My Bridesmaid Boxes – Ethical, Cruelty Free & Vegan

After all the hype calmed down when we got engaged, it was time to really start thinking about venue’s, guest lists and who I wanted as my bridesmaid…..now my actual list was 10 girls, but that is just not realistic and I would be broke before I even walk down the aisle, but I narrowed it down to 5. Once I had my list I started to think about how fun the next few months will be for all of us. I really hope to be a low stress bride… not a bridezilla (but time will tell). But one thing I saw AGES ago on Pinterest was ‘Bridesmaids Proposal Box’ – also known as a little gift box for your bridesmaids and I totally loved the idea.

I wanted my box to my girls to

1. Be full of stuff they would be able to use and enjoy not just items labeled with ‘Bridesmaid’ …. in fact, apart from a letter asking them to be my bridesmaids, the words isn’t mentioned once after that.
2. From shops and companies that mean a lot to me. I will only buy products that I believe in from shops I believe in. So the bits and pieces I got for the boxes all came from cruelty free and ethical sources.
3. Accessible. If the girls like the products, I wanted them to be able to get them again and again, be able to walk into a shop and look around and see more. So I wanted all my purchases to be local and be accessible.

I had a good idea of what I wanted in the boxes prior to going shopping. I just thought of stuff I like and use on a daily basis and of each of the girls and would they get use out of the products too. So I knew the likes of nail polish from Skinful Affairs or bath bombs from Lush Dublin would be on my list. The rest of the gifts I had an idea, but nothing certain. Here is the list I went in with –

Bridesmaid Gift Box Tips.

1. Have a budget per person in mind. I had originally wanted to stick to about €20. per person, but spent roughly about €30 per girl in the end.
2. Know what goes in. With a budget in mind, have some idea of what you would like to put into the boxes

• Make lists
• Start a Pinterest board
• Do you want to have a colour theme that will relate to the big day and the bridesmaids dresses? Think of items that you can do this with, for example – Nail polish, lipstick or candles.

3. Will Everything Fit. Make sure everything fits into your box and if you are getting something that you know might be quite large, make sure you get a box that you know will fit everything into it….. I had a close call with this and to make matters worse I had nearly bought a smaller box.

4. Pack everything away neatly and nicely. Think about when your gift’ee’ (Is that even a word?) opens the box, you will want everything to look beautiful and visually pleasing, not in a mess all over the place. Spend a few extra euro if you must to buy recycled shred or recycled filling to help keep everything in place. Or better yet just ask a shop if they have some out the back you can take.

5. Make the reason of the box clear. You can’t just hand out gift boxes with out giving the details of the gift out…..well you can hand out gift boxes to whom ever you like if that’s what you are into, but it would be a good idea to give a letter with the box or in the box with a simple ‘Will You Be My Bridesmaid’ or ‘Thank You For Being My Bridesmaid’ kinda think. The way in which you can go about this are endless. I had a full page of all the wedding details and with the question on the top of the page (second thing they read). I have seen other boxes with a picture of the people involved and sayings such as “I have my guy, but I need my girl”. It really is up to you and your imagination here. Some details you may want to include are

• The date.
• The venue.
• The other girls
• The style of dresses or colour (If you know)

My Boxes.

In my boxes, as I said above, everything that went in was vegan, ethical and cruelty-free. Everything that I believe in but also I know my girls will like and appreciate.

The Items

• Ella + Mila Nail Polish
• Lush Sakura Bathbomb
• Lush Charity Pot
• Lavender Candle
• LOVING EARTH Bar
• Heart Made Jewellery Bracelet
• Marks and Spencers Vegan Prossecco

 

The boxes I got in a gift shop in The Ilac Shopping Centre for €3. each and they were perfect. The boxes are lovely and can be used again by the girls as a jewellery box, or make up box etc.

The wrapping I put into the boxes is actually what the candles were wrapped in, I reused it and it made the boxes look beautiful when opened and kept everything that little bit extra together.

The letter I included in the boxes

I also included some details about the products

 

As you can see, I included the date, the venue, the kind of dress I had in mind and who the other girls are and how I know them. I just thought doing this helps the girls plan and have some sort of idea on everything. I also wanted them to know the sort of dresses I have in mind straight of the bat.

I also included a product detail page as most of the girls may not be familiar with the product or the companies they come from and I wanted to inform them as to why I like the products and companies and why the companies mean so much to me due to the positive impact they have on the world.

 

So all in all, my gift boxes went down a treat and the girls loved them and are all on board for the big day. They also loved how personalised the boxes where. One of them is a vegan, so she really loved everything the boxes had to offer. Boxes like these can be done as a gift for any occasion, you just need to to cater you box for said event.

I hope this was of some help and you were able to take something from it and to also see that a gift box done with a cruelty-free ethical spin on it can be lovely too.

x

Saoirse