DIY Engagement Basket

Whoa. Hey there. Remember me? Well, my name is Caroline and I occasionally blog over here. I say occasionally because apparently I don't do it often anymore, but I promise I'm working on that.

Anyways, you may have noticed that I'm the maid of honor for my sister's wedding. He proposed over Christmas break and we celebrated their love, but the tradition in my community is that the girl doesn't wear her ring until it's blessed by a priest at their engagement party. So three months later, I found myself on a plane flying home on a Wednesday night to spend a couple days organizing and getting ready for the engagement party.

And let me tell you, it was fantastic! We danced all night, celebrated and diedddd when he got down on one knee in front of all of her family and friends to finally put the ring on her finger. I think she blacked out because she couldn't believe it was happening - me either. I was on the verge of tears haha!

The hardest part about being a Maid of Honor (or Maid of Dishonor, as she sometimes calls me) from afar is not being able to be there with her for all the decisions. I had to help choose engagement invitations and thank you cards over the phone, we discussed the bridal retinue over group message, and we started planning bits and details of her bridal shower over speaker phone while my other sister and I road tripped. So when I headed home for the engagement party, I wanted to show her that I supported her and was still thinking about her and her journey even though I was thousands of miles away and dealing with school amongst other things. So, I decided to make her an engagement basket and I can't tell you how easy it was.

I started with a simple basket - you can pick them up almost everywhere, but I've found some cheaper options at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Joanne's and Michael's. It's entirely up to you what you want to throw in there, but I'll give you a few ideas and show what I threw in mine. 

I knew I wanted to include some of our favorite wedding-themed movies in the engagement basket, so adding Bridesmaids was a no-brainer because it's one of our favorite comedies and it's perfectly wedding themed (and hysterical!). Growing up, we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding at the movies as a family, and laughed at how similar they were to our own Lebanese family, and we always joke and quote the movie on a regular basis. So I knew I needed to include it in the basket as well.. 

It wouldn't be an engagement basket without wedding planning books, obviously. When I met Carley Roney last summer, I was so inspired by her story and what she does at the XO Group, so when I was searching for planning books and found some of the knot's books, I knew I needed to include them. I picked the ultimate wedding planner, and the book of wedding lists because I figured they covered everything that you really needed when it came to planning a wedding, and I was so right! Between the two, everything and more are covered and discussed. 

And what engagement basket would be complete without a fun way to show off your new status. I saw this feyoncé sweater online and knew my diva of a sister would love it, and she 100% does - I mean, how could you not?!

Topped with a picture frame with a photo of her and her fiancé, the basket was complete and well-received. Can we just say best Maid of Dishonor EVER?! Now go forth and make one of your own for all of your engaged friends.. the season is coming!