Friday 5: Ways to Ask Your Bridesmaids

Not gonna lie, I'm about as excited to have my bridal party together in one place as I am to actually get married. I have been incredibly fortunate to have so much love from some really incredible girlfrands, and I cannot freaking wait to have them with me that weekend. Not a single one of us lives in the same state- we have San Diego, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Charleston, SC; Atlanta, GA; Richmond, VA; Panama City, FL; Boston, MA; Silver Spring, MD; and a traveling nurse (yes that is NINE bridesmaids, I know I know, but it's my wedding and Imma have how many I want).

All this to say, these people are so so important to me and I wanted to find the best way to ask them. I'm sure most people feel this way about their friends, but all mine are so unique and fabulous and hilarious and wonderful and I wanted to find a way to ask them that is reflects our crazy relationships. These are some of my favorites, with mine for the verrrryyy laaast!

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1. Customizable Wine Bottles- This is how a friend asked me and I loved it. Not only is it functional (hello yes I'll drink this by myself to celebrate), but it was also really well thought out and special. She included a group picture of us (me, her, her fiance) cheers-ing the day they met (ahem- I introduced them. I take all the credit). She included a quote that said "You were there at the start, will you be by my side for the 'I do' part?" I DIED. Sidenote: this also makes great engagement presents. Harrison gives customized wine bottles to his clients as a congrats gift and we always get them from WineShop At Home

2. Bridesmaids Card: Above is the picture my friend used when asking her wedding party (see me? 4th one in). This is hilarious and I'm pretty sure it is setting up her wedding party for success. I'm thinking we should just follow in the movie's steps? Anyway, as long as you can kind of use photoshop you're set.

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3. I Mustache You a Question: Who doesn't love mustaches, and who doesn't like puns? This is truly a win-win card. This is how another friend asked, and she included tons of glitter and sequins inside the card so when I pulled it out of the envelope I was essentially glitter bombed. It was verrryy typical. You can get them for a good price at this Etsy store, or you can make your own.

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4. Free Printable Options: There are some cute bridesmaids printable cards for free floatin around the interwebs. My two favs come from Wedding Chicks (who also have free printable thank you cards, save the dates, signs, EVERY FREAKING THING YOU COULD PRINT FOR A WEDDING IS HERE FREE) and Love vs. Design has some sweet free printables.

5. Annddddd drumroll pleeease....I present- How I asked my b-maids:

If you have read this blog you probably know I'm a Beyonce stan. So what did I do? I made myself Beyonce. Thank goodness for Harrison who is not only my personal DJ but was also a Studio Art Major in college which means he essentially got a degree in photoshop. I found a picture from the Single Ladies video and he helped me to duplicate the dancers, fix their arms, and photoshop their faces onto their bodies. He had the idea of having black stripes above and below the picture so it looks like video reel. I just uploaded the picture to Vistaprint, googled "Vistaprint coupon codes", used the codes I found and got these cards for about $10. And Vistaprint even threw in some stickers with this image on it! I promise those will be popping up alllll ovverrrr until next March haha!

Here's a little intro to my b-maids:
Steph, Mack, Jerah, Megan and I lived on the same hall freshman year and stayed close all of college. We spent four years together binge eating poking sticks, sprinting to power hour at Bourbon Street (RIP), playing Nintendo, and drinking Natty Light. Man I miss college sometimes.

Meg and my parents are backdoor neighbors. They have a gate between their yards and spend 24/7 together. Our moms do water aerobics in the summers in Meg's mom's pool which involves about 10 minutes of aerobics and 5 Bud Lights per person. Meg and I lived in our own apartment in downtown Richmond on Monument Avenue where our families called us The Monument Maidens (sooo dramatic).

Maggie and Amanda and I did City Year, and Americorps program, together after college. We lived and worked together, and shared our Providence apartment with a really smelly cat named Stan and rotating 4th roommates.

Kiana is Harrison's sister and she is awesome. She's 17 but you wouldn't really know when you meet her, plus she is the wedding party's best dressed by far.

Erin is my high school BFF. She went to Auburn, I went to Georgia, so we visited each other a lot and took tonnsss of roadtrips together. I would love to calculate how many miles she and I have spent together in the car, including the probably 2,000 miles we have driven in the wrong direction (that's a story for another day).

What creative ways have you seen people ask bridesmaids? Any free printable sites to recommend? And who has advice for affordable bridesmaids dresses because these prices are out of freaking control. Do you have advice for being a good bridesmaid, and being a good bride to your bridesmaids??

Linking up today at Fantastic Fridays, 5 on Fridays, 5 Things Friday, Friday Favorites, Fresh Face Friday