Your Dream Day Wedding Planning Podcast with Kathy Piech-Lukas

Proposing to Your Wedding Party: Asking your Bridesmaids and Groomsmen with Trisha Mack of Boyfriend Baskets

November 01, 2023 Kathy Piech-Lukas Season 1 Episode 9
Your Dream Day Wedding Planning Podcast with Kathy Piech-Lukas
Proposing to Your Wedding Party: Asking your Bridesmaids and Groomsmen with Trisha Mack of Boyfriend Baskets
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Guess what? It's not just your partner you're going to propose to, but your wedding party too! Get ready to have an insightful conversation with Trisha Mack, the genius behind Boyfriend Baskets, and host Kathy Piech-Lukas, wedding planner with Your Dream Day, about the growing trend of 'proposing' to your wedding party. Discover how personalized gifts and boxes can help you ask your friends to be part of your big day in the most memorable way. There's also a financial element to being in a wedding party, so think about your friends' and family members' current life situations before popping the question. From surprise deliveries, small gatherings, and special messages, we've got you covered on unique ways to make the proposal special.

As we move on, Trisha opens up about her invaluable experience in crafting bespoke gifts for weddings and how she helps couples make their proposals unforgettable. We walk you through the process she employs to customize baskets and the exciting range of gifts she offers. Wondering where to find her? She's on Etsy! And before we wrap things up, Trisha has some priceless advice for those planning a proposal. Don't miss out on future episodes of Your Dream Day Podcast for more amazing wedding planning tips and tricks. Tune in on yourdreamday.com or your preferred podcast platform.

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Speaker 1:

We are making our own story as we go, as we go, as we go, hopin'. We are hopin' that we'll go, so we'll be ever after, ever after. Hi, I'm Kathy Keech-Lucas. Welcome to your Dream Day Podcast. And today we are with Tricia Mack from the. Boyfriend's Baskets. And we are going to talk about the second proposal that you need to have during the course of your wedding planning.

Speaker 2:

It's not just the one from your fiance.

Speaker 1:

You have to ask your wedding party. Will you be my bridesmaid? Will you be my groomsman? So that is what we're going to talk about today. Tricia, thank you so much for coming in. Thank you so much for having me, Kathy. So talk a little bit about Boyfriend Baskets. Okay, well.

Speaker 2:

Boyfriend Baskets. It came to life in 2022. I always had a love of giving gifts and, you know, making people feel extra special, and so with that, I've always wanted to have a small business and it just one day came to life. And here we are nearing the end of 2023. And I now have my Etsy shop and I've served us lots of brides and other people and it's going great.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's wonderful, that's wonderful. So the new trend now, I think it kind of evolved from when people were doing prom proposals, when they would say would you go to the prom with me? And because that was when I started seeing the proposals for the wedding party. So tell us a little bit more about how does that whole process work?

Speaker 2:

Okay, so first we would have a consultation with the bride. I can do one of two things. I could do a theme, if she had some kind of theme for her wedding. Or I could do the colors of the wedding flowers, colors that can be incorporated. But she would choose a basket or a box and then kind of set a budget. And then when we go from there, how many people are in your wedding party? How many you know? Do you want to do a mother of the bride box, a mother of the groom box? Mother of the bride box is one of my most popular boxes.

Speaker 1:

I could see that Like does she probably include some things for the day of the wedding? Absolutely, Absolutely and one time even though it's called boyfriend, it's actually special occasion basket, it is.

Speaker 2:

It's for any occasions. It just so happens that bridal parties and brides I just kind of hit the nail on the head with that and I feel like there's a real need for that. You want to make those people feel special that are going to support you on that special day.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so how are people proposing? Okay?

Speaker 2:

So what have you?

Speaker 1:

been seeing.

Speaker 2:

What I have been seeing the most of is you know they want to have something kind of that fits their personality. So you know some of them are putting a personal note in there from themselves, or I can create something for them. Does this just explain that they can't do this without them? And inside the box it can be anything from like spa products to be like a pampering thing for your bridal party, or it could be something more special for the day of Well like one thing I think people need to remember, when you ask somebody to be in your wedding party, that you're asking them to make a significant time commitment and financial commitment.

Speaker 1:

I think people don't realize that when they're thinking, oh, my best friend has to be in my wedding party because I was in hers and she's my best friend from college, you also have to look at her personal situation and what she's dealing with at that point in time. She may be expecting a baby, she might be between jobs because you have to look at all the costs that are associated with being in a wedding party. It's going to include the cost of the dress, the cost of shoes, the cost of altering that dress, a hotel night stay the weekend of the wedding, hair makeup, absolutely, if you're doing the wedding shower, some of the decoration costs for that. If you are doing the Bachelorette party, there might be a party buzz rental involved. So there's definitely a financial commitment when you are proposing to somebody to be in your wedding party. So when you're at that stage, you know, take a step back and take a look and see where is she in her life.

Speaker 1:

If she says no, it may have absolutely nothing to do with you. It may have to do with where she is in that chapter of her life. And is she going to have the finances to be part of your wedding party? Or is she going to be expecting a baby and having to get a dress size that's three sizes bigger than what she normally would wear and maybe she might not feel comfortable with that?

Speaker 2:

What are?

Speaker 1:

some things that you notice as far as when people are asking Like how?

Speaker 2:

are they?

Speaker 1:

asking.

Speaker 2:

How are they asking? Well, we can do one of two things Either I can actually personally deliver this box and it's a surprise, or I deliver to the bride and then she's having a gathering and she's presenting it. I had one case where this was a huge bridal party. I think there were 12 people.

Speaker 1:

Oh my goodness, that's a sorority house. Yeah, it was.

Speaker 2:

And they had a fun evening. They planned this huge dinner and all of them had at their place seating. They had their gift from the bride. So, yeah, yeah, so it was really a great way of joining it. So I think it depends on the bride's personality and what vision she has. And when I have that consultation with the bride whether it be the phone, a video or in person we can discuss that and I can bring their vision to life.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's awesome, yeah Well. And the same thing kind of goes for groomsmen as well, because they have to rent a suit or a tuxedo. There's a cost associated with that. There's a cost associated with the bachelor party. There's a cost associated with the weekend of the wedding, covering the hotel, accommodations and whatnot. And we do see, depending on the bride and groom's budget, some take care of that cost or some of the costs. Like I have a bride right now who said I'm covering the cost of hair and makeup for my wedding party. That's my gift to them. And then there are others who are just like no, if they want hair and makeup done, I will make the artist available to them, but they need to cover the cost of that.

Speaker 2:

Great.

Speaker 1:

And I think that you know. The other thing that people need to keep in mind is how large your bar to party is as well. Right, because when you said the 12 people, first thing that comes to my mind usually when we have large wedding parties like that, it's either somebody who has a lot of siblings yeah, for both sides have a lot of siblings, and the siblings are in the wedding party or it's somebody who's been in a sorority of fraternity and they all been in each other's weddings and it's just kind of continuing with the tradition, right? Um? So on the wedding day, not to keep in mind 12 people on each side is 24 people plus the bride room is 26, or you know what?

Speaker 1:

the engaged couple, that's a hermit of your own, with bride-to-bride. If you have flora rose ring bearers, that's also a few more, I mean the biggest wedding party I've ever had had 28 people on it, oh my goodness. And you know, one thing to keep in mind is it's very difficult when people are consuming alcoholic beverages. Yes, and trying to do crowd control with that number of people.

Speaker 1:

So if you have a large wedding, party like that, make sure you let me photographer know, make sure you let your DJ know, because they may need a little bit of extra time.

Speaker 1:

Rounding up the troops, because they need to get indistracted, because they may have some, you know, alcohol in their systems, or even just the large crowd itself can make it difficult to keep everybody's attention span, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

And then also the thing to keep in mind with your wedding party. If you have a large wedding party and you have, let's say, have your ceremony in a church and then you have your reception at a banquet hall, you have to get transported from point A to point B, right, and so party bus will accommodate about 30 people and you can fit a broader party of 24 plus, you know, the couple in A vehicle like that, right, a vehicle like that is going to run you. I mean, you're gonna have a three hour, three to five hour minimum, because that's how even that's how transportation companies work, right, and you know you're gonna have to budget for that as well. So there's a lot to keep in mind when you're choosing your wedding party one, how you got boxy, how you're gonna propose to them which is what Tricia can help you with, that's your department.

Speaker 1:

Right, but once they've been proposed to. You know you have to take a look at your overall wedding budget because some of those costs associated with a large group of people may fall on you. You know, if now you have your wedding ceremony reception in the same location and they have a suite where you can get ready at the location, then you don't have to worry about Renting a party bus, right. But if you are into locations.

Speaker 1:

that's another feat that you're gonna have to incur as a result of having that big group, right, yeah, and so, like I'm gonna go back to the baskets, what are some things that, like you've seen that the mothers get on the wedding day?

Speaker 2:

Okay, so Brights, you know, with their moms, this can be a special bonding experience between a mother and a daughter and Just something that the mother has dreamed of, you know, maybe for their daughter since they were a little girl. And you want your mom to feel special, you want, you know, I want her to feel that she's there and included and you're thinking of her and you're thinking her for raising you. So what I've seen mostly is I did have one bride include a necklace in the box, but mostly it's pampering items. It's maybe her favorite scent of candle, maybe some shower steamers, maybe a bath bomb, maybe some really nice hand lotion, bubble bath, something to make her feel special and pampered and loved. That is my slogan make them feel loved. Love weddings no, I've never put that together.

Speaker 1:

Great great.

Speaker 2:

But I do include. If I'm delivering a date out, I could include a fresh flower, but I like to include a flower that's artificial, just for preservation reasons. But I make it look beautiful and I've had nothing but compliments and I have five star reviews. That's amazing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and it's such a great idea. You can do something as simple as just writing a really nice note, but doing something personalized like that really makes it look like you took the time to think about them as a person and extend them a special gift for them getting the gift of themselves to you for the next year.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and speaking of notes part of my business, I do they can personalize it. So if they wanted the mug to say you know I have to wind tumblers and mugs it can say mother of the bride, it could say their name, it could be whatever you want it to be. And then also, I do include, if someone wanted to personalize a note, I hand write personally whatever words they'd like to include to make that extra special. You had mentioned Flower Girls, ring Bearers earlier. The big wedding party of, I think, 12, they also included their Flower Girls and Ring Bearers and I did do boxes for them as well and I made it really kid friendly, really wonderful things. She had a theme and things she wanted included in each and I followed through with that. Oh, that's so sweet.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's so sweet. So how can people find boyfriend baskets?

Speaker 2:

Okay, so my Etsy shop. You just look up boyfriend baskets and you should be able to find me on there. I'm the shop owner. Again, I'm Trisha Mack, so just look me up and you'll see a list of all that I have to offer. I can do it for any occasion, but I just specialize in providing for weddings.

Speaker 1:

Trisha, thank you so much for coming in today. Thank you for tuning in. We hope you enjoy your wedding party proposals proposal number two that you'll have during your wedding planning process. Please tune in for future podcasts. You can go on yourdreamdaycom and stream from there, or you can get it wherever you download your podcasts. This is Kathy Peach Lucas with your dream day. Happy planning.

Proposing to Your Wedding Party
Finding Boyfriend Baskets for Weddings