The Best Bridesmaid Gifts in Life are Free

When the time came to choose a wedding dress, they too agonized over white, whiter and whitest. When you got cold feet, they took you out for a pedicure. So when it comes to bridesmaid gifts, you want to lavish your true-blue bridesmaids for all their support. But you've got a negative bank balance, and the expression "love doesn't cost a thing" just doesn't seem to apply to bridesmaid gifts.

For all the broke brides out there, Weddingstand has your answer. Weddingstand's exclusive bridesmaid gifts guide proves the best bridesmaid gifts in life really are free. With a little creativity, gumption, and a bit of stiletto-leather, we'll help even the most maxed-out brides deliver bridesmaid gifts to remember.

1) Choose-your-own bridesmaids' dresses. The number one best choice for free bridesmaid gifts? Letting your bridesmaids pick their own bridesmaids' dresses. If you can't fork out major cash on bridesmaid gifts, helping bridesmaids save a significant sum of their own makes a sweet bridesmaids' gift. Plus, letting your attendants choose their own bridesmaids' dresses is a major nod to their fashion mojo. An ego boost and putting their comfort over your own taste? Choose-your-own bridesmaids' dresses are certainly some of the best bridesmaid gifts around!

2) Hire a wedding planner. This may not seem related to bridesmaid gifts, but sparing your attendants all the grunt work of envelope licking, dress shopping, cake tasting and bouquet-making is a truly great bridesmaid gift indeed. By hiring a professional to handle the heavy lifting, you and your bridesmaids are free to do what you do best: gossip, giggle, prank call the groomsmen, etc. Also, by relieving your attendants of any heinous free labor, bridesmaid gifts cease to become a necessary atonement for bridezilla behavior.

3) A hot groomsman of their very own. No matter how many bridesmaid gifts of personalized totes and hand lotion they receive, what most attendants really want is a slice of the love that the bride and groom so clearly possess. For thoughtful bridesmaid gifts that won't cost a thing, hook each bridesmaid up with a hunky groomsman with whom to drink and dance the night away. Handsome escorts beat out scented soap as bridesmaid gifts any day!

4) Do them a favor. Maybe they've been running themselves ragged fetching your altered dress from the tailor, enduring the caterer's latest concoction, or listening to endless versions of organ music. For all the errand time they've committed to you, why not return the favor? Offering to wash their car, pick up their dry cleaning, help them write that essay or keep them company in the grocery aisle are all great bridesmaid gifts that don't cost a thing!

5) Get crafty. Here's a chance to put your personal talents to use! Are you a master scrapbooker? Take all their scattered pictures and empty albums and combine them into a professional-quality photo montage. Got old yarn lying around? Whip out a pair of gloves or some cozy socks for bridesmaid gifts! Tons of canned fruit taking up space in the freezer? Homemade jam with pretty personalized labels can make a great gesture. Homemade bridesmaid gifts are a guaranteed hit and don't take much effort to create. Just use your natural talents and get to work!

6) Honor them at the ceremony. Because being an attendant can often feel like a second fiddle position next to the bride and groom, their own special moment in the ceremony can make a great bridesmaids' gift. After the Maid of Honor toasts you, get up and toast the bridesmaids for all the work they've done. A photo collage of the bridesmaids at the reception, an acknowledgement in the wedding program, or a special song dedicated to your attendants also does the trick. Helping bridesmaids feel special on the big day is one of the best bridesmaid gifts of all.

7) The thing they always wanted. Can't afford to get your girls brand-new bridesmaid gifts? The best presents of all might be right under your nose. For example, why not hand over the Chinese silk robe your best pal's always drooled over? You'll get plenty of new lingerie at the bridal shower anyways! Your mini-George Foreman grill? Why not pass it on to a steak-loving pal? After all, you've got a husband to grill for you now. By bequeathing your bridesmaids the tokens of your single past, you help make their single life that much sweeter .and who knows, you might be bestowing a little bridal luck on them! Second-hand bridesmaid gifts can be just as sweet, as long as the same thoughtfulness goes into the giving. In other words, no, your old loofah or eighth grade ice skates do not constitute sweet second- hand bridesmaid gifts. It's a gift, not a garage sale!

8) Indulge their eccentric hobby. With all the wedding preparation, you've had little time to grab coffee, take phone calls, or go shopping. That's why bridesmaid gifts that include quality time may be the kind she'll cherish most of all. If you are strapped for cash, but looking for great bridesmaid gifts, consider spending an afternoon or evening indulging a friend's eccentric hobby. Got an early bird pal who loves a six a.m. hike in the woods? Grit your urban brunch-loving teeth, grab your tennies and take a walk in the woods with your bridesmaid buddy. Got another attendant who loves old Alfred Hitchcock movies? Rent a few of these flicks and head over for a night of popcorn and suspense. Remember, by being in your wedding, your bridesmaids are engaging in an interest of yours they may not understand or share. Doing one of their favorite hobbies in return could be one of the greatest bridesmaid gifts they ever get.

9) Give them free reign of your sweet digs. It is a common complaint that single people never get to experience the extravagant spoils only a wedding registry can provide. Even the most elaborate bridesmaid gifts can't compare to Tiffany lamps and fine china. If you've got a hot honeymoon in Tahiti planned, why not offer your bridesmaids a little R&R of their own by letting them crash at your new house while you're gone? You get free house sitters, and they get free rein of your awesome new HDTV, groovy married-person cappuccino maker and plush new spa towels. Giving the girls a little taste of married- person life is a bridesmaids' gift they won't soon forget!

10) Match Maker, Match Maker. Take those hot bikini pictures from Mexico and make all your bridesmaids profiles on Match.com. Sure these may not be the bridesmaid gifts your girls asked for (or even agreed to) but once the replies from hoards of handsome fellas start pouring in, we're sure they'll thank you! Just don't be surprised to find yourself doing bridesmaids' duty a few months from now!

And if you do have a little money set aside for bridesmaid gifts, WeddingStand's got a whole collection of bridesmaid gifts to suit every price range. To find yours, click here.