The average age a woman gets married in the U.S. is now 27. But I’m not sure you would guess that based on the internet’s depiction of bridesmaid gifts.
I wasn’t in a sorority, so I’ve never quite understood the appeal of the matching monogrammed gift craze, which is practically all I could find while I was doing research for this article. While it may be wise to get your flower girls the same identical presents so they don’t get upset, your bridesmaids probably (hopefully) grew past that stage already. Your bridesmaids are unique, wonderful, adult humans and their bridesmaids’ gifts should reflect that.
So what’s a woman to do? Choose a price point and a theme and go from there. For instance, if all of your bridesmaids like to read, consider picking out a book you think they’ll each love.
Go for jewelry if you like, but your friends probably don’t all have the same style. Buy for the individual or don’t buy at all. Put yourself in their position: there’s nothing worse than keeping a necklace you hate around to only wear it when you see the person who gave it to you. (Besides, that’s what in-laws are for.)
Of course, it is simpler to get everyone the same thing. But if you do, follow a common interest. Do all your girls love coffee? Yoga? Travel? Pick a gift that reflects their shared passion.
If you want to go with a drinking theme, maybe skip the personalized wine glasses. Personally, I’m trying my best to minimize the number of random glasses in my cabinet. Opt for a nice bottle of alcohol instead.
Most importantly, make sure your people feel the love. Take time to write each one a note about how much they mean to you, and why you chose to keep them close on your wedding day.
More good ideas:
- Tickets to a show or concert
- Travel tote or packing cubes
- A nice journal or sketchbook
- Airbnb gift card
- A plant/succulent
- Yoga/Barre/Spinning/Zoomba gift card
- Gift card for a massage
- Cookbooks
- Slippers
- Candles!
- Cute or funny socks. It’s hard to find an adult who isn’t happy about more socks.
- An album (on vinyl for your hipster friends)
- A coffee/wine/chocolate subscription
- Nice lotion, soap, or other beauty product
I can’t stress this enough: You really do not have to have everything monogrammed.
Share the Spotlight
Bridesmaid gifts aren’t the only way to say thank you to your bridesmaids. Take every opportunity to show these amazing people what their support and involvement means to you. Consider including a thank you to your wedding party in your wedding program and highlighting them on your wedding website. Joy has a whole website section dedicated to your VIPs. Add a photo of each of your special people along with a blurb about them and what they mean to you.
