This was a really fun project for me, since I love planning, crafting, decorating, branding and packaging. I wanted this unboxing to be a special and memorable moment for my bridesmaids, so I tried to personalize everything as much as possible. I know that starting the wedding planning process can be daunting for most people, so here are some creative and affordable ideas that can hopefully inspire you.
What’s inside the box?
1. polaroid pictures | $5.32
If you download Shutterfly’s mobile app, you can get unlimited prints. All you have to do is pay $5.32 for shipping. Since I’m always taking pictures, I thought this would be a cute way to reflect on some of the fun moments we all had together.
2. mini bottles | $14.48
Most people like to celebrate with champagne, but not all of my girls can drink. I bought sparkling apple cider from Dollar Tree, for those who are sober, and champagne from BevMo!, for those who like to get tipsy.
3. hair ties | $10.72
Not only are these useful, but they’re really cheap and easy to make. Most Etsy shops that specialize in elastic ribbon, have lots of colors to choose from. Just make sure that the description says “elastic” because they all look the same, and I accidentally bought non-elastic ones before. I chose the ⅜” width, and 1 yard per color is enough to make 4 hair ties. I just cut them into 9” pieces and then knotted them at the end. I then cut construction paper into 4” x 3 ¼” pieces to hold the hair ties in place.
4. candles | $36
I bought these lovely candles from a female Black-owned business called KSM Candle Co. They have such a wide selection of handmade soy candles and a long list of descriptions for each scent. It was really hard to narrow down my choices, but the ones that I bought were Mojito, Citronella, Sunny & Mellow and Black Currant Tea.
5. matchboxes | $11
What’s the use of candles without some spark? I actually bought the matchsticks and matchboxes separately on Etsy, since I couldn’t find the plain pink boxes that I wanted. This method was significantly cheaper, since most of the matchbox packages I saw required customization or large order quantities.
6. paper lipsticks | $7.44
This is a beautiful Valentine’s Day DIY that I stumbled upon on Pinterest. Instead of typing “Will you be my Valentine?”, I just changed it to “Will you be my bridesmaid?” I am a huge lipstick lover, so I thought this would be a fitting way to pop my question. I bought all of the construction paper from Michaels, since they have a wide assortment of colors and textures to choose from.
How did you package it?
+ boxes | Etsy
$6.53
+ ribbon | JOANN
$9.98
+ shredded paper | Paper Source
$3.99
+ tags | I DIYed all of my tags, but if you want to save time, you can buy them in bulk. I cut the name tags into
2 ¾” x 1 ⅝” pieces and the “Drink Me” tags into 1 ¾” x ⅞” pieces.
$0
The total was roughly $100, and including taxes and shipping, it cost about $30 to arrange each box.
xx
Dana