You’re asking your besties to stand by your side on your big day, which is an honor, so while you shouldn’t sweat every detail, some pre-planning will go a long way.
Pick your squad.
The rule of thumb is to have a maid of honor and a few closest friends, but I think you can do things how YOU want since it’s your big day. I did things my way & went a little unconventional. I know the maid of honor duties would likely be too much to put on one person (my sister doesn’t live in the same city as me), so I split things up. I have 1 maid of honor, 2 besties of honor to help spread the load, and 7 bridesmaids. It’s between you and your bride or groom-to-be to decide on the number.
Timeline
As a rule of thumb (in my research), you should ask bridesmaids to be in your wedding 8 months to a year ahead of the date. You can wait a bit if you’d like, but the earlier you ask… the better!
If you’re wondering why, here are a few reasons:
Making sure they are available on the important dates
Give them time to financially plan: From bridesmaids dresses, possible hair/makeup, travel, hotel rooms, possible bachelorette, rehearsal, etc. it’s nice to give your people adequate time to save and plan for your special day & see if it’s a commitment they can make.
Now, it’s time to propose
A few things to think about before sending over a bridesmaid proposal:
Will everyone be together soon, a good time to do it?
If not everyone will be together soon, is it easily ship-able?
Is it affordable enough for me to buy multiples of it?
Will they be able to use/wear this thing? Be real with yourselves, no one wants a “Thea’s bridesmaid” shirt.
My Proposals
I wanted to ask all my best friends in a fun and creative way while supporting small female-owned businesses that I love. Frankie Jean has made some of my absolute favorite hats & she’s right here I Austin. I thought it’d be fun to customize hats by her for my gals with THEIR city labeled on the hat & their initials on the back, so they can wear them for years to come. If you’re looking for something fun like this, the owner will surely work with you and make something custom and special for you. She can do hats, shirts, sweaters, and more! I also got the cutest cards for my bridesmaids from FrankieJean that said Yeehaw & Howdy. She also now does bachelorette parties, so be sure to hit her up if you’re doing your Bach in ATX.
I also wanted something else to add in & I added in an @AugustXAddyson customized necklace. I love love love her jewelry and she’s a one-woman show. We DM’d back and forth with ideas before we landed on a gals Pearl half orange beaded necklace with an initial in the middle. I love how different these necklaces are & my friends are in love too! She also can do so many different looks, just message her & let her know I sent ya!
Inviting AND/OR Shipping
For the local ladies, I threw everything into one of these bags and added some Stoney Clover stickers on the outside to customize. They were all going to my friends yoga class, so we did a yoga class together then I asked them all.
For the ladies who I had to ship to, I grabbed these boxes & then did the same Stoney Clover customization via their fun stickers (a cheap way to customize).
All in all I got really amazing feedback from my bridesmaids on how they love their gifts & also many of them said they’ve been wearing them a ton already!
Hopefully these tips get you feeling excited and confident about your upcoming bridesmaid proposal. If you like this post, please comment and share with friends!
