Happy Wednesday, y’all! For this week’s Wedding Wednesday post, I wanted to share how I asked my nearest and dearest gal pals to be bridesmaids in my wedding this past October. Between Instagram and Pinterest, it seems like grand proposal boxes are all the rage nowadays, but I decided to keep things a bit more simple. Here’s what I did!
One of my biggest concerns throughout the proposal process was keeping things low-pressure! Proposal boxes filled with little gifts are adorable, but all of my friends are college seniors as well, so if being a bridesmaid was going to pose a financial hardship, I didn’t want to make them feel like they needed to say yes on the spot. Instead, I asked each of them out to a coffee or lunch date and brought it up at towards the end our conversation – they were all so excited, and it absolutely warmed my heart! Simple, right?
But not too simple, of course! In usual Malia-fashion, I wanted to turn it into a fun celebration! Instead of giving my girls proposal boxes, I threw a ‘They Said Yes!’ soirée!
Décor
To decorate, I pulled out a long table and covered it with a white tablecloth to fit the bridal theme! I then hung a silver, pearl, and clear balloon garland on the wall with command strips for a fun photo op – it was a lot of work to blow up all of the balloons myself, so if you’re planning on making a balloon garland anytime soon, I highly recommend this electric pump from Amazon! It would have been a life (and breath) saver! I think I nearly passed out three times before I finished the whole thing!
I had my finacé, Jacob, pickup the silver ‘YAY!’ balloons from Party City the morning of, and they were far easier to blow up. We hung them on the wall with double sided fabric table (I completely forgot to pickup a roll of Scotch tape!), and surprisingly, they stayed up the whole time!
I made a fun little edit to my letter board to celebrate my lovely ladies saying yes, and added a few extra decor pieces to the table to class things up a bit! To finish off the atmosphere, I put on this Martha Stewart Living playlist – it was absolutely perfect for the occasion!
Food & Drinks
With everyone’s busy schedules, we didn’t have a whole lot of time, so I decided to keep things light! I made a charcuterie board with a few of my Trader Joe’s favorites, picked up a bottle of La Marca Prosecco (the blue and silver bottle is too cute!), and filled some blush and white-striped snack bags I got from Hobby Lobby with sweet kettle corn – it was a hit with the girls! These silver and white straws from Amazon were a lovely touch!
Gifts
I decided to keep things simple here! Each of my bridesmaids received a white satin scrunchie with a diamond-shaped tag saying ‘To Have and to Hold Your Hair Back’. I put them around the stems of their champagne flutes, and everyone loved them!
Practical Things!
One thing all of the girls were wanting after I initially asked them was details! I picked up white folders for each of them from Target and put together a little packet with everything I could think of – the date and location (of course!), venues, wedding colors, bridesmaid dress information, accommodation details, bridal shower and bachelorette party requests (e.g., no strippers!), contact info for wedding party members, and a little letter of gratitude for each of them!
I wrapped the bind of the folders with silver and white baker’s twine to match the straws, and we walked through all of the details and my wedding mood board during the party!
It Wasn’t Perfect!
Y’all…is this what being a real adult is like? Finding a time that a whole group of people is free is so hard nowadays! I tried my absolute best, but I just want to be completely transparent – it wasn’t perfect!
As a future bride, I’ve definitely felt the pressure from social media to make everything look and feel Pinterest-perfect, but the fact of the matter is, nothing is perfect, and it doesn’t have to be for it to be lovely nonetheless!
One of my bridesmaids wasn’t able to make it, another had to leave 30 minutes in for work, and neither of Jacob’s sisters were able to come because of the distance – but it was still such an amazing day!
Overall, it was such a wonderful time! I loved getting to celebrate such an exciting occasion with my closest friends, and the ones that didn’t know each other before were able to meet and mingle! If you’re thinking about keeping things simple when asking your bridesmaids or throwing a little proposal like I did, you have my full support!
Creating these kinds of memories has been one of the best parts of planning, and I’m so looking forward to all of the fun that’s yet to come!
fondly,
Malia
Aww, I ended up having a COVID ceremony so no bridesmaid but we are having a reception/do-over party next year and I’m thinking of ways to ask my friends to be “bridesmaids” and this gave me so many ideas!
I’m so glad this gave you ideas for your bridesmaids! COVID really threw a wrench in so many wedding plans, but it’s so exciting that you’re having a later reception! What a great time to celebrate love and make amazing memories with your nearest and dearest along the way!
I love love love a cute bridesmaids ask! Its such a sweet and fun time!
You’re so sweet to be so considerate of your bridesmaids and their schedules! I kept things really simple when I asked my own bridesmaids. I gave them earrings that they’d wear in the wedding that came in personalized boxes. But I also didn’t have all of them around for some of the planning. My best friend lives in Switzerland and didn’t even get to join in until the day before the wedding!
This was such a cute idea! I love that you really considered what would make your friends the most comfortable and had a party instead of a proposal.
Such a cute and fun way to ask your bridesmaids to be part of your wedding! I love that it brought you all together, instead of individual proposals.