Put a Ring On It: The Bridesmaids Gifts

When deciding what I wanted to give as a gift to my beautiful bridesmaids, I knew right away that I wanted it to be something that they would wear or use for the wedding.

However, I did not want it to be the lines of:

a. A tacky tote bag

b. A classy reminder of a night you didn't remember:

c. Some snazzy dog tags 

Can you tell I'm really into lists these days?

Not only did I want the gifts to be nice and something that the girls wouldn't be embarrassed to wear, but I also wanted them to have something they would able to wear or use it again (because I'm not sure how many times a shiny purple mini-dress will come in handy). 

Meagan Jepson Photography

Almost immediately, I decided I was going to make clutches for each girl, until I remembered there were nine of them and sewing just one would take me a year. And then I remembered that I can't even sew in the first place.

Scratch that.

One day, after months and months of Googling for the perfect bridesmaid gift that would be cute, functional, and wouldn't break the bank, I glanced down at the huge cocktail ring I was wearing that I bought for my Halloween pin-up girl costume. Eureka!

This set the wheels a-turning. I pulled out a giant bag of clip-on earrings that I've acquired over the years and decided that some of them were too pretty to be sitting in a bag, and that they would look really swell as, say, cocktail rings on my bridesmaids fingers.

I made a quick trip to Michael's for the rest of the supplies: super glue and ring frames (which were, surprisingly, hard to find). Time to go to town.

First, I picked out the best earrings that had semi-flat backs, and used my pliers to pry the earring back off. A little bit of sanding helped smooth the surface to be glued. Next, glue those suckers on, and resist the urge to try them all on before they've finished drying completely.

And voila! Instant bridesmaids gifts.

You would think that picking out which ones to give to who would be the hardest part. Actually, all of the rings were so unique in style, that I was pretty much able to match them to each girl perfectly. 

I had some leftover red boxes from my sister-in-law (and, incidentally, bridesmaid)'s bridal shower, and noticed that they were the perfect size for rings. I got out my scrapbook paper and crazy scissors and made name tags for each one.

I was pretty much the giddyest person ever when I handed them out at the rehearsal dinner. Despite a casualty or two (nothing that couldn't be fixed with an extra dab of glue), the girls loved them and they looked fabulous.

Meagan Jepson Photography

And look! They're even making appearances in senior photos!

In other news, my sister is beautiful.

Maybe if a career doesn't work out, this could be a new business venture. I could be a Bridesmaid Gift Maker. 

I'll just add it to the list.