A Sweet Gift for the Groom

If you plan on giving your hubby a gift on your wedding day this might just be the perfect option. As soon as I saw these sweet watches from HourPowerWatches.com I knew I had to share! Of course I love everything that you can personalize so these are no exception! When I went on to read about HourPower I was even more intrigued....

"HourPower is dedicated to the belief that people can enhance connections to loved ones, to goals, memories, or inspiration by the use of our unique patented timepiece. Every one of our watches open to reveal a secret chamber for special words and photo that can be viewed often throughout the day.

The watch design was the "brain child" of a clinical psychotherapist and life coach as a simple way to galvanize the power of intention. Now, an emotional connection or touchstone, is actualized as you check the time-And just knowing that there is a secret inside reinforces one's commitment and resolve."

I'd love to hear about what you gave your hubby or what you plan to give... or if you plan to give something at all for that matter!

Kelly + Jim: Practical Gifts

Photo courtesy of Enigma Productions
(from left to right: Jen, Mandy, Melissa, the Bride, me!, Jenna, & Jess)

Here's another one of my favorite shots from the "getting ready" phase of my sister's wedding. We were all wearing our lovely monogrammed slippers from Exclusively Sew, which was one of the gifts she gave us. I love gifts that are practical and can be used more than once. I wear mine all the time... in fact, I'm actually wearing mine right now :)

The Art of Gift Giving

Well my sister's wedding is over and it was a blast. We had such an incredible time and I can't wait for the pro pics to come back so I can share all the fabulous details with you all. In the meantime, I wanted to share some amazing gifts that were given over the weekend. Kelly made her bridesmaids feel so special when she presented us all with this adorable basket with a personalized towel wrap and slippers from Exclusively Sew. During the morning of the wedding we all wore our slippers and the photographer got a really cute shot of them. We also received beautiful earrings that matched our dresses perfectly. In additon to that, Kelly proceeded to make me feel even more special when she presented me with a gorgeous pearl bracelet the morning of the wedding to say thank you for being her Matron of Honor. So touching...

Another personal gift was a book that I created for Kelly using MyPublisher that had pictures from all her pre-wedding events including the engagement party, finding the dress, her PA shower, VA shower, and bachelorette party. I thought it would be a great way to keep all these photos together so that she could look back and reflect on her journey to the altar. I had all the bridesmaids sign the book and we gave it to her as a gift on the morning of the wedding.

OOT Bags

Most of the time there are a lot of guests traveling from different parts of the country to attend your wedding. So it's super thoughtful to have out-of-town bags waiting for your guests when they check into their hotel. We've been to a lot of weddings lately and here are my top 5 things that I appreciate receiving in an out-of-town bag:

5) Advil/Tylenol packets (these come in handy the day after the wedding!)
4) FOOD!- I'm always hungry by the time I end up getting to the hotel so I appreciate little snackies (okay, a lot of snackies!) and a few bottles of water
3) City Info- maybe a little history of the city, fun things to do in the area, good restaurants, etc.
2) Wedding Info- a timeline, directions, etc.
1) A welcome letter from the Bride and Groom- a nice personal touch

I especially love when couples theme their OOT bags based on the city or state their getting married in. For some fun ideas on how to incorporate your city or state check out My Favorite City Gifts They have pre-made baskets like the one shown above as well as individual items that you can include in your bags.

Addicted to Monograms...

So it’s probably pretty obvious by now that I’m slightly obsessed with monograms… ok, ok, I’m completely obsessed! Just check out my website and you’ll see– I love to monogram EVERYTHING! So when I came across these adorably trendy monogram paperweights from one of my new favorite websites See Jane Work, I simply fell in love. What a unique gift these would be for bridesmaids! They are definitely on the costly side at $65, but they are a true artform.

Fun Find

Check out these fun tissues from WeddingThings.com- now on sale for $1.50 per pack. These would be great to stick in out of town bags or to give to each of your bridesmaids. So adorable!

Cute Books from Give Simple

I was browsing Give Simple for Mothers Day gift ideas and came across these cute little books for brides-to-be and newlyweds

And I also found what NOT to give your mom for mother's day! I have to admit this is hilarious though and I bet my mom would have a good laugh if I gave her this-

Nothing Beats a Basket

Not sure what to give to give as a thank you gift to the gals throwning your bridal shower? Nothing beats a basket filled with thoughtful items hand selected by you especially for her. Does your shower have a theme? If so, you can play off of that with the items you select for your basket. No theme? No problem. Do something simple like filling a basket with shower gel, a bath sponge and a cute umbrella with a note saying "Hoping all your showers are as wonderful as you've made mine!"

If you're not ready to try creating your own basket, don't worry, there are tons out there for you to choose from! Check out this great basket I found online that goes perfectly with my sister's citrus theme- so adorable!

Hosting a Bridal Shower?

Happy Wednesday! Check out these great finds from Wrapables . All of these would be so cute to use for a bridal shower. I especially love the signature plate- how cute! This website has a lot of neat gift ideas- check it out!

Will You Be My Bridesmaid?!

Over the holiday weekend my recently engaged younger sister asked me to be her Matron of Honor! How did she do it you ask? It was so cute... she gave me a little box wrapped in her wedding colors and inside was a photo puzzle! How adorable is this?! What a great personalized way to ask your bridesmaids and Maid/Matron of Honor!

I'm not sure where she got this one from but I checked around for lowest prices and iPrint.com seems to be the best option.

My sister was my Maid of Honor and I'm looking forward to playing the same role in her wedding! Wondering how I asked her? Well... for our engagement party, I created a photo slideshow of my now husband and I as children and then together as a couple. At the end of the slideshow I had slides with words thanking everyone for helping to celebrate our engagement. I then put a slide with a photo of my sister and I asking her to be my Maid of Honor, and my husband had a photo of him and his brother asking him to be his Best Man. Definitely a tear jerker for all in attendance!