into your mind: What exactly was the bride thinking? Avoid this situation with my four easy tips—or maybe just embrace it!

Screen Shot 2013-10-04 at 11.58.24 AMCheck out the full article here!

 

21 Spectacular Bridal Shower Themes

When it’s time to choose a bridal shower theme, think about the things that are meaningful to your friend. Explore her interests and passions and see if one would translate into a great bridal shower. Don’t throw a tea party just because it’s the first idea that pops into your head—go for the tea party theme if your friend can’t get enough of all things British, brews her own loose tea or collects vintage teapots. Tailoring the shower to your friend’s interests and personality will not only make it more unique and memorable—it will also make it way more fun! Here, 21 ideas for spectacular bridal showers.

1. Tea Party

One of the most common and classic bridal shower themes. Check out our tea party inspiration board on Pinterest  to find ideas for creating an elegant tea that’s the perfect mix for a vintage yet modern bride.

2. Lingerie

Another very popular shower theme. I recommend keeping things delicate and fresh with light colors and lace—no neon-pink corset cookies, please! This rustic vintage shower uses lingerie as an accent rather than the focus and the results are so sweet.

3. Carnival

A carnival theme is a great excuse to go crazy with colors and candy—plus, it brings out the kid in everyone. I love this chic fairground shower with an old-timey iron cart serving as a snow cone bar and pinstriped table linens lined with bursts of colorful blooms.

4. Spa

Book a spa day or host your own pampering party at home. There are tons of easy spa treatment kits available, from do-it-yourself facials to this floral foot bath. Ask everyone to wear fluffy robes and slippers to complete your total relaxation. (Image via Gardenista)

5. Travel

If the bride is a world traveler, channel her wanderlust with a vacation theme. Choose her favorite destination to inspire the decor and food (Parisian niciose salad or Italian caprese), or incorporate lots of her favorite locales and tie them together with maps, vintage luggage and a passport invitation. A great  gift theme: the honeymoon! (Image via Sarah Tucker)

6. Garden Party

Head to a nearby garden store, a public garden or a greenhouse, or host in your own back garden. Flowers are the centerpiece, but it’s great to get your hands a little dirty as well. A make-your-own-terrarium class provides a unique activity as well as a long-lasting favor. (Image via Ruffled)

7. Fiesta

Who doesn’t love a fiesta? The colors are bright, the food is delicious and the drinks are strong—the perfect inspiration for a fun backyard bridal shower (check out more ideas here). (Image via Little Miss Party)

8. Nautical

Perfect for a boathouse brunch, a luncheon by the lake or a beach picnic . Nautical can mean whatever you want it to, whether you go with the classic sailing style with blue and white stripes (and a hint of navy sequin to glam it up, of course) or translate it into a breezy beach theme with sea glass greens and a touch of sand. Check out our Nautical Inspiration Board on Pinterest for more ideas. (Image via Style Me Pretty)

9. Picnic

Imagine a backyard party complete with lawn games, hearty boxed lunches, and plenty of craft beers. It’s casual, colorful and just plain fun (who’s bringing the croquet set!) (Image via Eric Kelley Photography)

10. Cocktails with Class

Get your girlfriends together to create and sample a few new cocktails. Everyone should know how to make a signature drink! I love The Sweetest Occasion for unique cocktail recipes (check out her Cherry Blueberry Smash for a yummy summer sip). (Image via The Sweetest Occasion)

11. Get Crafty

If you have a full-on DIY bride on your hands and a group of girls who don’t mind getting crafty,  offer to help with a few of her wedding projects. Just make sure the shower doesn’t turn into a work day. Tackle one or two projects, then spend the rest of the time enjoying nibbles, cocktails and each other’s company. (Image via Gather Events) Continue reading →

A Girls Weekend in the San Francisco Mission District

I’m sure you’ve been noticing a lot of travel articles this summer, but what can I say? I’ve been a busy girl! I recently traveled to San Francisco to meet up with three important women in my life—my mom and two of my aunts, Laurie and Marlene. When I was growing up, Aunt Laurie and Aunt Marlene were the two aunts who lived in town, so we spent lots of early holidays together. I was the flower girl in my Aunt Laurie’s wedding (yep, the one who wouldn’t drop her petals). And my Mom is one of my best friends. So, it’s wonderful to now have adult relationships with these amazing women and be able to spend a weekend away with them.

How does this help you? Well, our weekend would have made an amazing bachelorette bash. We had so much fun! So here’s my stellar weekend in San Francisco. This weekend is best for those who aren’t interested in or have already done the top tourist destinations. If you’ve already walked the Golden Gate Bridge, been to Chinatown, seen the sea lions and paid a visit to Alcatraz, or if those common attractions just don’t interest you, then this weekend line-up is for you. Leave your own suggestions for a great weekend in San Francisco in the comments!

Friday:

mission apartment on airbnb

Photo courtesy airbnb.

Arrive at your amazing pad in the Mission District. This was my first time using Airbnb to book a house and the experience could not have been better. I don’t throw around the word “sick” to describe apartments very often, but I will for this three bedroom decked out in mid-century modern furniture with deep blue and neon pink walls and pops of patterns in the supersoft throws. I seriously wanted to pack everything into my suitcase to redecorate my own apartment…or just move in. A huge kitchen in the back was the perfect place to gather for a nightly wine and cheese happy hour while the cool San Francisco breeze came in through the back garden door.

Spend your first night exploring everything the Mission’s 24th St. We created our own progressive dinner, hitting up taquerias, bakeries and bars and darting in a few quirky bookstores and artist co-ops. We loved the sangria and salt cod appetizer at Roosevelt Tamale Parlor and the ceviche tostadas at El Farolito, but the road is simply lined with great Mexican food, so take your pick!

Saturday:

Start the day off right by making a stop right around the corner at Dynamo’s Donuts. We found ourselves instantly addicted to these things, from the tangy lemon thyme to the sinful maple bacon.

A Mural on Lucky Street in San Francisco's Mission DistrictSign up for a mural tour with Precita Eyes Muralists. The Mission District has a rich history of muralizing the streets and, especially around 24th St., almost every corner is covered in two-story art. Taking a tour really helps you appreciate what you’re seeing and leads you to alleys and corners you wouldn’t typically have stumbled on (some streets are completely covered in murals). Our guide was a muralist herself and was able to explain some of the religious, historical and political symbols that pop up throughout the art, as well as the deeply respectful culture that surrounds the mural community in this neighborhood. Even if you are not a tour person, you’ll enjoy this—it feels more like you’re meeting up with your passionate artistic friend for a stroll (ask for Carla, she’s the best!).

After your tour, spend time exploring the cute shops the Mission has to offer. I made you this nifty map to help you find your way around the neighborhood (click here to download a full-size PDF: A Mini Guide to San Francisco’s Mission District. The shopping list is definitely incomplete, but Valencia is lined with quirky home goods stores, vintage clothing shops and used bookstores from about 20th St. all the way up to Hayes Valley. You can find lunch or dinner (and plenty of treats) at the fabulous cafes and shops in the area. Stop by Dolores Park to enjoy the sunshine and a croissant from Tartine Bakery or a salted caramel scoop from Bi-Rite Creamery.

A Mini Guide to Restaurant, Sweets, and Shopping in San Francisco's Mission District

Finish your night by hopping in a cab to the late showing of Beach Blanket Babylon, a classic San Francisco show that’s been running for 60 years but feels like it was written yesterday…because it was! The show is a musical revue full of the latest figures in pop culture and politics and is constantly rewritten to reflect the latest news. I was in San Francisco only a few days after the birth of Prince William and Kate’s baby George and all three made an appearance in the show. It’s silly and fun, and the costumes are almost the best part.

Sunday:

This afternoon’s agenda includes an amazing food tour, so work up your appetite with a morning in Golden Gate Park. You could spend hours exploring the park, so pick what appeals most to you. For garden lovers, there’s the Japanese Tea Gardens, the Conservatory of Flowers, and the Botanical Garden. The artistic can check out the permanent collection at the de Young Museum (make sure to climb to the top of the Hamon Tower for panoramic views of the city and the Golden Gate Bridge). The California Academy of Science is right across the street and includes its very own domed rainforest. For a bit of whimsy, hike out to the windmill and tulip garden or take a ride on the restored carousel.

My number one recommendation for Golden Gate Park is to rent a surrey. These two- or four-person contraptions can be pedaled around the park and make for plenty of hilarious pictures and some harrowing near crashes… (There may or may not be a video of me somewhere on YouTube trying to pull an illegal U-turn. Some guy in a truck filmed it. Please let me know if you locate this footage.)

For the afternoon, book a food tour with Gourmet Walks. We ate our way through Hayes Valley, sampling cheese and wine, bahn mi and macaron, freshly frozen ice cream and craft beers. Try not to eat before this tour. Like, seriously, I recommend showing up starving. Because you get a lot of food. Way too much food. Delicious, delicious food. One of my favorite stops was Arlequin because of their amazing back garden. Sunlight streamed through the trees as we enjoyed a cheese plate and glass of California chardonnay. There are lots of cute bars to turn your food tour into a drinking tour for the night. Some of my favorites were Noir, for the retro industrial decor and oversized leather chairs, and Two Sisters Bar and Books, for the designer cocktails and real lending library. And since Hayes Valley borders the Mission District, it will be a cinch for you to hop on a bus or even stroll home when it’s time to wind the evening down.

A Glitter Bachelorette Shoot in South Carolina

Bride Amanda chose a glitter bachelorette theme for this weekend on the sunny shore of Isle of Palms, near Charleston, South Carolina. Each of her friends came prepared with a sparkly outfit and photographer Paige Winn came up with the perfect prop to add extra glitz—shimmery confetti (bonus: it’s biodegradable!). You can tell from their smiles and giggles that this shoot was pure fun. The girls are positively glowing with energy and the result is just gorgeous! (P.S. Did you catch Amanda’s stunning ring nestled in a handful of confetti?)

How Do I Tell a Friend She’s Not One of My Bridesmaids?

Q: My fiancé and I have decided to each have five attendants at the wedding. We both agreed that we didn’t want a huge wedding party and he really only has five people who he feels comfortable asking—his two brothers, my brother and his two best friends from college. The thing is, it was really hard for me to choose just five people and there are two girls who I am close friends with who I’m not going to be able to ask to be bridesmaids. How can I break the news that they aren’t in the wedding party without hurting their feelings?

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A: This is a very tough situation, but also a pretty common one. It’s very likely that most couples don’t have perfectly matching numbers of close friends to create symmetrical bridal parties. Beyond that, we always have to draw the line somewhere—you can’t ask every single friend to be your bridesmaid or you’d end up like this crazy woman. You’re already through the first hard step: deciding who you have to leave out. That was a tough decision in the first place and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. You had to make a choice and you did. Good job.

I think a piece of advice that should be more widely circulated is that no one should assume they are going to be invited to a wedding or asked to be a bridesmaid. We could all save ourselves a lot of hurt feelings if we make it a rule to assume the bride and groom are going to elope and then are just pleasantly surprised if we receive an invite or a request to be in the wedding party. There are so many considerations that go into these decisions and most of them have nothing to do with your friendship. Brides have to think about the cost of each guest and the spacial constraints of the venue. Parents and relatives can lay on additional pressures, so a bride may be forced to choose a cousin as her bridesmaid over one of her close friends. If a bride envisions a small service, she may not want to have any attendants at all and might only invite her immediate family to the event!

So how do you tell your friends that you can’t ask them to be a bridesmaid? Think about what you want to say before you bring up the topic. Don’t try to explain why she didn’t “make the cut.” Instead, focus on affirming your friendship. Make sure she knows that she’s invited to the wedding and the pre-wedding festivities, like the bachelorette. It might be a nice touch to ask if she can be involved in some small way that directly plays to her strengths. For example, you could say “you have such great taste in music, I would love your recommendations for our wedding playlist” or “you are so my most fashionable friend, so I’d love to run some dress ideas by you.” Don’t ask for anything too large—after all, she’s not a bridesmaid so she shouldn’t have to do the work of one—but asking for her opinion or advice is a simple way to include her that won’t burden her as well. Let her know that just because she’s not an official part of the wedding doesn’t mean that your friendship is going on hold. Try to leave the conversation with plans to do something together, maybe that doesn’t involve your wedding.

You could also think about adopting the Southern tradition of a “house party.” Basically, the house party is composed of women who are close to the bride, but are not her bridesmaids. The house party attends all the showers and the bachelorette party and sometimes participates in the ceremony in some small way, either by doing a reading, manning the guest book, or helping to direct guests to different activities, like a photo booth or dessert bar. This role is also sometimes called the “host” if only one or two girls are doing it. House party members can sit in the second row during the wedding (behind immediate family) and sometimes wear dresses that are the same color as the bridesmaids (but not the exact same dress).

The other thing to think about, and I know this is revolutionary, but maybe you don’t need to have the same number of attendants as your fiancé. I’ve actually given this a good bit of thought and other than perfectly balancing wedding party photographs and giving each lady a gentleman’s arm to process out on, I just can’t see why two people can’t have a slightly different number of attendants. Wedding “rules” have loosened up a lot. Head tables, formal introductions, and receiving lines are starting to be rarities rather than certainties, and the traditional setup of the wedding is in flux. Lots of brides are choosing to have more casual weddings and are playing by their own rules. So, just give it a think.

Photo courtesy LanierStar Photography.

Have a tough question you’d like to submit for the next Ultimate Bridesmaid Q&A? Leave it anonymously in the comments or email us at ultimatebridesmaid@gmail.com.