Stand By Me…

What’s a bride to do when her favorite ladies live out of town when she’s all ready to ask them to be a part of her wedding party? I love the idea of taking the girls to a champagne brunch, or treating them to a spa day that provides the serene scene in which you ask them to stand up for you – but that isn’t always possible.
Four of my six bridesmaids lived out of town – from San Fransisco to Sydney. I knew I had to ask them individually – but didn’t want to do it via email or over the phone.
I wanted something creative and meaningful and found myself remembering the few times I assisted with the photo-styling of Oprah’s Favorite Things shows…Taking cue from the Queen of Talk, I decided to put together a collection of Kara’s Favorite Things and sent them to my girls. Here were the simple steps I took to create these bountiful bridesmaids boxes…
1. In an over sized glossy white box (with a separate lid that simply ‘pops’ off), I lined the inside with beautiful paper and bold tissue paper to provide a safe and snug fit for the treats.
2. I decided upon the elements that would constitute my favorite things…I wanted to keep things low in costs and hinted with humor. With little tags, I labeled each of my Favorite Things:
A CD with my favorite songs (do people still have CD players?) with tunes by Frank Sinatra, Austrud Gilberto, Rolling Stones and yes…Dave Matthews
A pashmina (I’m always chilly!)
Sunless tanning spray (who doesn’t look better bronzed?!)
A tub of frosting (now THAT’S not on the wedding diet…)
A gaudy cocktail ring (I adore a classic ensemble with glitzy accessories!)
Faux pearl earrings ‘for the gym’ (I’ll go down with the burning house before I leave with no earrings on!)
The movie To Catch a Thief with Grace Kelly (my style crush!)
A tiny bloom to represent my passion for the beauties
3. I finished it off with a wrapped box housing a letter written to each of my dearest – explaining how a silly collection of my favorite things wouldn’t be complete without each them etc. etc.
Who knew it could be so easy…