Function + fashion = my Bridesmaids' gorgeous gift.

When we started planning our big day – one of our major concerns was our budget. We had a clear idea of what we wanted to include and really didn’t want to cut out things for the sake of others.

We came up with a figure that we we comfortable spending and worked from there. The EW Budget Planner came in handy here – it allocated percentages of our budget to the elements we wanted to include and as I  over or under spent I could readjust the figures.

So in keeping with my budget conscious wedding planning strategy I went hunting for a thank you gift for my lovely Bridesmaids. They are paying for their own dresses and shoes, and I am paying for jewellery and accessories.  I wanted to get them something to significant but not overly pricey.

Yes I can hear you laughing out there, given that they are both very different types of people, trying to find something that fit my requirements was really hard.  Then I had a bridal brainwave! I could combine the gift with the accessories and jewellery I was buying and that way I’m not hunting for two sets of things.

I went looking for a clutch, earrings and some wedding day bits and pieces to go into the bag. I wanted something personal but that would still complement their dresses.

As always I started with ebay, but the bags I found just didn’t have that special touch that I wanted. Then I realised, if I was looking for fun, unique, customised; clearly I had to go to Etsy! Etsy is a US based shopping site that specialises in handmade and vintage items. A brides dream!

While browsing through the endless pages of wedding items, I came across Ma Belle Cherie, where the wonderful Angelika Woods will custom make a clutch bag in your wedding colours.

Aside from being very talented she is also incredibly lovely and great to deal with. Her reputation has spread through the forum like wildfire and a few of the girls have also purchased her bags.

I picked the colours I wanted, and given I had oodles of time before the big day I let Angelika work her magic! I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Here are my handmade clutch bags:

I may have also ordered one for myself…Why do the bridesmaids get to have all the pretty stuff!  So the hard part was over and I went searching for the pieces to go inside, along with the obligatory bandaids, hair pins, pawpaw gel and nail file, I am also adding in MOR perfume and lipgloss, a compact and their earrings.

So I am all sorted for the girls! We just need to order their dresses now, which means I can cross another item off my colour coded list. 🙂