Details: pearl earrings: Etsy {sold out!} // luggage tags: Etsy // luggage tag cord: Amazon // ribbon: Michael’s // notecards: Karen Adams Designs c/o // my sweater: Amazon

My Best Friends

Before I start gushing 😂 let’s take it from the top– in my first wedding update I walked you through our venue and major vendors! Then in my second wedding update I shared our wedding inspiration, and how I’ve gone about gathering and organizing it all thus far. Those have been so much fun to share, but I have a feeling that my third major wedding update may be the most important of all, because it entails the women that will be standing by my side on our wedding day. 😊

For a little backstory, I’ve somehow known who my bridesmaids were going to be for years. I tend to have strong feelings about people from the start, and then am a loyal, ride-or-die type of friend from there on out. That’s been true to my relationships with all of my bridesmaids, no matter when we first met.

Whenever I’ve been asked about my job blogging or how I started this blog, I almost always reference my friends first (i.e. the girls who will be my bridesmaids) and how I wouldn’t be anywhere close to where I am today without them.

They’re the ones who unquestionably supported my blog (then called ‘I Believe in Pink’) when I first started it as a freshman in college and was too shy to share it. They’re the ones who listened to me blab on about my dream job at Lilly, and then celebrated with me when I landed it. They’re the ones who have been in countless photoshoots for me, or taken my photos on our trips, time and time again– never batting an eye or making me feel bad that my job looked a little different (or that it’s often heightened on trips, as they’re the most engaging to share!).

And even better yet, and most importantly, they’re the ones who saw my relationship with Johnny from the very start. Each one of my bridesmaids knew me before Johnny and I started dating, so they witnessed our entire relationship and developed their own bonds with Johnny too. That may be my favorite part of it all.

And because I tend to love really hard, and keep my innermost circle closest, I was lucky in that choosing my bridesmaids was an easy decision. I’m sure I’ll figure out a fun (and borderline embarrassing) way to introduce them so you all can get to know them more too, but to put it simply they’re comprised of my best friends from growing up (on Long Beach Island!), my best friends from college (all of which are my sorority sisters!), and my family– my sister, and my two future sister-in-laws (all of whom are also my sorority sisters as well 😂).

If you’ve ever asked me about any of them, I’m quick to brag about their accomplishments and successes (it’s actually one of my favorite things to do). They are hands-down the most driven, brilliant, hysterical people I know. One of the best things I’ve ever done is to have surrounded myself with best friends who are much smarter and more accomplished than I am, so there’s no competition or cattiness in the slightest. They’re also so hysterically quick-witted and keep me humble, which is another quality I swear is necessary in a best friend. 😉

So when it came time to formally ask them to be my bridesmaids (I say formally because they had all already booked flights for my Bachelorette… my people 😂), I knew it had to be special!

How I Asked Them

I started thinking about how I was going to ask my bridesmaids at the end of December, and wanted it to be personalized and meaningful, yet also subtly tie into my Bachelorette trip this summer. I went down a lot of Instagram and Etsy rabbit holes (what else is new) and I eventually stumbled upon something that felt just right… pearl earrings.

My birthstone is the pearl and I wear pearl studs 95% of the time, plus they tie into the destination and theme of my Bachelorette. It was a perfect fit that just felt right. I found them on Etsy but sadly sold them out with my order, although I’ve seen similar ones if you search for ‘pearl bridesmaid proposal earrings’!

I then added on these clear acrylic luggage tags as a tag on the boxes and for them to use for the Bachelorette if they’d like (although the tag seems to be more pretty than it is practical lol). I also switched out the cord on the luggage tags from brown to this pink cord I found on Amazon– which was so easy but I think made such a difference!

Finally, I paired the box with a pink scalloped ribbon and the sweetest notecards I’ve ever seen… featuring hand-glittered seashells with pearls, to tie into the pearl earrings (we love a theme). I’ve always been huge fan of the intricate and beautiful Karen Adams stationery, and these notecards truly could not have been more perfect. Easy tip– I had them personalized with the phrase ‘Will you be my bridesmaid’ instead of my name!

To make it all happen, my sister absolutely over-delivered in her first duties as my maid of honor and hosted my bridesmaids that live in New York to her apartment last weekend for cocktails, and I gave them the goodies then! I had already mailed them to my girlfriends who don’t live in NYC, so they could receive and open them at the (somewhat) same time.

There were some tears and a lot of laughter and shrieking, so it’s safe to say I got yeses all around. You can see their reactions in this Instagram reel I shared. It’s not lost on me how lucky I am that I get such an incredible group to be by my side through this time in my life… and beyond! 💗