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Izzy Burton illustration

I’m so delighted that we had an American bride-to-be amongst our TNWC Real Brides as although British and American weddings are similar in so many ways, there are little extras that I love hearing about.  Stephanie is getting married this September at a beautiful farm in Rhode Island and her guest post today is all about the homemade gifts she made for her bridesmaids and Matron (or Maid) of Honour.

As well as making the gifts herself, she also sourced honey from her dad who is a beekeeper, so really keeping her wedding details in her family.  Plus I am an absolute sucker for honey, always picking up locally produced jars whenever we are visiting new places.  I’m sure you will find some lovely inspiration from Stephanie’s blog post today…

I was really excited about asking my sister and a few girlfriends to be in my wedding party, so I really wanted to do something a bit more personalized and special than simply asking them on the phone or over some coffee.

I’ve been in a dreamcatcher phase lately and have been making them from old scraps of fabric and other items around the house.  They’re pretty basic, but my sister, Dayna, has loved every one; naturally, I decided to make her a dreamcatcher of her very own as a gift when I asked her to be my Matron of Honor.  I also thought it made sense since I’ll be making a few for my reception… I need all the practice I can get!

Homemade dreamcatcher

I crafted her dreamcatcher from red suede cording, strips of fabric from an old poncho and dress, feathers, beach glass, and shells from my local beach.  In the package I sent to her I included a card that read “Bee my Matron of Honor?!”  Pardon the corny play on words, but I couldn’t resist!

I used a stamp-kit I already had for the lettering and carved the bee myself using a rubber block and carving tools. It’s actually super easy and I’ve used the stamp for other things since, believe it or not!  She was really excited when she received the package all the way out at her home in New Mexico  (she said yes, of course!) and the dreamcatcher hangs happily in her room.

'Bee my matron of honor' stamped tag

Once I finished her dream catcher I still wasn’t really sure how to ask the other girls.  I thought about what I could do that they would enjoy and would also reflect me or tie into the wedding somehow.  After a while a light bulb went off and I thought, “My Dad’s a beekeeper!”  There’s always an abundance of fresh honey jarred up and sitting on shelves in my parents basement; surely my father could spare five jars!  Who doesn’t love fresh, local honey?

Honey bridesmaid gifts

To make these gifts a bit more personalized I purchased blank hang-tags from my local office supply store and created cute labels that read “Bee my bridesmaids?!”  The cards were very similar to the one I created for my sister, as I utilized the same stamp kit.  I secured the tags to the jars with bakers twine and it was a wrap!  I put them all in the mail and excitedly awaited their phone calls.

'Bee my bridesmaid?' luggage tags

I really love giving gifts and surprising my friends, so I truly enjoyed this whole process.  I can’t wait to get crackin’ on the gifts I’m making them for the day of my wedding!

A huge thanks to Stephanie for a lovely blog post today.  And don’t forget, if you’d like to catch-up with any of our TNWC Real Brides, just click on their name to be taken to all their guest posts: EmmaNikMyfawnySarahCaroline and Stephanie.

Images: (1) Illustration by Izzy Burton; (2 – 5) Brides own pictures

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