Possible Bridesmaids Gifts (425 Days to Go)

Frenzy Shark

So as I mentioned yesterday, I had contemplated giving each of my bridesmaids a silver pendant from a jewelry line carried in my fiance's store.  Well, I'm still contemplating different options.  Even though I can really see my one MOH, Kansas, loving that I'd give her the shark.

Pretty in Pink, Absolut-ly

There are also other options that are a tiny bit overused but still quite amusing.  Such as pink hip flasks.  This would be a fantastic idea as a little toss in gift to be included with something else, except for the fact that two of my bridesmaids would be anything but amused.  One doesn't drink hardly ever and the other one is actually allergic to alcohol.  Other used and abused ideas are monogrammed tote bags and luggage pieces and heart pendant jewelry.  I'd like to get away from trite if at all possible but I would also like for my gift to not scream "I got his from Jeff and Alyssa's wedding."  So how does a bride find the perfect gift for her six bridesmaid (and one junior bridesmaid) without breaking her bank and without it looking like I bought the first thing I saw on mybridesmaidsgift.com?  Why yes, there really is a site called that.

The other day when I was cruising the internet and the various wedding websites, I cannot remember who it was that featured this particular handbag designer, but Sara Lloyd makes beautiful clutches and is apparently becoming quite popular for bridesmaid gifts.  And why not?  She offers to work with a bride in order to customize the colors and patterns in order to coordinate the set to the wedding colors and also to the individual tastes of the bridesmaids.  And each clutch is accented with a beautiful brooch.  Sara collects all of her materials from markets and through refurbishing materials in order to guarantee that the bag you buy from her is a one of a kind piece of art that won't be found anywhere else.  For now, they only places you can find her bags are on her website and also in a small boutique in Athens, GA near where Sara grew up.  But for now, all of the bags are made by Sara's own hands out of her NYC apartment as she works to build the reputation of her label.

Well, after seeing Sara's bags, I was reminded of a brand that my mother carries in her store.  Offhand Designs is a cooperative out of Oakland, California and all of the bags are handmade in order to ensure the uniqueness of each piece.  The materials are always luscious: velvets, brocades, and now leathers.  Larisa Snydal does a fantastic job of creating designs that are functional for the average woman but also for the avid knitter.  It's great to be able to take a purse and reorganize it into a knitting bag on the fly and in the reverse too.

Mom has always had a good relationship with the company and so I've contemplated bringing up the idea to her to see if we could get a set of them specially ordered in colors and materials that would suit the wedding and  my girls.  I'll have to keep this idea on the backburner of my brain for now.  But for those of you interested in seeing these bags in person, there are many distributors spread out across the country and you can find them here.