text: Planning your wedding will be a little challenging but it’ll be the most exciting time of your life, and asking your closest friends and family to become your bridesmaids should be a fun way to start putting things in motion for your special day. Your Bridesmaids will have a crucial job of planning your hen party, as well as making sure everything runs smoothly and everyone is on their best behaviour throughout the day. So how do you ‘pop the question’? Well, there are a few things to consider – how many bridesmaids will you have, would you rather have a few intimate moments, or a group activity sounds more like your kinda day?
  If you have a small group of friends, you can invite them over for a cosy night in with few prosecco bottles and a movie marathon – choose a variety of wedding themed movies to put you all into the wedding spirit; we recommend starting with the classics: Bridesmaids or 27 Dresses. You can ask to top up their glasses or wait till the credits roll to present them with cute ‘Will you be my bridesmaid?’ cards or small ‘tying the knot’ jewellery in a personalised box. Depending on your preferred style you can find cute, funny or elegant cards and stunning jewellery on websites such as Etsy or Not on the High Street – you will most definitely spend hours looking through the pages, but once you have a theme in mind, you’ll find the right pieces to suit you and all your maids.
  You can also ask each friend individually, this will feel more intimate, and you can tailor the ‘proposal’ to each of your relationships. This can work great if you wish to do something special for your Maid of Honour. Take her to a place that holds lots of memories for you both; take her on a lovely walk and a picnic, or you can simply order a pizza for the two of you and have a lazy night in. No need for elaborate gifts or extravagant days out, you know your best friend more than she knows herself so you’ll know exactly what will work best!
  Won’t see your bridesmaids for a while? You can DIY a ‘proposal box’ or choose from pre-made keep sake boxes online with a variety of themes and accessories such as pamper boxes, personalised photo or glasses, flowers, and balloons – this can be made to match your intended wedding theme or opt for something elegant or funny. Make it a little more interactive with a RSVP card they can send back to you.
  You can find a variety of options suiting your budget through companies such as The Pretty Box, CrafyTimes and Bubblegum Balloons. Or you can hit the town and create your own little boxes with the help of Home Sense, Card Factory and Millie’s Cookies. Again, this is totally up to you and what your budget can allow for.
  If you’ve got a little more to spend and want to have a fab day out ask your girls to join you at the Spa. This is a fun way to celebrate together and reminisce the good old days.
  Ahead of time you can speak to the receptionist and bring some bubbly for the arrival; once you toast to your enaggement you can ask them to be your bridesmaids and present them with personalised dressing gowns or fluffy towels.
  Now choosing the gowns may be tricky as there are so many! Satin, floral, flannel, fluffy and kimono!
  Bespoke Gems UK offer a wide range of personalised dressing gowns and other accessories, where as Living Roots UK offer personalised high quality turkish towles.
  Now if you’re not too keen on personalised gifts, or gifts at all for that matter, there are super cute activities you can do with your group of friends instead where you can casually work the question into conversataion. One of the most popular activities are floral crown and bouquet arrangement workshops where you can spend some quality time together and create something really beautiful; this may come in handy if you’re looking at a DIY wedding.
  Pottery night is also a classic choice, may this be working with clay or simply decorating ready-made plates and mugs. We recommend looking for small local companies as they usually offer more unique experiences, tailored to you. Alternatively, you can also order DIY kits sent straight to you so you can have a fab night in.
  So, if you're looking for something Instagramable, or want to keep it intimate, there's plenty of ideas you can tailor your bridesmaid/maid of honour proposals to each friend as well as your budget.