Wedding Survival Kit for Brides (with free printable)

Two weeks ago I mentioned I was in a wedding. Ya, I was a bridesmaid. Well, I’m married, so really a brides-matron. Wow, does that sound old! Anyway, as a bridesmaid you have a responsibility on the day-of. You must make the bride as happy as possible, make her beautiful as possible, and of course be prepared as much as possible.

After my own wedding, I realized how important a survival kit is to the bride. So, since my wedding 5 years ago, I give the gift of a Wedding Survival Kit. The point of this kit is to supplement the actual wedding day bag that the bride might pack for the day-of. I like to include things she might forget on the day-of. You too can create this kit!

Just print out the Bridal Survival Kit label provided below on paper/card stock, cut it out, and glue it to the front of a gift bag. I like using a gift bag with a wedding theme to give it that little extra touch.

For the tag, cut it out, write your bride’s name on it. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the top and attach it to one of the gift bag handles with your favorite ribbon. I like to use the same ribbon color that the bride is using in her wedding!

Now, its time to fill it up! I like to go through the travel section of a grocery store to find the necessities. Here are some ideas for things to include in the kit:

1) Deodorant. It doesn’t have to be the same brand as the bride uses because if she forgets, I doubt she will care (unless she’s sensitive). Who would want to smell on their wedding day anyway?

2) Emergency first-aid kit. Includes antiseptic wipes, butterfly closures, gauze pads, and adhesive bandages. Because you never know when a blister might ruin those cute shoes!

3) Hairspray. A last minute hair-spray touch up is essential right before she walks down the aisle!

4) Snacks. Health and not so healthy snacks to keep the energy up. All the brides I have accompanied never eat before they walk down the aisle, but believe me, her guests didn’t come to see a passed out bride. So I like to include granola bars and Hershey’s chocolate kisses.

5) Lifesaver mints. These are my favorite but any will do. I like these because they’re white – just perfect in case of any accidents, contain enough sugar but wont cause a sugar high. I don’t like to use gum just because you have to remind her to ditch it right before she has her debut!

6) Bobby pins and clips. This is one of my favorite things to give away because I usually use an old pill bottle case to carry the bobby pins and clips. The pill bottle case I’m showing is the 1-Clic vial from Rexam and is an Arthritis Foundation’s Ease-of-Use Commendation product!* I love this bottle (and keep all of mine!) because the closure can be used in a child-resistant or non-child-resistant position! Next time you order medication, ask your pharmacist to fill your next prescription in a 1-Clic vial from Rexam.

7) Personal care items. This would include chap stick & lip gloss (umm, “you may kiss the bride”), shout wipes (incase of spills), a mini sewing kit (it’s actually come in handy for groomsmen!), baby wipes and/or Purell, and a lint roller.

Click HERE to download and print the labels to make your own Wedding Survival Kit. The large label is approximately 7”x7.767” and the tag labels are approximately 2”x2.19”

If you decide to make this gift, please send me pictures! I’d love to see what you’ve done with it! What would you add to your Wedding Survival Kit if you made one?

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Much Love,

*I’ve talked about it before, but in case you don’t remember, it’s a program which recognizes products proven to make life easier for people who have arthritis and other physical limitations. These products are independently tested by experts and evaluated by people with arthritis. I have been asked to review a number of Ease-of-Use products.

Five years ago today…

Five years ago today something incredible happened. I married my best friend.

“We are gathered here today to join two people who have lived, laughed and loved as friends. This shared friendship has now become a love so precious and true.

Marriage is a commitment to life, the best that two people can find and bring out in each other. It offers opportunities for sharing and growth that no other relationship can equal. It is a physical and emotional joining that is promised for a lifetime. Within the circle of its love, marriage encompasses all of life’s most important relationships. A wife and a husband are each other’s best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic. And there may come times when one partner is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other may resemble the tender caring of a parent or child. Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness is fuller, memories are fresher, commitment is stronger, even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly. Marriage understand and forgives the mistakes life is unable to avoid. It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences, new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life. When two people pledge their love and care for each other in marriage, they create a bond unique unto themselves which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential made in the hearts of two people who love each other and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

I take you as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, and in all the ways that life may find us. I give you this ring as a symbol of my enduring love and joy. As a ring has no end, neither shall my love for you.”

“Marriage is never being too old to hold hands. Remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day. At no time taking the other for granted. Having a mutual sense of values and common objectives. Standing together facing life. Forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family. Doing things for each other not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. Speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude. Not looking for perfection in each other. Cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor. Having the capacity to forgive and forget. Giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow. Finding room for things of the spirit. A common search for the good and the beautiful. Establishing a relationship in which independence is equal, dependence is mutual, and obligation is reciprocal. Not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

They now wish to remove their bracelets which have been an anchor of this relationship during the miles apart.”

“Today, this relationship is symbolized through the pouring of these two individual containers of sand one, representing you BRIDE and all that you were, all that you are, and all that you will ever be, and the other representing you, GROOM, and all that you were and all that you are, and all that you will ever be. As these two containers of sand are poured into the third container, the individual containers of sand will no longer exist, but will be joined together as one. Just as these grains of sand can never be separated and poured again into the individual containers, so will your marriage be.”

The wedding was planned in 4 weeks (!), the dress was made by mother, the ties were bought the day before, and the entire UK family, in addition to my family that’s spread widely across the US, came to be with us. We celebrated.

To show the humor we share with each other, our first dance was the CONGA. We had a great time. We also showed our love by dancing to “Collide” by Howie Day.

Mr P, I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary my love.

Much Love,

If you’re a newbie here, welcome!

BTW – May Photo Challenge will return next Friday, May 18th and will include Day 4-18. 🙂