I was so beyond excited to kick start the planning of the surprise bridesmaid proposal for my best friends, literally right after we got engaged. Crazy, I know. Is it weird that I wanted to plan the surprise bridesmaid proposal before we got to planning the legal wedding? I still have a good laugh.
I’m so excited to share the behind-the-scenes of how I put together this surprise bridesmaid proposal. This taught me so much about what to think about while planning, and I’m sharing 5 big things to think about if you’re looking at planning a bridesmaid proposal.
Everything from the idea conception to how it came to be—there were a couple of hiccups along the way but it worked out perfectly.
Also, if you’re a bride-to-be, CONGRATS, and I hope you find this post insightful and you have the best time planning the surprise proposal for your bridesmaids as well.
Here are 5 things you need to think about when planning a bridesmaid proposal and what I did:
The idea conception for planning my bridesmaid proposal
So like I said, I started brainstorming ideas once I got engaged—hilarious I know. I knew I wanted to surprise them with an experience, and do something unique outside of bridesmaid proposal boxes. This ensures that the gifts they’d receive would be really sentimental and that it would be an experience they’d remember.
I started searching ideas on Pinterest and Google, but didn’t really find anything that inspired me very much. Hence, I decided to come up with an idea that I haven’t seen done—I wanted to surprise the girls with a staycation in the city, with an itinerary for the night, and gift them a special piece.
The special piece ended up being a piece from a bridal jewelry collection that I designed with a local Vancouver brand. What a fabulous mesh of timing too because this proposal happened right after the launch of the collection. It made everything so much more special because the collection was designed with the girls in mind, and you can watch the video of the bridal collection below.
Setting the bridesmaid proposal in motion
I immediately reached out to the Shangri-La team, as they were the first location I thought of when I came up with the idea, and honestly didn’t know what to expect. When they came back elated with the idea, it was officially set in motion.
Essentially, I would have had a plan B with a similar idea if they didn’t jump on board, but I feel so incredibly grateful to have partnered with the Shangri-La because I can’t picture the staycation with anyone else!
Anyhoo, we started on the idea in November and the bridesmaid proposal happened in March (after being pushed back about 5 times due to managing 6 different schedules). So, that was about 5 months of planning and execution!
5 things to think about when planning a surprise bridesmaids proposal
If you are thinking of planning a surprise bridesmaids proposal for your besties, here are a couple of tips and things to think about!
What is your vision for the bridesmaids proposal?
This is the very start of the planning process. Every bride is different and that’s okay. It’s still a lot of fun to browse ideas and see what you like and if you can make something your own!
I recommend diving into Pinterest because it’s PERFECT for anything wedding-related, especially if you want to gather ideas and see what other brides advise. Another recommendation I have is doing a google search. There are so many great blog posts from brides about the topic. I guarantee a couple of posts from wedding websites will also come up, so you’ll have plenty to look at.
After you gather ideas, sit with your thoughts and think about what would make you and your besties happy! Go big, or go small, that should be totally authentic to you.
What is your budget?
Budget is not the sexiest topic, but it’s very important. As much as we want to throw the most lavish parties, not everyone is financially able to. That’s okay! It’s important to remember that any idea is possible by being creative with how it’s executed.
The bridesmaids proposal staycation I put together was graciously sponsored by the Shangri-La, which I’m so thankful for. This saved me so much in regards to budget, and also allowed me to plan the best surprise.
That being said, I still had other ideas in case it didn’t work out.
As for the gifts, I didn’t go too crazy with them. My bridesmaids received a special card from ETSY, and a piece from my bridal jewelry collection. I did think of creating a box filled with items but upon reflection of my besties and what they love, I decided to put the money towards decorating the hotel suite, the night festivities and alcohol haha.
Whether it be a staycation in the city, a picnic in the park, a special girls night out or taking the girls to a fun pottery class—there are a ton of possibilities to achieve the same goal. At the end of the day, it’s about the special people in your life, and it’s the thought that counts.
It’s just like planning a party, so think the same way!
It truly is like planning a party! There were many moving parts to planning the surprise that I took into account such as timelines, different schedules, hotel availability, covid protocols, etc.
My advice to you is that however you choose to plan your bridesmaids proposal, have a plan, and a second plan just in case.
Unique items and vendors you can add to the list
During brainstorming for this bridesmaids proposal, I found a whole lot of really cool vendors. For mine, I purchased hand-drawn cards for each girl from a seller on ETSY. The cards were probably one of my favourite items because I could customize the hair color of the illustrations. This made it so much more personable and fun!
This is where I purchased the cards on ETSY.
I purchased a lot of the decorations from my local dollar store, but had the hardest time finding a sign that said ‘Will you be my bridesmaids?’ so I searched ETSY again.
Definitely recommend this ETSY seller! I customized the sign to say “Will you be my Bridesquad?” instead!
TryKado is a vendor I totally recommend as well for party favors. I didn’t use them this time around but definitely, will in the future because their stuff is super fun. They have customizable skittles packs BTW!
Think about timelines, and your besties personalities
Last but definitely not least, any good planner needs to think about the WHEN and WHO. Every bridal party is different and that should be something key to think about when planning the bridesmaids proposal.
I took some time to really think about my bridesmaids, and how their personalities would mesh together. My bride squad consists of 3 different friend groups. Since everyone was meeting for the first time, I wanted to ensure it was a fun process.
Take your time to enjoy the process as well! If I’ve learned anything from planning my bridesmaids proposal, as well as my legal wedding, is that if the bride isn’t having fun, then you’re not doing it right 🙂
–
Hope you enjoyed this post. And I hope this inspires you to have some fun planning your bridesmaids proposal as well!
Till next time,
xoxo Sam
