I need ideas for making wedding favors, center pieces at the reception, gifts for bridesmaids. All ideas welcome. The wedding is in January
Thanks

Title edited for clarity.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

Hello butter!

Well, I can hopefully help you out a lot, because my wedding is this January!! Here's what we're doing:

Centerpieces. Since my wedding is the 8th of January, I decided to go with a winter/Christmas theme. For my centerpieces, I'm actually doing a few different ones. I have over 40 tables to decorate, so I had to go as cheaply (without looking it) as I could. I went to Oriental Trading and bought some of those shallow glass bowls for floating candles and bought some floating snowflake candles for them. That's for half of my tables. The other half, I went to a hobby store here and bought a couple different types of small baskets. I'm going to set the baskets out on the tables and fill them with pine cones, cinnamon sticks and pretty bows. Then on each table, I'm going to use Christmas greens garland as a table runner.

Favors. This one was hard. I don't think I've still made up my mind about what I'm doing. I know for sure that I'm going to do a couple different things. I think I'll end up with this: I'm going to get fairly decent sized jingle bells and tie them up like an ornament with a little ribbon that has our name on it. And for the other half, I put together a little cookbook of me and Shawn's favorite Christmas treats and delights. I thought it was a neat and different idea.

Bridesmaids. I'm saving my money for this one. I only have 3 girls standing up with me, so I don't think it will be too bad. I'm been in so many weddings and you always get some stupid chrome plated something or other that just sits around the house and gets dusty. The last thing I need, if you ask me. I'm planning on taking my three girls the day before the wedding on a 'spa' day. We're going to be tired and stressed and I thought this would be perfect. We'll get massages, mani's and pedi's and just be girly girls. They don't know it yet, and I think it's going to be a great surprise.

Well, does that help any? Let me know if there's anything else I can do or suggest. Trust me, we've gone over it all this past year!!!

does your wedding have a theme?
what is the formality of the wedding?
how many guests are there going to be?

answers to those questions will definatly help with picking favours, center pieces and the like.

if the wedding is close enought to christmas, a great idea for wedding favours is tree ornaments, tied with ribons in a matching colour to one of the main colours in the wedding.

baskets filled with silver painted pine cones and a ton of glitter are a good idea for center pieces, tied up with big fat white or silver ribbon.

as for bridesmaids gifts, who says you have to give each one the exact same thing? all my bridesmaids received something i thought reflected their character, from bubble bath to a sunflower picture frame.
i really like jennis idea of a girls day out! much better than some 'chrome plated something or other'.

I'm getting married in September. we are having a very simple traditional Catholic wedding. So for center pieces at the reception I am using a simple vase with a few flowers that are in the bridesmaid bouquets.
I am having trouble with bridesmaids gifts. But after reading everyones post. I like the idea of having a girly day. Plus I think i'm going to get everyone a necklas so they can wear it at the wedding and then keep for other events.