Fun Wedding Ideas from Wedding Bonanza 2013

Now that #weddingbonanza2013 is past I thought it would be fun to share a few photos and a few of the fun wedding ideas I gathered from the experience. I had two consecutive weekends in September that I was honored as a bridesmaid for two of my closest friends. The first wedding, for my friend Charli, took place in NM, a three hour drive from home.

FunWedding Idea #1: Charli (the bride) booked a local salon for the entire morning of her wedding day. She and each of her bridesmaids spent the morning getting our hair and makeup done. They had lunch delivered, sandwiches, chips and drinks from a nearby deli.

Fun Wedding Idea #2:  The mother in law of the bride sent champagne, spiced cider and chocolates to the salon for us to enjoy while we were getting ready!

Fun Wedding Idea #3: Caitlin, a fellow bridesmaid, gifted each of us with a shirt to wear while getting wedding ready. Each shirt was a white button up that she prettied up with our first initial in rhinestones on the front shoulder and the word ‘Bridesmaid’ in rhinestones across the back. Charli had a special Bride shirt with zebra print cuffs.

Fun Wedding Idea #4: The bride chose pretty pink dresses for the bridesmaids from Macy’s Juniors Section. They were even on sale and dresses that we will actually be able to wear again!!!

Fun Wedding Idea #5: Our bridesmaid gifts from Charli were CUTE personalized makeup bags (that she got on Groupdealz!), pretty rose wine stoppers and turquoise necklaces to wear during the wedding.

 

The second wedding for my friend, Kayce, took place on South Padre Island, TX.

Fun Wedding Idea #6: Instead of a rehearsal dinner they planned a rehearsal dolphin watch cruise. Maybe you can’t host a dolphin watching cruise, but the fun could be in doing something unexpected after your wedding rehearsal instead of just a plain old dinner!

Fun Wedding Idea #7: I was lucky to be able to take my sister, Kayli, with me to both weddings. Klara is only two months old so Kayli went as my “wedding nanny” and took care of Klara while I was doing my bridesmaid duties. If you have young children, and the wedding is kid friendly, it might be a good idea to take someone along to watch the kiddos so that you can be fully engaged in being there for your friend, the bride. My husband was at both weddings as well, but he couldn’t come until later for the first wedding and was the best man in the second, so it was nice to have Kayli there the whole time.

Fun Wedding Idea #8: Kayce gifted her bridesmaids with a pretty silk robe for getting wedding ready and a black bead necklace to wear during the wedding. Again, gifts that you can use again are always a good idea!!!

Fun Wedding Idea #9: Make sure you plan a ride to the wedding venue for the bride and her bridesmaids… We were ready to head to the ceremony when we realized we didn’t have a ride!!! I had to call my father in law who had rented a van while we were on the island to come and get us! But it did make for a funny story later…

Overall, both weddings were completely different in style and location but they were the same in the love shared for the couples and their families! Each wedding was beautiful and fun in its own way. I am very honored to have been a part of both of them.

Your turn: Did you have anything unexpected happen during your wedding?? {Like realizing you didn’t have a ride to the ceremony… haha}