You're invited to a wedding and it’s time to get a wedding gift for the happy couple. What options do you have? To spend a solid sum and buy something useful (in your opinion!) or to use your imagination and get the newlyweds a creative and memorable gift. It’s up to you. But do you really think that a couple needs 3 toasters and 5 dinnerware sets? Sure, you can always give them money – a universal and desirable present. But that’s boring, don’t you think? We’d like to offer you a few cool ideas of cheap but adorable wedding gifts that the newlyweds will remember long after their big day.
Let's not be traditional about this. Usually, people try to get something really practical for the couple. But you can have a lot of fun getting wedding gifts for folks. Of course, if you don't just do cash, because a lot of people do cash and nobody has problems with that.
But if you're looking for a gift, something tangible, then try to be creative. People don't need a toaster anymore – it can be a second wedding or they’re already living together, they're established, they're getting married later in life, they don't need those basics. So, a fondue set or a toaster for a lot of weddings is not really a relevant gift.
Here are some good ideas of wedding gifts from Shoana Jensen, home&style expert and media personality.
Gift cards
Many of these presents could also be the bridal shower gift ideas as well. As you know, bridal showers and actual weddings are often themed. And this is a perfect gift for a travel theme. The couple is often out of budget because of the wedding, so instead of getting cash, consider giving gift cards. It is a more thought-out idea than cash, because some people are uncomfortable with cash.
You can talk to everybody who comes to the bridal shower and organize them. Arrange several people to get gift cards that will form one solid present. For example, each of several people buys 2-3 days of staying in the same nice hotel where the couple can spend their honeymoon. In the end, the newlyweds will have a week or two of prepaid honeymoon and they won’t need to spend money from their own pocket. Or every person of a group buys a gift card for spa but each card is for a different procedure.
We are sure, it’ll be fun for the happy couple to put together their gift from several pieces.
Handmade decor gifts
Today, you can buy a lot of things online, including adorable handmade pieces from local artisans or even from craftsmen across the world. These things are usually homemade and very personal, that's why they are perfect wedding gifts.
So, you can give the couple something like a piece of art for their home. Like this one: “Home is wherever I am with you”, and then at the bottom, it's personalized with their names and their wedding date.
It’s very simple but it's a particular style. You can get it for somebody if you know that it matches their taste. Frame it in a beautiful frame – nice gift.
This one is another, similar piece. It's a map of the world we live in, a global world. People are crossing the world literally to meet their significant others. If you know that the bride and groom are from two different parts of the world and they met each other and decided to spend the life together, you can make such a map for them. It's a map of the world and there's a heart in the two places where the bride and the groom is from, and a dotted line that connects them. And their names and the wedding date is at the bottom.
Another gift from this series is a handmade cutting board. It has the names of the couple, their family name (they can use two initials if they're not changing their name), and the wedding date. And the quality of these boards is very high, so the newlyweds can use it as a décor item in their home.
You can easily make or buy a set of Mr. and Mrs. pillows. Again, a family name and a wedding date on it.
Custom-made cufflinks
Another cute gift is custom-made cufflinks. There is a photo in one side and a sign in the other side that may say “Father of the bride”, “Brother of the groom”, “Father of the groom”, etc. You can send these artisans any photo you have and they'll make it into the cufflinks.
Weather vanes
If the bride and groom are cottage people and live in the country, you can order custom-made weather vanes for them. They're working and they’re fun. You can choose different styles and designs, for instance, these vanes are for martini people and for wine people. But any other theme is possible.
Photo album
And the last but not least is a wedding photo album. If you consider such gifts to be out of fashion and something from the previous century, think again. Today, people don’t usually print their photos anymore, all of these beautiful shots are stored on computers and can be easily lost. Even if your photos are in the cloud, they’re not at hand and you can’t quick&easy show them to your guests or family. It’s much better to have your wedding photos both in the cloud and printed. Because these are the most valuable photos.
So, remember that the best wedding gift is something that makes the bride and groom’s hearts melt, something significant for them and the new family they’re creating. And such gifts are good because if one day the couple has a marriage crisis or a fight, they might look at your present and remember how happy they were at their wedding. What if your wedding gift can save their marriage?!
