Happy Monday! Welcome to one of my favorite blog posts of all time!
Today, I’m sharing with you guys one of the most important steps of bridal panning (well at least in my opinion), asking your bridesmaids! I seriously spent so much time thinking about what I wanted to give my girlfriends and how I wanted to give it to them.  If you could see the pictures and texts my mom and I had going back and forth you would probably laugh!!  We went from blankets, to totes, to gift boxes, and finally decided on the most perfect gift I could imagine…

Since it was such a special moment when C popped the question, I wanted it to be extra special when I asked all my best friends, “Will you be my bridesmaid?” I wanted to give them a meaningful present that they could hold on to forever… something that when they see it, they think of me, C, and the marriage that they got to be apart of!

Keep on scrolling to see the unveiling of the gifts! From the wrapping, to the outside, and inside, I’m sharing all the details on these bridesmaids gifts!

I’m starting off backwards with this post!
Imagine you were the one getting this and you were about to open it..
Step-by-step, you’ll see the break down of these gifts!
Starting off with the wrapping and beginning presentation!

After deciding what I was going to give them, I knew I wanted something on the outside of the gift that immediately screamed, “Bridesmaid!” We sat down with one of my moms friends and had her design the little card that says, “I can’t say I do without you!” After we printed all them, we had to think about how we were going to wrap up the gifts. My mom and I tried so many different ways to bundle them up.. boxes, wrapping paper, tissue paper, and bags.. Finally, we decided they looked best wrapped in tissue paper and cellophane.

As you can see, the tissue paper is sealed with a sticker, “Will you be bridesmaid?”  I wanted them to be able to see that right after they removed the big white card, “I can’t say I do without you!” The only way to make that happen was to wrap the entire gift up in the clear cellophane and tie on pretty ribbon!

After the ribbon, came the big glitter ring! One day, back in December of 2016, my mom and I were walking in Hobby Lobby. We spotted the big rings down the Christmas ornament aisle. I wasn’t sure how I could tie them in, but I knew I wanted to! After buying all the ones they had, we restocked on some more this past December. If you know me, you know I love Christmas.. and I have a tradition with ornaments. C & I recently started our own too! Everywhere we go, we get a glass ornament!
So.. I wanted to keep the tradition going and give my bridesmaids one! We personalized these with C & T on one side and the date of our wedding on the other! Now every Christmas they can hang these and think back of all the memories we are going to make in 2018!

After unwrapping the outer layer, these personalized bibles came to life!
Now, I know you are probably wondering.. what the heck do those things say.
Instead of just a typical quote or bible verse, this where I decided to really make these gifts special!

1. My dad is from Norway. So I decided to tie in one of my favorite friendship quotes, but write it in Norwegian.. “Friends make the world beautiful”
2. My mom painted each and everyone of these. So both my parents got to be apart of these in some way! (also, if you’re looking to get some of these bibles or personalize your own, contact me and I will send you my moms info – she does them at her paint studio!)
3. Instead of using beautiful at the end of the quote.. I had to use beYOUtiful.. all my gals know so much about my blog and it just seemed fitting to tie it all in!

“venner gjør verden beyoutiful”
“Friends make the world beYOUtiful”
Amen to that!!! 

Then we have the bookmarks! Clint & I’s wedding theme is “enchanted forest, fairytale” We’re doing a little something with books (that’s all I’m going to say.. the rest is a surprise). So to keep the theme of books, fairytale, happy ever after, he holds the key to my heart, the end.. I used the saying “You’re a key part of our story.”  Each and everyone of my bridesmaids is apart of Clint & I’s life book and our day wouldn’t mean anything without them by my side! So ‘KEY’ part of our day just kind of made sense!

I’m all about themes.. the more cohesive I keep this wedding the better off I feel! I think that’s probably just my OCD talking though.

What’s a bookmark without a page to keep it on?
My next personalized touch was using it to mark our wedding verse, Mark 10:9. Out beside the verse we watercolored a heart and put our initials/wedding date in it!

My maid of honor is Rachel! She’s my best friend and old college roomie!
Not only did she get the same gift as everyone else, she got a couple extra things!
Each one reflects on something her and I share…

• Wine Bottle– Cause we love wine!
• Puzzle– We both really enjoy doing puzzles! She does them with her boyfriend, I do them with C.. only she can really appreciate the MOH puzzle! As soon as I saw it I knew she needed it!
• Shot Glass– We collect shot glasses! Every place we go, whether we are together or not, we bring each other one back! MOH definitely calls for a personalized one!

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And to end this post I wanted to introduce y’all to all my bridesmaids!

Rachel, my MOH!

Kate (my cousin), Taylor Newsom (college friend), Taylor Bradley (childhood friend), Chelsey (C’s cousin)

Elaine (college friend), SheaLeigh (blogger babe friend), Caroline (Red Dress co-model, bride-to-be’s), Chandler (oldest friend from birth)

Katie (C’s cousin), Mikaela (childhood friend), Lindsay (friends since elementary school), Kyleigh (my cousin)

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I hope you all enjoyed this post as much as I have sharing it! If you have any questions about these gifts or where to get them, please feel free to email me or message me on Instagram! I can send all the information your way!
For all the brides-to-be, inspiration should be flowing by now!!! I know getting ideas for gifts is always helpful.. maybe these pics helped in that department!

Stay tuned for some more #cantengagedatsea posts coming soon (save the dates and some reallyyyy big news on our next moves as a couple!)