As my best friend is counting down to her wedding (1 year from today!) it reminds me of the excitement I felt during my own engagement! Not only was I gaining a husband that day, but also a step daughter. Much like I am, she is quite the sentimental girl and special gifts mean a lot to her; I love that about her. 

I spent a good amount of time deciding on gifts for my bridesmaids and even more time writing personal notes in cards to each girl. Quick cute story? When we first told Hailey we were getting married we told her she could decide if she wanted to be the flower girl or a junior bridesmaid. Her initial response was “sigh. that’s a big decision; I’ll have to think about it” Completely serious. haha It was so cute! It took her a week to make that big decision 🙂 Getting back to the gift…I knew I wanted to give her something meaningful so I decided on a necklace from Origami Owl. Have you ordered from this company? It really is nice jewelry and I love the ability to make something so personalized.

When she opened the gift I explained the meaning behind each charm in her locket. The B is for our last name, Butler. The paw print is for our pets, because they are family to us. The heart shaped Family is for the loving family we were becoming (and truly already were). The infinity sign is a reminder that we’ll be together as a family forever and the heart Amor is a reminder of how much I love her. She loved the gift and wore it on our wedding day! Since then, she keeps it in the cute necklace holder it was delivered in and only wears it for ‘special occasions’. The sweetest thing though? She told me her favorite part of the gift was the card I wrote her. It’s touching to hear those words could mean so much to a little girl. I will never forget how many times she came up to my husband and me during the wedding reception to tell us how happy she was that day! Nothing could have warmed our hearts more.

For any brides out there trying to come up with ideas for bridesmaids gifts…I went with a small clutch from Coach (purchased from their outlet store online!), a gift card to their favorite store and flip flops to wear at the reception! They all loved it and I love that they still get use out of their gifts today! Happy planning!

As always, thanks for reading!!