The Bridesmaids

When it came to choosing bridesmaids, it was an easy choice on who would stand by my side.  I've read that friends come and go through out the year of planning, and thankfully, that's not something I worry about.

I don't have sisters or female cousins - but I have an amazing array of friends that have been in my life for a long time.  Which made choosing my 6 bridesmaids very easy!

I wanted to ask the girls in a special way.  Using something I made myself (they would expect that from me...), and something unique and sentimental.

I presented them each with a box tied with twine.  

Half of my bridal party lives out of town so I had to find the perfect moment to ask each of them:

• Amy and Anna came with me to my first dress fitting appointment.  When I came out in my first dress I handed them each a box. 
• Lindsay was at my second bridal appointment (the one where I found my dress).  This is when I handed her the box. 
• Krissy (my sister-in-law) was visiting from Nashville for Thanksgiving.  We only had enough time to meet with Krissy and Sean (my brother) for breakfast before we headed out to Pennsylvania.  I handed Krissy the box over breakfast...and of course, in true fashion, Justin mocked me by writing "will you be my groomsman? Check yes or no" and handing the napkin to Sean.
• Justin and I spent Thanksgiving in PA with the P family, and when we arrived, I could hardly wait to hand over the twine wrapped boxes to his sister, Courtney, and to our two flowergirls.  
• Just before Christmas my friend, Jenn, made the trip over from Grand Rapids and we met at our favorite lunch spot (Sumo Sushi in Rochester for anyone local).  And between ginger salads and Cloud Nine rolls, I asked her to be my bridesmaid.  

The general reaction from each of them - joy to get a gift and smiles when they opened up the box.  (Seriously, I love that you girls all humor me with your joy when you have no idea what it is...)

In each box was a cork wrapped with a message and tied with lace.  

Once the lace was untied, the paper clip could be held on the bottom and the message is then pulled out in scroll-like fashion to reveal the words: 

I happened upon this idea while I was trying to figure out how to incorporate a cork (since we'll be married at a winery).  And using other items I already had on hand.  I have always thrown wine and champagne corks into a hurricane vase and have accumulated a vase full over the years.  It was just by chance that I happened to have a cork significant for each bridesmaid... 

• Amy and I always drank the two buck chuck when we would hang out together.  And I had plenty of these corks on hand - and so she got, a very fitting, Trader Joe's Charles Shaw cork. 
• Anna had just got married in October and I saved a cork from her wedding.  Which worked out perfectly - I later discovered that she had never kept a cork from her own wedding and she was happy to have one.
• Lindsay attended book club with me.  One night I asked to pour her a glass of wine at book club and she turned it down (odd behavior).  With out thinking, I said "oh my gosh... you're pregnant!"  That was the night Lindsay told me she was pregnant - and she would later find out her and her husband were expecting twins!  
• Jenn's message was wrapped around a Leelanau Cellars cork.  Our families frequently traveled to Traverse City together growing up.  I have many memories of our vacations up north where we would visit wineries with our parents and we got to sip on cups of grape juice.  In fact, it's because of our time spent as kids that I have such fond memories of Traverse City - and a big reason why Justin and I are getting married up north.  
• Krissy received a message wrapped around an Arrington Winery cork.  That's the bottle of wine we drank at the winery when I visited her and my brother in Nashville two months before they married.
• Courtney and Mr. and Mrs. P visited Justin and I in Michigan about 8 months after we had started dating.  We visited Sandhill Crane vineyard together - and although Courtney was pregnant at the time, I will still always remember the first time they traveled to Michigan for us.  I used a Sandhill Crane cork saved from this day to hold the message.

So...here's how I made it.  

Using the smallest drill bit I had, I drilled a hole through the center of each cork. 

I then took a regular (large) paperclip and bent it straight, then fed the wire through the hole in the cork.

I bent the top of the paperclip to hold it in place.

Then on the opposite end of the paperclip, I broke off the excess with neednose pliers (by bending it back and forth) and then curled up the wire to make a handle that could easily be held.

Then I cut a small flag out of dropcloth, stamped it with the name, and glued it over the top "L" piece of the wire.

I didn't feel it was appropriate to ask the flower girls with a cork...so I drilled a hole through a small wooden dowel plug (which was a lot harder to drill straight through).

I then cut strips of drop cloth out and stamped the message on each leaving enough blank space for the cloth to be wrapped around the cork (or dowel).  I wrapped a full circle around the cork and glued the cloth in place.  

Then I rolled up the message and tied each scroll with a piece of lace...

And placed into a hand stamped box wrapped in twine.



I'm happy to report that all the girls said yes and I will be one lucky bride to have these ladies put up with my emotions...all the way up to the wedding :)

xoxo,
Mary