Choosing your bridesmaids can be a painless or a very painful task. It’s usually pretty painless if you have several sisters and some close friends you’ve had for a long time. It can be painful if you are part of your college’s sorority, or you are the type of person who enjoys being surrounded by many friends instead of just a few close ones. But, no matter how painless or painful choosing your bridesmaids may be, it should be painless and fun to ask them once you’ve made the decision. Here are some creative ideas to pop the question to your closest gal pals.

1.A great way to ask is to purchase a bridesmaid handbook such as “The Bridesmaid’s Survival Guide” by Mary Kay McDermott or “101 Uses For A Bridesmaid Dress” by Cindy Walker. You can mail it or invite them all out for lunch and give it all to them as a gift along with a thoughtful note that explains to each one why you’ve chosen them to be one of your bridesmaids.

2.Contact your local florist or a florist that lives in your prospective bridesmaid(s) town and have a miniature bouquet sent to each one. This is great because you can contact the florist over the phone or in person, regardless of where your bridesmaid(s) live. Have the florist attach a note that says something like, “Will you be my bridesmaid? Love, Amy”. Your friends will be so excited to get the flowers that there is no way they will turn you down.

3.If the weather is nice, you can invite all your friends out for a picnic in the park. Before your friends get there you can come up with some sort of scavenger hunt and plant things all around the park that have to do with being a bridesmaid. Maybe you could hide things like a fake bouquet of flowers, a few ugly bridesmaid’s dress you found at a thrift store, and a couple of kiddie tiaras you can find in the toy section. After you enjoy your nice picnic lunch you can send them on the hunt! Once they find all the items you can end the scavenger hunt with them finding nice notes addressed to each one of them explaining that you want them to be your bridesmaids and why.

4.Sending your bridesmaids a gift if they live far away is a great way to ask them. A great gift idea is to have t shirts made that say “Bridesmaid” and “Maid of Honor” with the wedding date on them and mail them to your prospective bridesmaids, along with a nice letter or card. You can have personalized stationary made at several online websites that would coordinate with your wedding or bridal shower theme.

While these are all great ideas for asking your bridesmaids to share your special day with you, it’s up to you to decide if you want to ask them together or separate. Some brides prefer to ask their maid of honor first and then their other bridesmaids second. This gives your maid of honor the opportunity to decline your invitation and still give you time to come up with a replacement without making your other bridesmaids feel like second pick if you have to ask one of them to be your maid of honor. It may also be nice to have your maid of honor’s help when you are planning on how to ask your other bridesmaids. No matter how you decide to do it, it is guaranteed to be a memorable experience for you and your bridesmaids.