i have my bridal party! well, to be fair, i’ve known that for a while. i’ve had my six best gal-pals for a while now, but because of the pandemic i haven’t been able to actually propose to them. now i know proposals aren’t required, but ever since i saw someone online do it for the first time, i’ve been planning to do it myself.
bridal party proposals became pretty popular a few years back, and have really become part of the culture. generally, the bride-to-be will give a gift and ask formally for someone to be a part of the party. i’m always over the top so naturally, this became a big thing on my to-do list. i’m very fortunate that my sister in law enjoys scrap-booking and card making. she’s really talented and has made numerous favors and cards for me over the years.
for my birthday, she made a very wonderful birthday card in the form of an explosion box. i was absolutely obsessed with it and immediately decided i was going to do that for my bridesmaids. so back in february i asked her to teach me how to make them.
well unfortunately, the world completely shut down in march, which included no more visits to their place. i couldn’t help with the boxes anymore, so she went ahead and made them for me and i honestly couldn’t be more grateful. she put so much work into every little detail.
when she sent me the pictures of the finalized boxes, i honestly cried. i was so touched that she had put in so much work for such a small thing – it showed me how much she cares and wanted to make even the journey to my wedding special.
of course, when i had planned on making them with her, i wanted something beautiful that would wow my girls, but she literally went above and beyond. everything i imagined, she did better. i was so incredibly amazed by each extra mile i could see she took.
there were three specific details in the boxes that struck me the most. firstly, this silhouette. it was absolutely a surprise and i can’t even believe she was able to find one so adorable!
secondly, she added “i do crew” which is what i’m affectionately calling my bridal party. i’m not sure if she knew that, but it was so perfect i couldn’t believe it. she also requested pictures of me with each girl, which added an even more personal touch. it was just so perfect!
i had bought three presents to go with the boxes, one was some adorable pins i found on etsy. i collect enamel pins – so i may have just selfishly wanted the matching bride one, but i hope they really do like them.
the second gift were these cozy socks from etsy, as well. i became obsessed after seeing a photoshoot on pintrest including the bridal party sitting on the bed showing the bottom of their socks.
last, but certainly not least, i added these sailor moon themed bows. i recently downloaded a sailor moon ringtone and decided to assign it to my best friends, which obviously meant these six. when i did that, it got me thinking – they are kind of like the sailor scouts to my sailor moon, which as nerdy and lame as that sounds, got me really excited and emotional. i decided to ask them which scout they prefer, and then started looking for a special gift in line with that. then tiffany mentioned maybe doing a subtle cosplay photoshoot after i suggested these bows, and so naturally i freaked out and told them we have to do that now because it sounds so cute! (which surprisingly, they all agreed!)
as a final touch of personalization, my sister added these little cards for me to hand write a note in. of course, i got very emotional writing each individual note. i was just so overwhelmed by the love i have for these girls, and the love i’ve received from them over the years.
everything with these came together so wonderfully, i can’t get over it honestly. this was definitely one of those moments where i wondered how things could be so perfect.
delivery day arrived. i went to everyone’s houses to drop off their gifts. tony drove me around for five and a half hours to get this done, and i’m eternally grateful. that night i had them all open the boxes simultaneously in a zoom meeting so that they could all experience the surprise together.
lately, my planning has been a bit stunted and the world has been beyond crazy but i’m so thankful and blessed that i was able to propose anyway. i can’t thank my sister enough for all the hard work she did for these boxes. that gesture alone meant the world to me and i cant express it enough.
once some other things in life settle down, i’m hoping to start working on the bouquets and other flowers for my wedding and i can’t wait to share that with you soon. if the world starts to return to normal again, too, i’m praying i can get into a store with my crew and have my first dress shopping adventure.
i hope you are all safe and healthy, thanks for stopping by! xX
kaffinejo's musings 