Pretty pretty bling bling (custom designed jewelry)

A couple months ago I had a fun weekend as far as wedding planning goes.  I had searched high and low for the right jewelry (bracelet and necklace) to wear with my gorgeous Maggie Sottero Sabelle gown and had found some great ideas from the little site known as Etsy.com.  But when I continued to browse Etsy, other web sites and bridal salons and jewelry stores, I just could not find what I had pictured in my head.  I'm kind of weird, too because I have this thing about the little 'dent' in my neck where I really want it covered by the necklace.  It's like an insecurity about how it emphasizes how thin I am which I do not want to do.  Anyway...back to the search.

I found this on Etsy:

Gorgeous, right?  Very different and yet still pretty.  Not quite what I wanted to spend...above the $100 range but somewhat worth it.  And though I loved them, I was nervous about buying something online and I wasn't totally thrilled with the brooches in the pieces.  So I posted a status update on Facebook asking friends if they knew anyone who made custom bridal jewelry?  I was connected with a woman about 15 minutes from my home and she told me about this cool little antique/vintage swap meet that happens once a month at a local college.  So a month ago my sis and I trekked down there and found the most beautiful brooch and a pair of earrings.  I was so excited.  The more I look at the brooch, the more I fall in love with it.

And the honey knew that I was heading down there and out of the kindness of his sweet little heart handed me $40 to spend as I wished.  Well, the brooch and earrings came in at under the $40 so I was happy about that.  I met with Jeanette (the jewelry maker) and showed her the pieces.  I showed her the pictures I had found and she began pulling out pretty pearls and sparkly things and lots of bling bling.  We matched the colors to the brooch and my gown.  I asked her if it would be possible to take one of the earrings and use it as a brooch for the bracelet and she figured out a way to 'make it work' (in the infamous words of Tim Gunn).  I was THRILLED!

Granted, the prices she quoted me were not really saving me much compared to what I could have bought online but now at least I custom designed it myself and know that I will L-O-V-E it!  And it will be my something 'old' for the wedding day since I bought it at a vintage swap meet.  So, here they are...my necklace and bracelet (made out of a brooch and a clip on earring):

What about you ladies?  Anyone custom designing their jewelry or have ideas of what they want? 

Great bridesmaid gift idea

So being that I am all about practicality I have come up with the following that I have recently purchased for my six bridesmaids as their gifts:
1)  A blue parasol for picture taking...the nylon kind (not paper) so it can actually protect well from sun AND rain.  Matches our pretty wedding colors (not exactly but a good shade).  And I found them on sale on theknot.com for $4.99 each!

2)  A jewelry roll...a pretty silk roll up holder for the girls to pack up jewelry neatly when traveling.  I ordered them in 6 different colors so the girls can fight over which one they like best.  But I have also seen them on the net with monograms and personalization...there are tons of them in many price ranges but these were only $12.95 each, are silk and were some of the bigger ones with the most pockets.  Found these on amazon.com but you can search google as well:

How cute will we all look like this?

3)  And finally, I will be buying them some type of bracelet or necklace to wear on wedding day...but that will be something different for each girl.  All in all, I think am spending about $35-40 per girl for some pretty and useful things that they are sure to use/wear in the future.
What have you gals come up with for bridesmaid gifts?