Top Five Gifts for Galentine’s Day

This weekend could not come soon enough! We’ve been so excited to spend the special day with our loved ones- all our loved ones. You may have been focused on your significant, but you can’t forget about your girlfriends! Valentine’s day is all about showing love and giving to the people that you love. If you’ve been focusing on the fiance the last few days, take some time out to pick up something sweet for the ladies in your life too. If you’re caught up on the 14th with Valentine’s Day, save brunch on the 15th for Galentine’s Day!

Frame Your Friends

Need something quick but cute to do? Pick up some fun frames (we love the frame section at Target for a good score) and look through your timeline for some fun pictures. Look for throwbacks (happy Throwback Thursday!), group pictures, just really cute pictures together. A framed photo is a perfect quick reminder of the good times.

Bag It

You know what we ALL need that we never have enough of? Reusable bags! Reusable bags are perfect to help the environment, transport your groceries safely, and they’re cute. Go on a hunt for some cute reusable bags for your girlfriends- it’s always a great little gift! If you’re on a budget these are easy to afford for all your friends. We’ve spotted cute ones at Trader Joes, Forever 21, and Target that are all under $5.00. If you want to be really sweet, stuff it with their favorite snacks!

Spa Night

If you have a little more cash to spend, put together a full night of indulgence for your friends! Get a basket or bag and stuff it with candles, a bath bomb, and a face mask. Give her the gift of relaxation! If you want to get really fun, you can get a mug with some tea or hot cocoa to make it a cozy night in. You can also tuck away a bottle of wine in there to make it an extra special spa night.

But First..

If your friends are all about that #Instagram or #SelfieLife, make it easier for them and spring for some selfie sticks! They are seriously the gift of the season and it’s still going strong. If you look hard enough you can score them for around $5-$10 each, and for a few extra bucks you can get a bluetooth button so you don’t have to do the whole ten second timer thing. Just make sure you make your girlfriend promise they only post pictures where you all look good!

Binge!

Want to really make your friends smile? Indulge their guilty pleasures and pick up a season or two of their favorite girly show. Gilmore Girls, The OC, Gossip Girl- it’s all fair game! Make her promise to binge watch a few episodes with you so you get some girl time in. She’ll love having something fun to watch and she’ll remember how awesome you are every time she picks it up!

 

Five Tips On Creating A Guest List

Putting together the guest list for your wedding can be the headache you never saw coming, but it doesn’t have to be. The guest list is on the list of the most important things pertaining to your wedding. I mean, what’s a wedding without people to watch you walk down the aisle in your beautiful gown? Let me help you make this a little easier with these five tips on creating a wedding guest list.

Budget- Before you can even begin to put a list together, you must know your budget. Without a budget, there is no way for you and your partner to create a good guest list. Creating a list without first budgeting, means you’ll be recreating the list later.

Share The Responsibility- You don’t have to do this alone. Decide, with your partner, how many guests is ideal to the both of you. When that is decided, you both can create separate lists. Once you have your lists completed,  you can look over both lists together.  Chances are, you’re going to eliminate people from both lists for one reason or another. Sitting down and creating a list together has been known to cause issues, which is why doing it at the same time but separately is great way to go.

No Parents Allowed- Keep your parents as far away from your list as possible. Moms get excited when they hear the word wedding. Some forget that it’s not their wedding, but rather yours. Allowing parents to get involved also means you will end up inviting family members you haven’t spoken to since you were a kid. You also don’t want to see more of your parents’ friends than you see of your own. Of course it’s ok to invite some of their friends, but keep them away from your list.

Categories- Creating lists broken up into three different categories is always great. The first one is must have.  This list is filled with close friends and family that you are going to invite no matter what. The second one is the maybe, probably, yes. This one consists of friends and family you want at the wedding but might not necessarily make the cut. Then there is the I don’t know list. This list may consist of  distant family members, and people you haven’t seen in a while but wouldn’t mind seeing. Once the three lists have been created, you can then get out your trusty red pen and start the process of elimination.

Inviting Kids- It is so important to decide whether or not children are going to be allowed at the wedding. Allowing children means more people. Your guest list can quickly go from fifty to seventy-five. Excluding children also cuts your list down due to the fact that some new mothers might not be ready to be apart with their little one. Think this through and make the right decision for you.

I know, this seems like a lot of work, and it is. However, you should think about it like this: the sooner you finish your guest list, the sooner you can get married to the one you love. In the end, it’ll all be worth it.