Bridesmaids Who Brunch

          One of the great things about getting married is having the opportunity to share the joy of your wedding celebration with your friends.  I knew I wanted to ask my closest friends to be in my wedding party in a special way.  The biggest problem I had was figuring out which way to ask! From ring pops, to cards, to personalized t-shirts, there are a million different ways to ask your friends to be a part of your big day.

I am frugal by nature, I blame credit my mother.  So, much I would love to give each of my ladies a handcrafted teak-wood box filled with swavarski crystal jewelry, personalized champagne bottles and live butterflies, I don't currently wipe my rear with dollar bills. 
Over the top = out of the question.

 
Note: ***frugal does not mean frumpy. There is a way to make a gift special without breaking the bank. 
 

Then came the burning question I apply to every potential gift I give: funny or sweet? The more I dug around for funny ideas, the raunchier it got.  Y'all, just search "funny bridesmaid gifts" on Etsy.  Personally, a card that includes the words: pee, bitch or ugly is not what I meant by funny, nor did it seem to fit the occasion.  
Funny ≠ filthy

I was inspired by these gold polka dot mugs and then stumbled across this adorable painted mug.
   

I loved the gold polka dots AND the funny quote mugs, so I decided to blend the two, and also add their first initial.  I hand painted white mugs with gold polka dots, their initial on one side, and a funny quote on the other.  Each girl had a different quote that was either an inside joke or something that fit them. 
It was a perfect blend of funny, sweet and personalized.  I also printed off two cards tied with ribbon that went inside of the mug.  One card had a collage of inspiration images including flowers, dresses, shoes, jewelry, and my color ideas.  The other card contained a sweet message and all of the details of the big day.

I decided to pull the mug inspiration into my birthday celebration as well, and put together a mug decorating activity at my birthday brunch.  Before the guests arrived, I (strategically) asked my girls to come over and "help me" set up.

After squeals and hugs, we all grabbed our mugs and enjoyed a nice brunch and coffee together.  The theme blended nicely into my birthday brunch too!  All of my guests enjoyed the mug craft and had a keepsake to take home with them.  Below you'll find pictures of the final DIY project, as well as some fun shots from my birthday brunch party/photo-booth!

 I made a photo-booth backdrop with craft paper, gold glitter painted polka dots, and some leftover circle garland I had from a previous party.  Mix in a few props and a couple of mimosas and this is what you end up with! I have a GREAT blackmail photo of my fiance helping me "test" the camera distance for the booth earlier in the morning...but I will be sweet and spare him (this time).