yet another pre-planned post to fill you in on the details i couldn’t share before. not that my love for etsy is a secret. but the gifts i bought are (PS i know you’re not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but i don’t know how else to say that sentence) :)
it’s true. i absolutely love this website. i bought nearly all of my wedding materials and gifts through etsy.com and let me tell you why:
- they’re homemade. no one else has anything like them.
- they’re special and from the heart. they’re not cookie cutter and you can find everything under the sun, for amazing prices.
- if you can’t find it somewhere else, or even on etsy, you can use their alchemy tool, where you post a “request” for what you’re looking for, and a photo of the item if you have an example of what you’re requesting. then, etsy sellers “bid” on your request and provide samples of what they can provide, and YOU can pick which seller you’d like to work with! i’ve used this tool 3 times and each time have had amazing luck.
so without further ado, let’s take a look at the treasures i picked up from this wonderful site:
flower girl bracelets - i wanted something that was a) kid friendly, b) sentimental and c) something the girls could still wear a few years down the line. i used the magical alchemy tool and posted a request for “children’s bracelet”, and gave details of what i was looking for. i actually received about 8 bids on this project but waited out until all bids were in to make my decision. jwhiz came in with the winning offer and was such a great seller throughout the whole process. she even contacted me halfway through to let me know that she was able to order 2 of the letters i needed (i wanted each bracelet to have the little girl’s first initial to be personalized), but the other letter came in a different format. she cared so much about this project and wanted to make sure the other little girls wouldnt be jealous of the different shaped letter. in the end we went with the different letter because it’s all we could get, but still, the personalized service was very much appreciated! here are a few pics of the bracelets, not quite finished (remember when i am writing this i haven’t been home (CT) yet to see them in person), but you can see they have the pearls, a personalized letter, and pink ribbon to tie the bracelet and also prevent the girls from “outgrowing” the bracelets :). thank you jwhiz!
i also got the girls personalized dolls (not from etsy) with their colored hair and their names embroidered, which i thought would be cute and age-appropriate for 2-5 year olds.
bridal party - this is not the only thing i purchased for them, but it was included in their gifts (also got each of them a large vera bradley duffel, hanky panky thongs, victoria’s secret lotion, old navy flip flops, and a longchamp bag for my maid of honor - she already has every vera bradley bag under the sun - and a little extra something special for her too). this is probably one of the most amazing purchases i made. again, i used alchemy and posted the following photo:
it’s a travel laundry bag for your undergarments. a friend of mine gave this to me when i got engaged, and it’s probably one of the most useful things i have! there’s 2 pockets - one for clean and one for laundry. now you don’t have to grab the plastic bag from your hotel room for your dirty laundry!
so anyways, i post this picture and again get a bunch of bids. the winning bid was from plumcozycottage, who had the cutest things in her shop. she was so friendly throughout the process and i kind of just let her go with it. and what an amazing decision that was! check out the (almost) finished results!!
| she even put a liner in the bag, something i don’t even have, and a handle to hang the bag in the closer when traveling!! |
can you believe how amazing these came out? they’re almost identical to what i requested, and all she was going off was a few pictures i sent her, and from my blackberry camera at that! as i type this i can’t wait to give the girls this wonderful, one of a kind, handmade gift (complete with their hanky pankies inside) :)
favors - click here :)
tissue paper puff balls - click here :)
custom embroidered hankies - i won’t show a pic but i did order custom handkerchiefs for my mom, dad and brother. they were white with blue stitching and each had a special quote or saying on it with our wedding date. very sentimental and perfect for the occasion.
and i’m sure i’m missing a few things, but i think you get the picture. when in doubt, go to etsy!
