Category Archives: Bridesmaids

A Year of Date Nights

Today on Ultimate Bridesmaid we welcome guest poster Tara from Spotofteadesigns.com. I was totally inspired by Tara’s super-creative shower gift—A Year of Date Nights! See how she pulled it off below.
Hello UB followers! My name is Tara and I’m the T of Spotofteadesigns.com! Since 2010, I will have been involved in 6 weddings as a bridesmaid, maid of honor and a bride-to-be for my upcoming September wedding. Needless to say I’m in full-on wedding mode these days! As a bridesmaid, I’m used to the plan to chip in for an expensive item off the bride’s registry, but in one particular case, all the big ticket items were already taken. We came up with another plan.
As a big Pinterest user, I was very excited to come across this post from Shannon Brown’s Life in General Blog. She gave her husband a Christmas gift that included 12 envelopes of planned dates for the full year. I loved this concept and used it as inspiration for my bride’s group gift, which we nicknamed A Year of Date Nights.
At her shower, Allie, the bride, was only able to open a large box containing all the wrapped gifts you see above, and a descriptive poem explaining the concept. Each month after their wedding, Allie and her hubby, Tim, are allowed to open that month’s gift. Upon reading it, they’ll be able to pick a day on their calendar to enjoy the date. Since the couple only wed in May, as of this post only 2 gifts have been opened that I can share.For June, Allie and Tim opened a mini pizza box containing an empty frozen yogurt container. Inside they received gift cards for dinner and dessert at their local pizza and froyo locations.
For July, they opened a handmade card with a gift card to Wegmans. They were instructed to buy some steaks and trimmings, then enjoy a sunny BBQ for two on their backyard patio.
Not all her gifts had to do with food, but I can’t reveal the rest until they open the gifts as the months pass.
Below are a few suggestions for other bridesmaids who might want to make their own Year of Date Nights gift: Continue reading →

Fashion Friday

For today’s Fashion Friday, I bring you one dress that can be many! Namely, this customizable two-tone dress from Watters (dress 9539).

I spent some time playing around with colors for the top and bottom. Personally, I like white, black or grey factored in to balance a bright pop of color, but a daring bride might go crazy with her color matching. You could also give each girl a different color on the bottom and basic white on top for that rainbow effect.

Fabric: Crinkle chiffon

Color combinations: Endless! Choose from: Cognac, candlelight, indigo, black, midori, pomegranate, stone, plum, peony, mediterranean, starlight, falcon, roseglow, buff, flora, goldenrod.

Price: $235.99

Wear It Again factor (1-5): 3. The silhouette and fabric are timeless, but the dress is unmistakably occasion-worthy. Your color combo is going to contribute to its Wear It Again factor as well, which is why I leave this one at a middle-of-the-pack score of 3.

Black and buff


Peony and candlelight

Plum and falcon

Personalized Bridal Hangers

During the long hours of bridal prep, it’s nice to have a few surprises for the bride, especially those that present good photo ops. Enter Two Broads Design, purveyors of very affordable custom hangers.

Personalize name, hanger color, wire color and ribbon color to create a pretty keepsake for the day for under $20.


Or, for the bride, snag personalized hangers for your bridesmaids! After all, they’re the ones who are going to have trouble keeping track of whose dress is whose!

Fashion Friday

I saw this Adrianna Papell lace strapless dress on a Denver wedding photographer’s website and, just wow! It looks amazing in pictures! I’m such a sucker for lace and I love the gorgeous bow detail. If you’re not a strapless girl (like me), there’s also a one-shoulder option available in the same color and a charcoal version. (It looks lighter in this photo, but it’s the same fabric and color name, so it should be the same color in person.) And for the brides, might I add this would be a stunning rehearsal dinner dress?

Both are available at Nordstrom for $178.

Design*Sponge City Guides

Planning a destination bachelorette party? In a city you’ve never visited? I’ve been there. But scouring travel sites and reading reviews on Yelp can get overwhelming and exhausting pretty fast. May I recommend Design*Sponge City Guides as a great starting place for curated food, shopping and entertainment recommendations? I love these guides because they’re written for a young female demographic by local writers. The recommendations tend to include vintage stores, cool cafes and off-the-beaten-track finds. They’re by no means extensive, but that’s what I like about them. You’ll get a good feel for the area and a baseline list to get you started. Need a B&B in Napa Valley? A bakery in Charleston to order some delicious cupcakes? Check out the full list of the guides here.


Q&A: Handling a Huge Guest List

Q: My bride wants to invite 20 people to her bachelorette party! What are my options for throwing a big party on a reasonable budget?

A: Accommodating a huge guest list is definitely a challenge, especially when you want to keep the cost low for both yourself and your guests. Here are a few party ideas that work well for large groups and won’t cause you to have a breakdown.

  • Host a girl’s night in at your house: The ultimate in easy party planning, throwing the party in your home or apartment will definitely lower your stress level. You can keep it simple with delivery or take on a home-cooked meal. The only downfall to hosting the party at your house is that you’re more likely to spend a lot of money yourself on food and drinks. Make the party a potluck and assign each guest a category: appetizers, side dishes, alcohol, mixers, desserts, or paper products. Then take on the main dish yourself. Turn it into an old-fashioned sleepover party complete with sleeping bags, truth or dare and kareoke.
  • Rent a house at a beach, mountain or lake: Everyone loves a getaway, and with this many people you’ll be grateful for the space of an entire house. If you add $5-$10 to the cost of the weekend per person, you can stock the kitchen with cereal, yogurt, and sandwich fixings to keep breakfasts and lunches easy. Sites like vrbo.com and Homeaway.com are great sources for vacation rental homes all over the country. A few words of advice: Finding a house that sleeps 20 people is going to be very difficult, so be sure guests know they may have to sleep on blow-up mattresses or couches. You’ll probably have to quote a lower number of guests to the property owner since many don’t want parties larger than the house actually sleeps. Be sure you’re going with a group of people you trust to leave the house in one piece—the last thing you want is an angry owner with your name on the agreement. As long as you know your group will clean up after themselves, go for it!
  • For the sporty bride: How about a kickball game and picnic at your local park? Some parks have rules against alcohol, but many are lenient if you don’t bring glass bottles or get too rowdy. Personalize “Team Bride” shirts with the guest’s names on the back (Old Navy has a tee that you could personalize yourself or this site will personalize them for you).
  • Bar crawl: Skip fancy dinners; bars are much simpler and better for big groups! Start with appetizers at a local brewery, then progress to cocktail lounges, dance clubs, kareoke bars, strip clubs—whatever best suits the group. Make sure you choose bars that are within walking distance of one another, or arrange for transportation in the form of designated drivers, taxis or a limo.

One of the hardest things to do with a big group, in my opinion, is have dinner at a restaurant. Here’s why: Continue reading →

Fashion Friday

This Fashion Friday and the rapid approach of July have me thinking about navy. It’s such a timeless color, flattering to all, and pairs perfectly with hints of metallic in jewelry and shoes. Here are a few of my favorite navy numbers.

The fabric belt at the natural waist creates the perfect silhouette, the flowy chiffon will look great on the dance floor and there’s a pop of sparkle with the sequined yoke that carries over onto the back of the dress. Dorothy Perkins, $75.

The elbow sleeves make this dress a winter navy option. The delicate lace contrasts beautifully with the rugged brown belt. Dorothy Parker, $49.

Hello one-shoulder wonder with sparkly belt! Yes, please. The ruched bodice is a little bit Grecian but the metallic belt is totally modern. Max and Cleo Comet Tail Hour Dress from Mod Cloth, $187.99.

The classic silhouette of this J.Crew dress is timelessly flattering. I especially like the sweet cap sleeves. Mirabelle dress in silk chiffon, $265.

I’m always hesitant to recommend a floor-length gown since you’re less likely to have an occasion to wear it again. That said, there’s no doubt a long gown can make a dramatic and stunning statement and I felt amazing when I wore one at Michele’s wedding. I can’t help loving this one’s delicate pleated bodice and the sash available in custom colors. Wtoo, $216.