Bride-to-be Blogger Alyse: Asking My Bridesmaids

The finished product.

One of the items on my wedding-to-do list that I wanted to complete right away was to ask my bridesmaids to be in the wedding. Of course, I thought it would be nice to let those nearest and dearest to me know that they’d be in the wedding . . . but there was another reason I wanted to ask them right away: crafts!

Now, I am not claiming to be any good, but I love making things. I used to paint, sketch, sew, scrapbook, bead, and even worked at a craft supplies store on the side to fund my hobbies. This was all before law school stole my soul. (Just kidding. But really, at some point, my free time started slipping away.) So, I’ve decided that wedding planning is the perfect excuse for me to get back to my crafting roots.

After work on the Monday two days after I got engaged, I started on my first official wedding project. I went up to the Flower District in New York and picked out little succulent pots. Then, I swung by an art store on the way home and picked up some paint. When I got back to my apartment, I shoved my coffee table out of the way and plopped myself down on the floor and began painting.

Kevin came home at some point and asked me what I was doing. I said that I was making little potted plants that said “Bridesmaid” on them to give to the people I was asking, obviously. He gave me a what-did-I-get-myself-into-look and asked me if he had to do something like that for the groomsmen. I probably should have said yes, just to see what he came up with, but I told him no, he could just ask.

The finished product was a little potted plant that said “Bridesmaid” on one side, and then the person’s name on the other side. Across the top, a quote said “Thanks for helping us grow, Love A&K.” Admittedly a little corny, and they didn’t turn out exactly like I wanted — but since I was a born-again-crafting virgin, I considered my first time to be a success.

I took the next two weeks to ask my seven bridesmaids and one maid of honor, and give them each their plants. I started with friends that live in New York by surprising them on a wee night at their apartments. I felt like Santa, delivering gifts, only my sleigh was the subway. When I went home to Philly the next weekend, I asked the rest of the bridesmaids and my sister to be the maid of honor.

Choosing bridesmaids wasn’t an easy task, but I decided to go the no-drama route and just decide. Plus, there were things to be painted! All of my bridesmaids are in very different stages of life but are all a big part of our lives, which, I think, makes things fun and special. My sister (and maid of honor) is seventeen-years-old and will be graduating from high school shortly before the wedding next summer. And my future sister-in-law (and bridesmaid) is expecting her first child this fall!

So far, there has been no reason to stress about wedding stuff since I still have almost a year to go, but it definitely makes it even more fun to incorporate things I actually enjoy doing into the process.

Brides, how did you pick your bridesmaids and how did you ask them? What things are you doing to make the wedding planning process more fun and less stressful?

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