What I put in my bridesmaid boxes

Featuring necklaces from Michael Hill

I was sooo excited to propose to my girls! My girl friends mean so much to me, so I wanted to make them feel really special, and to welcome them into my bridal party in the most beautiful way. I started to gather things for their proposal boxes shortly after Paddy and I got engaged, and I found it so fun to plan them out!

(In fact, so fun that I now make bride and bridesmaid gifts, over on my other website: gedalondon.com!)

I decided to ask six girls to be in my bridal party, including two Maids of Honour and four Bridesmaids. We live across three different continents, so a meal together to ‘pop the question’ wasn’t an option, although that would have been lovely! Instead, I made these bridesmaid boxes, mailed them out, and scheduled a Zoom date, all while keeping an eye on their parcel tracking numbers. Then I asked the girls to refrain from opening their boxes until our Zoom call, so I could ask them all at once, virtually.

I found it really interesting to see what other brides-to-be put in their bridesmaid proposal boxes, so I hope this is useful for you too!

I bought sturdy white boxes that had magnetic closures while I was in England last, and carried these back in my suitcase! Then I filled them with white crinkle paper to help protect the items.

I got all the girls matching pyjamas with shorts, and t-shirts that said ‘bridesmaid’ across the front. I had to sneakily remind myself of their clothing sizes, but luckily garments like these are super stretchy and I find it’s best, if anything, to size up in pjs anyway so that they’re as comfy as can be! So I’d say nightwear with elasticated waistbands are a safe option to go with.

I steamed them, and then folded them up and placed them inside the boxes.

Because my bridesmaids are based around the world, and we won’t get to all meet up until just before the wedding, I had an idea to get them matching tops so that they could wear them for a photo. I planned to piece these together into a collage, which I’d use to announce my bridal party!

I found these cute macrame keychains from a small local business, with ‘will you be my bridesmaid?’ and ‘will you be my maid of honour?’ printed on the cards. Macrame is so stylish right now, and I loved that once the keychains are in use, they’re timeless – as in, they don’t say ‘bridesmaid’ on.

I also got each of the girls a satin eye mask, and used my Cricut machine to iron on their names. These personal touches make gift boxes look so pretty, and the eye masks went well with the pyjamas too!

I ordered some thick A5 card, and wrote personal letters to each of the girls. I told them how honoured I’d be to have them in my bridal party, and some of the (many!) things I love about them.

This was also a good opportunity to let them know who else would be in the bridal party – if everyone accepted my proposal 😉 – and again, added a loving, personal touch.

I then rolled the letters into scrolls, added a small piece of tape, and tied a ribbon around them. I sealed the ends of ribbon with a dab of clear nail polish to help prevent fraying, or alternatively you can singe the ends with a lighter.

I bought some gypsophila (aka baby’s breath) from our local supermarket, and hung it upside down to dry. A few days later, I cut it into sprigs and secured these small bunches under the ribbon. This was my favourite decorative touch to the boxes. I thought they looked so pretty!

Now here comes the main gift for each of the girls: a necklace from Michael Hill!

I really wanted the girls to feel special, and to give them something they could treasure and wear for years to come. I chose two different styles of necklaces from Michael Hill, to suit the girls’ individual tastes. I selected the Circle Pendant Necklace with Diamonds in Sterling Silver for four of the girls, and the Mini Spirits Bay Necklace in 10kt Yellow Gold for the two friends who prefer to wear gold jewellery. I thought these were both so beautiful and dainty, and that they would go with most outfits, for most occasions.

I think that including a piece of jewellery in your bridesmaid proposal boxes is such a great idea! You could add necklaces, bracelets, rings or earrings – but just remember to check whether all your girls have their ears pierced first, or find out what their ring sizes are, if you’re leaning towards either of those two options.

I love Michael Hill jewellery for any sort of gifting, as they offer a beautiful selection of high quality jewellery at every price point, and for every person in your life. They have special collections, such as their Bridal Collection, and their Fashion Collection, and they release beautiful seasonal accessories. I particularly like their Initial Necklaces and Pendants at the moment, and think these would be perfect for bridesmaid gifts!

I have also chosen some matching necklaces for the girls to wear on the day of our wedding, and we’ll be looking into jewelry for ourselves soon too! 👀

Lastly, I added some floral postcards, so that as soon as the girls opened their boxes they’d see the all-important question: Will you be my Bridesmaid / Maid of Honour?

On the backs, I wrote a ‘please save-the-date’ message, with a reminder of the venue location.

Here are the completed boxes!

I was so happy with how they turned out.

I packed the gift boxes into outer boxes, ready for shipping, and padded the sides so that they couldn’t slide around too much while in transit.

I added two layers of notes reminding the girls not to open their boxes until our Zoom date. They all laughed at that, as I’d already messaged them about it as well. 🙊 I was impressed that none of them had opened their outer box before our virtual date!!

The boxes were now ready to be mailed out. I decided to send them all with tracking numbers, and with insurance in case any of the parcels went missing. I used Canada Post for the boxes being shipped within Canada and to England, and FedEx for the package heading to Australia. A top tip is to try to keep each box under 1kg in weight, to stay within the lower postage price bracket.

I hope you’ve enjoyed following my bridesmaid proposal box creation! I really enjoyed making these, and love how well they were received by my best friends – who are now my bridesmaids! 🥰

I can’t wait to make more bridesmaid proposal boxes for other brides-to-be!

Let me know if you have any questions, or whether you’d recommend any other items for bridal party proposal gifts.

You may also enjoy reading about Our Engagement Story! It’s a very adventurous one! 🤩

_{The necklaces were gifted by Michael Hill, but all thoughts are my own. I really do recommend their jewellery for gifting, and only ever work with brands I genuinely love.}