Bridesmaid Proposal/gift Difference

Proposal gifts are totally unnecessary. But a gift of appreciation and a thank you note near wedding time, whether given at a bridal luncheon, a rehearsal dinner, morning of the wedding, or after, is an absolute necessity, whether or not you also gave other gifts at another time.
Also, items that are given to bridal party to wear for the wedding, or for pictures while getting ready, or HMU or Mani, are for you wedding and photos, props chosen for you and your taste at wedding functions. They do not count as thank you gifts, which are chosen for each person, to go with their individual taste and lifestyle, or hobbies. Nice as the things for your wedding may be, those are done for you. So budget for something for each woman: shop like it is her birthday.

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This response is perfect.

View Quoted Comment That makes perfect sense and you did such a nice job explaining it! Thank you!

You should do a BM gift at rehearsal. It is also a nice gesture to get them something non wedding related. But I don’t think it is a must.

I agree with PPs! Giving BP gifts at the rehearsal, the day of, or after the wedding is perfectly fine!

If you want them to wear it on the wedding weekend, I'd gift it to them then. I couldn't find my "bridesmaid" shirt FOR THE LIFE OF ME 4 months after the bachelorette party for the last wedding I was in, so I didn't wear it to get ready like the other girls did. I'd say gifts are required, proposals are optional. Typically the gift is a lot bigger.

I did a proposal gift and a bridesmaids gift, but it's optional to do the proposal gift. I decided to do both because I loved the cute bracelets I found to use for the proposal. The bridesmaids gift is usually something "nicer" than the proposal gift. I gave all my girls cute knot bracelets and a note for the proposal but will be giving everyone nice pink freshwater pearl earrings for their bridesmaids gift!

View Quoted Comment This is super helpful thank you!!!

View Quoted Comment Hahaha this is exactly what I’m worried about! Thank you for the input!

I am giving mine jewelry for the wedding. Their actual gift is going to be a nice travel jewelry box, the jewelry will already be inside when I give it to them the night before at the rehearsal dinner. They all travel so much, it just seemed like the perfect gift.

View Quoted Comment Love that idea! Cute AND practical

Proposals are so unnecessary, but I did them. They were simple and seriously only cost me $12 a girl.

For my bridesmaid gifts I am giving them earrings, a robe, and a personalized makeup bag. I know another post mentioned that these are more "props", but they are important to me.

I think personalized gifts are nice, but I think it is understood that bridesmaid gifts are typically pretty uniform from girl-to-girl. I would hate for one girl to get jealous of another or not like her gift as well. IDK.

I think a framed picture of the two of you would be a nice gesture, if your girls are sentimental about those types of things.

I did BM proposal gifts (something small, less than $25) because I thought it was cute, but it also included something I wanted them to have the day of the wedding while we are getting ready, but I did not feel was an appropriate "thank you" gift. Once I gave it to them and they said yes to being a BM, I offered to keep it for them until the wedding if they felt they couldn't keep up with it. They will receive something else, most likely at the rehearsal dinner, as their "thank you" gift.