#MarriedMaitlands: Asking our Bridal Party

Now that we had set our date and determined our location, we were ready to ask our bridal party. 

Chris had been ready to ask his groomsmen since before he proposed to me.  In other words, he was set and had been for sometime on who he wanted to stand alongside him on our big day.  It was not near as easy for me. 

I knew from the beginning it would be a large wedding party as Chris had his mind made up on six wonderful fellas.  I truly ran the gammut of emotions with trying to figure out my side.  I struggled for quite some time on the number.  I had always imagined having four ladies stand up with me.  Of course, I had never in a million years imagined being slightly over the age of 30 in this dream world where I stood up with four ladies beside me. So, needless to say, I was stressed...a lot.  I had lived a lot of life in these 30 years.  And whether it was a good or a bad thing, I'd never really had a BEST friend.  Well, except for my brothers.  But they aren't girls...so that wouldn't work.  Or could it?  Enter even more of a complicated dilemma.

To make a far too long story short, after much agony and even a few sleepless nights, I selected a mix of ladies that had a strong influence on my life at one point or another throughout the years.  And they would all be bridesmaids.  Plain and simple.

Once they were selected, I began to work on the cards that I would either send or present to them when I asked them to be a part of our bridal party.  Of course, Chris just called or texted his buddies.

I loved every single moment of making these cards.  It was a true labor of love.  In fact, at one point during the process I said to Chris, "I feel like I was made for this."  Evidently, I enjoyed the creative liberty to the max.

Who knew scrapbook paper and stickers could bring me so much joy? :)

Inside of the card complete with a personal message to each lady on the bottom.

I was able to present three of them in person, but had to mail the others.  It was so fun to see the expression on my friends' faces as they accepted the role.  And my oldest pal, Michelle, sent me the sweetest text response after receiving hers. So fun!

All smiles with Reba and Amanda after my first official ask :)

Oh, and after additional thought, I moved forward with asking my brothers to be my Men of Honor.  I was SO happy that I did this.  It was what I wanted in my heart from the beginning, but was initally afraid of being too outside the box.  Turns out that noone really even noticed any difference.  For all the brides out there, just follow your gut and heart...whatever you want/decide is most likely the right choice.  Don't do something just because you think it's expected.  I learned this lesson early...and was SO glad!!

I also made up cute little packages to "ask" our ring bearer and flower girl.  Both were just two years old at the time so the real ask was to their parents.  Fortunately, their respective parents were one of Chris' best men and one of my brothers.  We were so excited to have them all as a part of our special day!

How did you ask your bridal party? 

Andrea :)