DIY: Bridesmaid Gift Bags

I can't believe I am saying this, but my baby sister is getting married.

That's right, ladies and gents, on Sunday April 13th my sister will become a wife! To celebrate this momentous occasion, all the ladies of the bridal party headed to Savannah, GA for a girls weekend.

My sister was very hesitant about having a bachelorette party. Since she is only twenty five, she hasn't been to many friend weddings yet and her whole conception of a bachelorette party was based on raucous scenes from TV and movies. Once I explained she could have a bachelorette weekend that was more relaxation and indulgence than tiaras, sashes and penis straws, she got on board.

As the maid of honor I wanted to be sure all of the bridesmaids (and our bride) felt extra special when they arrived for the bachelorette weekend. I decided to create gift bags for each of them as a surprise welcome gift.

Since the wedding is going to be in Miami, FL and a lot of the weekend will involve lounging by the pool or on Miami Beach, I started by finding the perfect tote bag for each girl.

The three bridesmaids each received one of these fun, bright, graphic totes from Forever 21. I found them during a huge holiday sale, so they were super cheap (score!).

My favorite thing about these bags is the nautical style rope handles.

For the bride-to-be I wanted something different. I found this asymmetrical cupid's arrow tote on Etsy from RLChandmade. It turns out the Etsy shop owner, Renae, grew up in Massachusetts (just like us) and she was so sweet to work with on this secret order.

At a beach wedding you obviously need a perfect pedicure, so each girl also received a pedi set.

These are from Pier 1 and my favorite thing about them is the glittery back side to the emery boards.

Also at Pier 1 I found these diamond shape soaps.

So cute. They make me want to sing, "Diamonds are a girl's best friend!"

Rounding out the Pier 1 finds were these sea air diffusers. I was pretty worried about taking these on the plane because of the liquid component, so like a total overprotective mama bear, I stashed them in my carry on bag and checked on them every 30 minutes.

The most fun part is the sea shell detail on each diffuser stem.

Staying with the beach theme, each girl also received a glass jar with the phrase, "Seek paradise." One of my sister's wedding colors is coral, so this was as close as I could get to matching the scheme. I found these at the Christmas Tree Shop.

I filled each jar with Hershey's dark chocolate nuggets and mini Snickers bars. What is a bachelorette party without late night snacks?

With all the pieces assembled, I was ready to pack each bag and surprise the ladies. Here's the finished product for the 'maids:

I did want to take things up a notch for my sister, so I added a few extras to her bag, starting with these bride flip flops which I found at Target. That store never ceases to amaze me.

Though it wasn't her wedding weekend quite yet, I wanted to give her "something blue" which turned out to be this rhinestone studded sleep mask from Pier 1.

Finally, my sister refused to wear any traditional bachelorette items. She explicitly said, "No crown, no tiara, no sash, no flashing light button, no shot glass around my neck," so I was limited in my options for something to help her stand out as the one we were celebrating.

Ultimately I scored with this "Happy" necklace from Bauble Bar. You may remember when I first wrote about it here.

With that, her welcome bag was complete. Here's a look at the final spread of loot:

I had such a blast prepping these beach themed bags for each of the bridesmaids and of course, our beautiful bride.

If you are interested in doing this for your own wedding or as a maid of honor, I highly recommend beginning your search early. Just keep your eyes peeled any time you are out running errands or heading into a big box store like a Target, Home Goods, etc. They have shockingly great stuff and all at  totally affordable prices.

Have you ever done something special as a member of a bridal party?

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

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