Wedding detail: asking my girls

I have known who my bridesmaids would be since middle school. No kidding. I was so blessed that the closest friendships I had as a child and teenager stayed with me into adulthood, despite the many changes we’ve all undergone in the intervening years. So as soon as my husband-to-be pulled off his elaborate proposal (involving a boat, a harbor, and a giant banner hanging off a bridge), I got to work planning my own - to my five best girls.

First, I knew without a doubt that I would be buying their dresses. Each one of these ladies would be flying or driving in from 8 hours away or more just to attend my wedding, not to mention the travel and costs associated with the bachelorette party and bridal shower. I committed myself to selecting and buying their dresses before even asking them to be in the wedding, as well as to pampering them along the way as much as I could afford.

The next few weeks were a blur of dozens of dresses arriving on the front porch from late-night online shopping adventures, but I finally settled on two very feminine silhouettes: the first, a chiffon wrap-front dress from Rebecca Taylor (I stalked the entire internet for weeks trying to get the sizes I needed of this very limited style, which I finally found on Amazon and Zappos), and the second, an Elyse Ryan number from ASOS with a gold glitter bodice and accordion-pleated skirt. Such luck that both dresses were nearly the exact same vibrant shade of coral pink!

With the dresses found, I set out to create the perfect “ask package” for my sweet girls. A backpack seemed fitting due to the travel involved, and I stumbled upon the most adorable design possible from ROXY - a brand that I was known for being obsessed with in my younger years (and one that I had the privilege of interning for during college). I packed each girl’s backpack with her dress, a 2014 planner, a pink pen, a scented sachet, and her ask booklet.

What is an ask booklet? Let me explain!

In my effort to be as organized a bride as possible (and to make this fun for my girls), I created an "ask booklet" communicating all the details they needed to know and asking all the important questions in as fun and memorable a way as I could think up. Click here and zoom to see the text up-close for yourself! (These were written back when version one of our three-version wedding was still happening... the Farmhouse was not even on our horizon at that point!)

I left a blank space on the last page of each booklet for a handwritten note, expressing my individual sentiments for each girl. I remember the excitement I felt as I was finishing these notes in the airport while waiting for my flight up to Northern California, where I would personally deliver my packages. Driving around that night from home to home to drop off these meaningful gifts was one of the most joyful experiences imaginable! Each girl tried on her dress to make sure I got the size right (I brought along backup sizes of each style just in case), and each one, sometimes with tears, said “yes” to my proposal! I felt like such lucky, loved bride-to-be.

And I was - this crew made my wedding experience magical in every way, with their thoughtful planning and kindness at every turn. The love they gave was exactly as generous as the love they’ve each spoiled me with for the past 15 to 25 years of my life. I was honored beyond words to have them standing beside me on my wedding day!