Mags and her Merry Maids

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mags and the Dutchman are getting married in a little over a MONTH and I couldn’t be happier. Yesterday her bridesmaids held a small shower for her and this is what I gave her (and them) as a giftie. I put one of these together for my own wedding and for every wedding I’ve ever been a bridesmaid in, and I have used everything in it in lifesaving, wedding-emergency kinds of situations.

We start with a large tote, which can be coordinated to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. This one is reversible. I have a similar one that Cait bought me a few years ago and I love it so I know it will come in handy later. The tote is big enough to hold sweaters or scarves, cameras, phones, makeup, flip flops … all the stuff you need to bring from place to place but you don’t want the bride to have to deal with. Everything the bridal party needs is in one bag so nothing gets left behind when they move from place to place.

Then we put stuff in it that we know will come in handy on the big day. There’s always first aid to consider, so we’ve got bandaids, blister relief (because everyone wears dumb shoes to weddings – except me), Tums for an upset stomach, Gravol for a queasy stomach, and Advil for a sore noggin.

Last minute hair repair: elastics, bobby pins, and hair spray. And you can use those for all sorts of things. Elastics can replace broken bustle strings and hold together boutonnieres. Bobby pins can hold hems and ties in place. And hair spray can keep that run in your stocking from getting any bigger.

Same with clothing repair: lint roller, safety pins, Tide To Go, and hockey tape, the world’s greatest adhesive. At Atlas’s wedding, when her petticoat turned out to be way too long, I rolled it up from the waistband and taped it in place and it stayed all night. Not shown as well is a little tiny set of sewing needles with thread matching the colour of all the dresses. Hockey tape is definitely the go-to, though. I’ve even used it in place of double-sided tape to keep certain parts of dresses in their proper place.

For other touchups we have a compact mirror, gum, lotion, lip balm, Purel, tissues, and makeup wipes (for smudges). The gum and the lip balm are handy for those stolen kisses behind the scenes, and the tissues and wipes for those tender moments when you end up with mascara all down your face. And the Purel is great for after those cute pictures with the family’s younger set, when you need to de-stickify yourself, STAT.

And of course some chocolate!

Some of the smaller stuff went into a smaller bag, and the Purel handily attached to the handle of the tote.

What other items have you found super handy in these sorts of Big Day situations?

Advertisement