I’m a year out from my wedding and I’ve already knocked out a ton of tasks on my bride “to-do” list. Although there were many things to consider, picking my bridesmaids and maid of honor was the very first one I wanted to complete. Because I have 9 bridesmaids, I wanted to make my own, budget-friendly, gift boxes. Today I’m sharing the details of this DIY, where to shop the products, and how to assemble your own for under $200!
Side note: I’m doing bi-monthly check in’s of the wedding planning process. Check out my Wedding Diaries filled with monthly planning guides, DIY’s, and helpful wedding planning tips!
DIY BOXES
My first stop, whenever I’m diving into a new DIY project, is Micheals Art Store. There is no better place to get inspired with some crafts, and they ALWAYS have discounts & coupons available.
I decided I wanted to go small with these small 7″x 9″ Kraft Frame Boxes which were only $3.50 each! Perfect for small gifts such as min picture frames, lip balm, succulents, salt bath tubes, and champagne flutes.
I ended getting this $15 bag of White Shredded Paper to use as the box filler for the gifts, but only needed about 1/2 of it. So if you can find a smaller bag, I recommend buying that and saving some $$.
I also picked up the cards and envelopes which I decided to make on my own. I saved about $20 making my own cards rather than purchasing them online.
Next, I bought some eucalyptus, jute twine, and name cards to wrap the boxes with once I was finished.
Once I was done at Micheals I headed over to TJMaxx and Target for small and intimate gifts and trinkets I could include in the boxes. The first section I headed to was the candles and picture frames (of course). I wanted to include a special memory for each of my bridesmaid to keep at home. Even though I purchased mine at TJMaxx, I was able to find the EXACT Gold Floating Frames I used in my boxes online at Hobby Lobby (currently on sale for $5 each).
The frames took up a good portion of the box, so I only needed one other item to include. I headed over to the bath & body section and found some beautiful botanical oils to include in my gift boxes. Not every gift box was the same. I wanted to make them all a little bit different. And while all of them included the picture frame and picture , some of them included a Dr. Tea’ls Bath Tea, these Botanical Bath Oils (which I found at Tjmaxx for only $5), or a mini bottle of Rose.
The only additional costs were the photos which cost about $0.60 each and the shipping for 3 of my boxes (the others I delivered personally).
My biggest tip is to not get too carried away with DIY boxes. There are SO many things you can find in stores and online to create these boxes, but the more items you include, the more expensive it will be. One to three items are perfectly acceptable.
It took me about an hour and a half to put all these boxes together. I monogramed each person’s first initial on their cards with a pink gel pen, then wrote them a personal message inside. I think it’s important to include something heartfelt about your relationship with the person you are asking to be your bridesmaid, it’s a message that they will want to hold on to forever.
After I placed the frames, gifts, and envelopes in the boxes, I added a little extra touch of trimmed eucalyptus inside. I taped the sides and tied off the boxes with jute twine, labeled their name cards, and added in the trimmed eucalyptus under the twine for a nice rustic touch.
Since we got engaged during quarantine, we didn’t really get to celebrate when we got home or have an engagement party. So, I was so excited to drop these off at my friend’s homes and wait for their reactions! Scroll to see the pictures they sent me after opening!
SHOP THE POST
I hope you found this article useful. I’ll be posting more wedding content and DIY’s if you want to follow along on my wedding planning journey! Stay tuned!
XO,
Amanda Jo
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