Wedding Party Gifts

And, we're back from our whirlwind honeymoon. I have quite a few posts planned to tide over the professional photo waiting slump, as those weeks leading up to the wedding were caps lock crazy and I have some things to share. So, let's hit rewind and catch up.

One thing that took Mr. Narwhal and I a long time to decide on was our wedding party gifts. They're one of those elusive gifts that will never truly be enough to represent how thankful you are. Another issue is that when you have a rather large wedding party, it's hard to pick something that fits everyone... and buying individual gifts for everyone gets even more complicated. 

Groomsmen

Mr. Narwhal struggled with this decision for a long time. We knew we wanted to purchase their ties/bowties, but from there we were at a loss. About a month before the wedding I found the perfect socks for all of the boys, they had trees and full moons on them and we were sold. Mr. Narwhal ended up finding some really cool beer openers on Etsy and based on that decision we decided to get them each a gift certificate to the Beer Store*. 

Bridesmaids

For my ladies, I figured most of it out rather quickly. I wanted to put together a fun bag of things that I know they would enjoy. Kind of like a wedding stocking of fun. I wanted to get a few things that could be used for the wedding if they wanted to, something sentimental and something just for them. 

I landed on a pair of turquoise stud earrings, nail polish in a similar colour to the dress, hand cream, a personalized scarf for each girl, a wood photo block and a bee bag. The scarves were so fun to pick out for every girl. Mr. Narwhal could even tell which one was for every girl based on the scarf alone! I also covered half of their hair and makeup for the day of wedding. 

Sorry this photo is such low quality. I had already wrapped everything up before I noticed how bad the photo was!

Bridesmen

For my boys they also got the same tie/bowtie as the groomsmen, socks, a photo wood block and S'well water bottles. 

We completely forgot to gift the wedding party the night before the wedding, so we brought everything to our Rehearsal breakfast and gave them out while everyone was waiting for their breakfast.

Our parents were especially tough. We wrote them each a heartfelt card and got them a little something right before the wedding, and have another IOU photo gift planned for them later this Fall.

As I said, gifting your wedding party isn't an easy task. It's really difficult to find something that can really express how grateful you are to them. Our friends and family were so good to us throughout our engagement, and on our wedding day, and our gifts to them are only a small representation of how we feel. So, if you're struggling to come up with ideas, just know that the words you share in your cards and speeches will hopefully be a larger measure of how you feel than the tangible gift you give to them as a sign of your gratitude.

What did you gift your wedding party?

*In Ontario alcohol is only sold at the Beer Store or the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).

Gift Sources:
Ties/Bowties - Custom from Linenfox
Socks - Gap (similar)
Bottle Openers - Etsy shop woodysfenders
Earrings - Etsy shop Alina & T Jewelry
Bee Tote Bags - Etsy shop Gabby and Lois Designs
Scarves - Various designs from Etsy shop aCutee