Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses

I knew from the beginning of the wedding planning that I wanted to be accommodating to our guests as well as the folks in the wedding.  This was especially important to me and the hubby because we've been poor college students since...what seems like forever.  Many of our friends and family don't have to worry about this, but we do have friends who are just starting out, still in school, buying a new home, etc.  Picking things like attire for our bridesmaids/groomsmen, we wanted to be accommodating to budgets, and taste, as well as pick things that won't be a complete throw-away after the wedding (no one wants to spend hundreds of dollars for an ugly dress that will be thrown out after one night of use).

My solution for the girls:  mismatched dresses!  I love the look of this, as everyone looks their best, being able to pick out dresses that flatter their body type, and it can be a nice change from the normal identical attire.  I chose to go with shades of green.  See my post HERE for my instructions to the girls on dress specifications. 

I included my inspiration board designed at polyvore.com:

Here's how the girls did:

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I think they all did great:)  I have such pretty friends!

Bridesmaids gifts

So, being on a budget but also wanting to stay true to my theme, it was hard to find a gift that I thought could be useful and nice.  After much searching on Etsy (doesn't it always take a little longer on Etsy with all the sidetracking?), I found a cute makeup bag from Brighter Day.  Whitney, who owns the shop, was willing to do custom orders, does wonderful work, and was great to work with!  Here's her pictures of the final products:

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I liked the colors, the fact that Whitney used vintage lace, and that each one was different.  I ended up not only giving these to all 5 of my bridesmaids, but to the moms as well (My hubby's mom, my mom, and my step-mom), and my friend, Seyoung, who helped so much with my invitations and save the dates among other things (and who also just got engaged, btw!!!!).

Along with these, I included a thank you card, and a cute ivory oversized ring from my etsy shop, BumbleC:

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What did you get for your girls, and how did you decide what to get?