To spend £125 on bridesmaid gifts?

[letsgogogo]

We're getting married abroad this year during our trip to Disney world

We're not having a Disney wedding, just a small ceremony on the beach. I was thinking of giving my bridesmaids of which there are 2, a pandora bracelet each with a Disney charm... my bridesmaids are 17 and 11

So depending on which charm I get it's looking like the gift will be 125 each which my DP feels is too much especially considering there will be 3 boys who will also need to have the same amount spent on them too.

My feeling is it's a nice keepsake that can be added to year after year and as we're not having a reception or florist or hair and make up, photographer or anything like that the costs are already pretty low but I'm clueless when it comes to weddings.

Aibu to spend this much? Any alternative keepsakes I could get?

Are they having to pay to travel and stay for the wedding? If so your partner is obviously forgetting the huge expense they have to fork out.

I spent more and the wedding h was local and all costs covered as appreciated time given up by my bridesmaid.

It’s a nice idea if you think they’ll be into them.
I wouldn’t personally worry too much about matching the money exactly, just an equally thoughtful present would be fine.
When I was a bridesmaid (of 3) recently, the b&g spent a lot of money on our presents (completely unnecessary but just so lovely at an already very expensive time that they thought so much of us) and roughly an equal amount on their 2 best men.
It’s really down to what you can afford though, if you have the funds to get the boys something of similar value and just as thoughtful, go for it.

I think that £125 for a Pandora bracelet is an absolute rip. I would much prefer something personal for that kind of money.

I agree with your DH that thank you gifts are part of the wedding budget, and something to agree on the budget for together.

11 year old may like it, I'd imagine the 17 year old wouldn't be seen dead in a pandora bracelet!

One of the bridesmaids is my daughter and the other is my niece who is coming to Disney anyway At the same time and I know she wants to be a bridesmaid.

We've been engaged for a while but I don't want a big traditional wedding so we decided last minute to elope while we are there. So it's literally just turn up, say I do and then spend the day on the beach but I wanted the girls to feel like bridesmaids iyswim.

We will have my PIL there, our kids and then my aunt and her family as they live close to Disney.

Really @WineAt4pm ? I didn't even think of that... no idea what's considered 'cool'

My daughter is 11, she wouldn't know what a pandora bracelet is but I thought it was somethjng they could keep.

Agree that 17 year old may not like Pandora. I would go for something quality from an independent jewellers if you're spending that much.

You could get a silver necklace from Tiffany’s (buy them when you are in the US) for around the same price.

A 17 yr olds wouldn’t like a pandora bracelet?

What nonsense !

My dd is 16 and loves hers, a few of her friends have them and when we were in the shop before and after Christmas the shop was filled with teenagers around the same as Edmonton picking bracelets, charms and rings.

I think it’s a lovely gift but I wouldn’t spend that kind of money on bridesmaids,

Neither my 14 nor 16yo daughters would be interested in pandora or charm jewellery although they have friends who are so it’s really just personal preference. You know them better than us!

I work in an FE college and loads of the teenage girls wear Pandora stuff. If you are anywhere near the Bicester outlets it would be worth a trip to their store there as they had some of the Disney charms when I last went and my daughter bought a bracelet and charm for a very discounted price. One time we visited we got a bracelet and 3 charms for under £100, and because we’d bought that much we got extra gifts. Not sure if they run this all the time, but the more charms you buy the more discount you get. I think the bracelets are the same price as in store, but it’s the charms that bump the price up.

I hope you have a lovely wedding and enjoy your Disney trip!

Is that how much pandora are? Crazy for what they are....but something better quality!

I'm a jeweller and I make around 20/30 sets of bridesmaids gifts a month. My stuff isn't cheap so it's around that amount or more per piece. It's really common; if you've got the money then I would say do it. If you dont, then dont.

I don’t know that I would. The 11YO probably won’t appreciate the value of it and may break or lose it. The 17YO probably has more specific taste and may not even like it especially if it’s Disney but that’s your judgement as you know her better.

Can't imagine many 17-year-olds would want a Disney charm. Sounds like over-priced tat.

Check that they like Pandora. I would never have wanted something like that at any age. Bit maybe they will live it.

If you want to spend £625 on the 5 kids in your bridal party and your husband to be thinks it's too much, you'd be better off coming to some sort of compromise I think.

I think it's a lovely idea. You only get married once. X

It depends. I got my 7 year old flower girl a pandora bangle with a flower charm, then a Sister charm a few weeks later when I gave birth to her brother, then a few months later a birthday charm, followed by a Christmas charm...
Wouldn’t have given it to a child I wouldn’t have been filing up the rest of the bracelet for IYSWIM.
She loves it.

I think it's a really lovely idea @letsgogogo and how nice to have a keepsake. I don't know that the boys have to have the exact same amount spent, maybe you'll find something equally lovely for 75-100.

My daughter has asked for a pandora bracelet for her 18th but not a charm one. Didn't even know they did other kinds until then though 😂

I don’t think bridesmaids need ‘keepsakes’. It’s unlikely that they’ll treasure them forever, probably wear a few times and then consign to their ‘things I don’t like that much but don’t feel I should throw away’ drawer.

It sounds like a shedload of money for overpriced tat to me, but it's your money. I think you'll struggle to find anything for the boys that costs the same, though I wouldn't worry about matching the cost as the boys won't know what the girls' presents cost unless you tell them.

If you want Disney jewellery, why not open the search to the whole range? Better still, why not buy a good sterling silver chain bracelet for all your attendants, perhaps more massive, masculine ones for the boys, and start them with one dangly charm each?

And pandora lookalike stuff is available at a fraction of the cost. I nearly fell over when a colleague rattled her full pandora bracelet at us and laughed that it had cost her DH £2000 altogether, and that was years ago. I thought it looked more childish than stylish, though I get that each charm had a special meaning for her and her DH.

What a beautiful place to get married!

I would actually take them to the jewellery store on Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom or World of Disney at Disney Springs and choose something together. It would be so magical and they get something they want

I think it's a lovely idea. Pandora also do leather charm bracelets which are a cheaper alternative and possibly 'younger'. You would probably halve the cost that way which may be a good compromise.