Two friends of mine just got married (my ex-girlfriend and her next boyfriend, AAMOF) and I need to give them a wedding present. What’s the nicest wedding gift you had, or gave, or heard of? I’m okay spending up to $200, which would cover some ideas I had in mind: a Saturday night at a very nice hotel in the countryside, a very nice dinner at a Manhattan restaurant, tickets to a play (they’re both in the theater, but can’t often afford top tickets).
For some reason, I keep thinking of some luxury that doesn’t last beyond the memories of it, I don’t know why, but maybe you’ll tell me that the nicest gift would be more practical, like a lifetime supply of oven mitts or something. Whatever your feeling on this matter, I’d love to learn what you think a great wedding gift might be.
What are their interests? Are either of them into any kind of cookery? Do they have similar hobbies, or tastes in art? Maybe you could ask them about the type of things they’d like? What was their registry like? I, personally think nice things for the kitchen are a good gift idea, because if the items are of a good quality, you can use them throughout your marriage. My parents still have most of the cookware they recieved as wedding gifts decades ago. Maybe a trip to a spa complete with massages for both of them? What about giving them a weekend doing a hobby type activity they both enjoy, like birdwatching, rock climbing, scuba diving, fishing, or horseback riding on a ranch? Tickets to an event like a play or concert or sporting event they’d both enjoy? Any of those might fit your bill.
Check to see if they’re registered somewhere. At a minimum, if you decide on a type of gift, you can see if they’ve already chosen a style that they like, and get them that, or find out they already have one so you don’t duplicate. My wife and I did that with our friends, we decided on a picnic basket for an engagement gift, and discovered while looking that they had already registered for one, so the choice was simple.
Of the stuff you’re thinking of, I’d go for the theater tickets. It’s difficult for people in the industry to see plays, since they’re generally working when plays are showing, and tickets are expensive for good seats. I don’t know that I’d select the play and showing for them, it may be better to have them select that, but it would be a wonderful and memorable gift.
Nope, I think you’re right. My favorite wedding gifts are things that will lead to memories instead of things that will lead to clutter. I’ve done plane tickets, baseball tickets, hotel gift certificates, etc.
If you do a gift certificate, make sure you inquire about expirations, as I understand that in some states, gift certificates are permitted to have expiration dates and you wouldn’t want to give them something they can’t use before it’s no good. Personally, I love the theater tickets idea.
If they are into cooking at all, I’d go for the practical. Get a nice basket and start filling it with things like a set of measuring cups, measuring spoons, a rolling pin, a couple of wire whisks, wooden stirring spoons, a peeler, and so on. Individually each item may be small, but when you start adding those suckers up it really can cost you. A large mixing bowl could sub for the basket, one can never have too many mixing bowls. Cookie cutters are nice.
Include one totally silly gadget, like a hamburger press for outdoor grilling that brands the patty with the logo of their alma mater. I’ve seen those around here in Topeka, for Kansas State University, and the University of Kansas(a wildcat and a Jayhawk, respectively.)
Well, a fun one would be an ice cream maker (we have a Cuisinart one) and a copy of the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream recipe book. You can make some seriously decadent things fairly easily, and it’s good for making things like frozen lemonade as well.
Also, when we were married, one of our friends gave us one of her favorite cookbooks with notes on certain recipes like “Anny Recommends!” or little tips on making the recipes (the sort stuff that you usually have to find out yourself, because they don’t mention it in the recipe). It was a great personal touch and really made the gift special.
Give them something that they’d love but would never indulge themselves with. There’s no easy answer because it’s different for everyone. When I got married, I loved the Lenox crystal wine glasses I received off my registry. They were totally impractical yet so lovely. I still have them today.
When my friend got married, I asked the other bridesmaids to go in on a 2 night stay at The Grand Hotel on Mackinack Island. They had planned on honeymooning on the island because after seeing the movie “Somewhere in Time” she fell in love with the place. They couldn’t afford to stay at the Grand so we got it as a gift. I think she appreciated the thought as much as the gift.
My best wedding present was a big National Geographic atlas. It’s a really cool one - it has the ocean floors and everything. Both my husband and I love maps and books, but good atlases and other reference books are expensive, so I’d never have bought one for myself.
I got a bunch of kitchen stuff for my wedding, which was nice but there’s more to starting a life together than the kitchen. Plus I’ve run out of places to put things.
I like the idea of theater tickets. If Wicked is still playing try getting them tickets to that. From what I understand it’s an awesome show, very hard to get tickets to. You can buy the book and slip the tickets in it as a bookmark.
Some really nice and thoughtful things have been mentioned here, as well as some practical. Wanting to give something that lasts, whether it be physically or spiritually as a memory, is the goal of anyone buying a gift for someone they hold dear. I’ve recently bought gifts for weddings, graduations, retirements, and baby showers, so if you’d like I can offer the following suggestions for a wedding gift:
*If they celebrate it, a set of really nice Christmas ornaments. I know it’s summer, but come the holidays, many newlyweds are completely without decorations for the holidays and wind up buying something cheap and disposable.
*Crystal or Silver serving pieces, especially if they like to entertain. I have a set of crystal bowls in varying sizes given to me by my grandmothers, and I have loved them.
Those are just a couple off the top of my head to add to the already growing list of good ideas the others have provided.
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