Sponsored Post // Le Pique Nique: The bridesmaid gift that keeps on giving!

Sponsored by Le Pique Nique

If you’re anything like me, finding the perfect gift for your bridal party is like pulling teeth! I searched for hours and hours on etsy with no luck! I LOVE all of the ideas I found on etsy, don’t get me wrong, but I had a couple of problems:

1.      I had eight bridesmaids which meant I was going to need to spend a fortune if I chose any of the top items I had found.

2.      All of my bridesmaids had such different personalities and styles! And since I have three sisters, the age range was also a problem.

I ended up getting my bridesmaids a cute little personalized necklace with a couple of charms on each. And while they were cute, I honestly don’t think they they’ve gotten the use I would’ve liked!

And that brings me to my third problem...

3.      You want your bridesmaids to actually use your gift, and not just throw it in a drawer or closet to collect dust! Am I right or am I right?

So while it wasn’t the end of the world, I so wish I had come up with an idea that would’ve been perfect for all of them. And now two years later, I’ve found the PERFECT bridesmaid gift!

Yes I know, I went a little crazy on the photos because I just can't choose a favorite! And there are so many more on their website too!

They are affordable for tight budgets and large bridal parties, they work with so many styles and personalities, they come in so many colors (to match your wedding color palette or your bridesmaids’ favorite colors), and best of all, they can and will use them for years to come!

Le Pique Nique

 Le Pique Nique is a handmade cosmetic bag shop offering high quality, ethical, handmade bags which are the perfect bridesmaid gift in my eyes! They are currently offering over 90 prints and styles to choose from, so you’re sure to find one for every one of your bridesmaids!

Not only are they the perfect makeup bag for after the wedding, but they would make such an adorable accent clutch for your bridesmaids to keep with them throughout the wedding...because we don’t want a lost phone with all of those wedding-day memories on it, and every girl needs a lip gloss or lipstick touch up by the end of the night ;)

And so, we've got a gift for you to help you with that tight budget!

Since you’re in the process of searching for the perfect gift for your bridesmaids, I have a gift to help you out! We’re offering 20% off for all of our followers so now is the perfect time to get that checked off of your wedding planning to do list :)

Just click on that black button above, and let the shopping begin!

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His hometown or hers?

Rachel Solomon Photography

If you're anything like me, you went to college in a different state than you grew up. Well...I grew up in Northern California and went to school in Southern California, but they're basically different states!

You studied hard, played hard, and met the love of your life. He pops the question shortly after that and voila! The rest is history. Well, at least that's how it went for me!

And then it comes time to plan the wedding and you think, "Now we have an issue. Where the heck should we have our wedding??" You now live in a different state than each of you grew up, so it's a tough decision to make.

But you have four possible options:

1. Have your wedding in his hometown so his family doesn't have to travel
2. Have your wedding in her hometown so her family doesn't have to travel
3. Have your wedding where you currently live so you don't have to travel
4. Have a destination wedding and everyone travels!

It's a tough decision to make, and only the two of you can decide what's best. But in order to help you come to a decision (or at least narrow that list of four down to two), I've got some things for you to consider:

Are you okay with planning your wedding from a distance?

If you decide to plan your wedding anywhere but where you currently life, then you're planning a destination wedding.

Are you okay with choosing a venue and not seeing it until your wedding day?
Are your family and friends who do live there able to meet with vendors and go on tours for you?
Are you comfortable with not meeting your vendors before you book them?

Now with our handy dandy iPhones, it's pretty easy to "meet" vendors via FaceTime or Skype, and actually "tour" your venues from a distance...only, you're seeing them through a phone. But at least it's better than nothing! And of course you may be able to travel out there for a weekend or two, but you're surely not going to be able to meet every vendor and tour every venue at the blink of an eye. So some planning with 100% have to be done without you present.

If any of these questions terrify you and you know that a destination wedding will just make your stress levels worse, then it looks like you've got the list already narrowed down to #3!

Rachel Solomon Photography

Size Matters

This may be a very simplistic way of thinking about it, but if his family has only 10 people and yours has 150, then most likely it will be the best decision to make his family travel and not yours. Because we need to keep our guests in mind too :)

Financial Situations

We all come from various financial backgrounds and traveling across the country or even the world (no matter how much they want to) may not be an option for some of your guests.

Can your mom and dad afford that flight?
Are all of your friends going to be able to afford it?
Is it even a possibility for your aunt and uncle to take off work?

There are people who you just have to have there with you on your wedding day and depending on the destination you choose, that may not be a possibility for some of them. So think about travel time and the cost associated with that, before any destination is decided on.

Think about the who, the what, and the where and everything that is involved in getting your wedding plans taken care of.

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Did you run into this situation? What did you decide and why?
Comment below - we want to hear your advice too!

How to narrow down your wedding guest list!

Since I've been getting a lot of questions on the topic and it's one of the biggest causes of overwhelming stress for brides, I decided to re-post this article on how to get that guest list narrowed down! I couldn't come up with a better way to do it and you all loved it the first time I posted it, so here it is again...our Guest List in 30 Seconds!