We all get obsessed with weird, specific things when we’re wedding planning. I read the contents of the APW mailbag, y’all. I know what’s inside your brains. And while everyone obsesses about different things, personally I was all up in my head about wedding party gifts. I wanted to give my best people perfect presents; I wanted them to be functional and meaningful and cute. And since I was twenty-two and broke, I also needed to not spend a zillion dollars on each of them. So I agonized over those effing gifts, searching and stressing, but somehow ended up with basic white terrycloth robes. Functional? Yes. Meaningful? Eh. Cute? Not so much. It was only later I realized I missed the entire point. Gifts, especially when they are for your crew, are supposed to be fun. Bonus points if they are practical and look good in photos (because #selfies). So now, whenever I’m a bridesmaid, I’m looking for fun gifts for a bachelorette party, or if I’m helping a friend plan gifts for their wedding party, I focus on the good times. And I don’t want to brag, but my gifting game has gotten good. Or at least a million times better than white terrycloth robes. What can I say?

Sun Seeker Gift Set

But that usually takes some time and work on my part. I hit up various boutiques and online shops for that perfect thing, so that it feels super personal to the recipient. And that’s not always a replicable process, particularly if you don’t live near great boutiques, or have the hours or the desire to plumb the depths of the internet for exactly the right thing. Which is why when I heard that our longtime partner Brideside is releasing brand new bridesmaid gift boxes and party kits that look almost exactly like the inside of my brain, I was jazz-hands levels of excited.

Brideside’s new gift boxes start at $55, and include things like beautiful patterned robes, face masks, luggage tags, water bottles, and personalized jewelry. AKA they are all of the overlap between fun and stuff you’ll actually use, wrapped up in a beautifully presented box (that you can totally reuse). Which is actually way fancier than what I’ve been doing—with zero of the work. I mean…

Par Avion

Pamper – Blush Blossom

But my favorite option is actually their group gift sets, which I would snag for a bachelorette party in a heartbeat. For $150 (and up, depending on your wedding party size), you get one big gift for the whole group to enjoy (like a flamingo pool floatie or tropical travel speakers for the beach), plus a mini gift for every wedding party member. These sunglasses would make for a super cute group photo. Which, I kid about #selfies (OR DO I?) but props can end up being a great icebreaker for a bunch of people who don’t know each other yet. Nothing to talk about? Let’s discuss who gets the pineapples and who gets the flamingos! And this set has little mini pool floaties to hold drinks, which makes for an even better ice breaker. And I can’t even start on how much this gift set speaks to my soul. I’d buy it for my next party if I didn’t already own two-thirds of the contents (the fact that there is no Chambong in my kitchen cabinets is a failure on my part).

Pool Party Group Gift

Beach Bash Group Gift

And if you’re looking for a gift that you can use for the day-of, Brideside finally made our Instagram #goals come true by making these amazing denim jackets available. Is it too late to wear a “bride” jacket around town, ten years after your wedding? Asking for a friend.

But the best thing about these new gifts from Brideside is their impeccable taste. They’ve done all the hard work of curating a selection of cool and thoughtful stuff you’d actually want to give your friends, thus saving you the trouble of doing it yourself. Because getting gifts for your wedding party shouldn’t feel like a chore. It shouldn’t be something you have to write us panicked emails about (we see you). They’re your best people. They don’t want that for you. What they want is for you to go buy yourself a hotAF Bride bathing suit and to go have another glass of champagne. So do that, and buy a gift box, and let’s call this a wrap. (Because yes, Brideside will even wrap it for you.)

This post was sponsored by Brideside, a female-founded company dedicated to reinventing the bridal shopping experience. In addition to their fun and easy new gifts and gift sets, Brideside also offers a complimentary styling service dedicated making bridesmaid dress shopping a piece of cake. With a selection of hundreds of dresses, in size 00–30, and a team of dedicated style consultants, Brideside hopes to make the dress shopping experience a more positive one for all your wedding party members. Shop online, use their Try At Home program or visit one of their new showrooms. Click here to explore Brideside’s bridesmaid dress collection today.

The post These Wedding Party Gifts Are Exactly What We’d Pick Out appeared first on A Practical Wedding: We’re Your Wedding Planner. Wedding Ideas for Brides, Bridesmaids, Grooms, and More.