Probably not the best idea for this particular case, but in general I tend to give a chip-and-dip set as a wedding gift. It is the one item I got as a wedding present that I use the most. Even those who don’t really do fancy entertaining can use it during the Superbowl or whatever. The one I got at my wedding was a beautiful hand-made pottery one, but I’ve given very casual ones from stores like the Pottery Barn.
I think that’s a really adorable idea. And for $200, you could set something really nice up- include some little foods from a gourmet store, too.
Does the house they’ve just bought have work that needs to be done? Could you offer to paint a room or help re-tile the bathroom or strip wallpaper or buy new curtains or install the new disposal or something along those lines?
I love the idea of a tree for the yard.
Never forget you have an entire year by the rules of such things, believe it or not.
Smile and wink and point out to your close friend you will be taking advantage of that to get them something you cannot speak of.
Let events unfold, once the wedding is done the honeymoon had and they settle into their new home you will be in a perfect position to deliver to them something that they truly need and desire. Perhaps you’ll hear of something they wish they had gotten but didn’t, or, perhaps as they furnish and develop their home something will arise that they wish for.
It will surely give your gift much impact arriving so much after the others. It will be very memorable and you have an opportunity for it to be truly unique. And, as a bonus, you get to play coy for a good long time. 
If they are tight on money, why not find a nice hotel with a jacuzzi room and treat them to a night out? You can put it in a basket with bath salts, massage oils or whatever.
I’ve never given any gift besides cash for a wedding so I am not sure but I know this went over big time when I gave it to my friend as a shower gift.
My favorite wedding gift that we received was a beautiful stained glass piece that an artist friend made for us. If you know your friends’ taste well enough and your talents lie in an artistic direction, something you’ve made would probably be very appreciated.
I also like the tree idea a lot.
Personally, I’m not artistic at all and usually give folks The Joy of Cooking. If they don’t have it, they need it. If they have it, it’s easy to exchange for another book they’d prefer.
It would never occur to me to give cash as a wedding gift, but obviously these things vary by region and family.
Well duh. Get them a book about football.
As I started to read this, I thought you were about to suggest that she join the happy couple for a three-way at some random point during their first year of marriage.
I agree with the others who have suggested that you combine something relatively useful or fun with some cash; the photo album with cash every few pages sounds pretty good.
Obviously I don’t know anyone involved, but couldn’t you ask one of them?
Hey! That’s FREE and MEMORABLE! 
I kid I kid.
Thanks for all the useful suggestions everyone. I’m going to investigate three of them. Y’all ROCK!
I think you might be right that it’s regional. In my social circle that what everyone does. Maybe some areas of the country it’s considered tacky, I don’t know. I’ve never given a gift at a wedding and I know my friends don’t. Guess it’s different everywhere.
I think if you don’t want to give money and it’s a really good friend I’d ask her parents or someone close. Tell them what you intend to spend and ask what they’d really like. A bowl might be beautiful but maybe there’s a table that they’d like but can’t afford. Practical wins for me I guess.
If they just bought a house they’d probably love a Home Depot gift card but that’s not very romantic.
Mmmph, you can make that romantic easy enough, buy a card and write something sweet about their new nest that they are building together, etc. Maybe put in a Friday’s gift card so they can have lunch after their romantic Saturday morning shopping for paint. 
Crock pots. I figure it’s so obvious than no one will dare give one as a gift, so without me, the poor couple would lead a sad, crockpotless existence.
I’ve never heard of it being tacky to give money as a wedding gift. It’s the preferred gift around my family. It is, however, tacky for the wedding couple to ask for money.
Do you have any talents that could contribute towards making their wedding day more memorable and/or cheaper? One of my good friends did the photography at our wedding which saved us a lot of money. Plus, every time I look at the pictures, I think of him. I know of people who’ve made the cake for friends’ weddings too. (Obviously that takes some pretty specialized skill though.)
At a friend’s wedding, another friend had put together a beautiful slide show with music to be played as people waited for the reception to start after the ceremony (while the bridal party was off doing photographs). It was extremely well done and had pictures of nearly everyone there and of the bride and groom from when they were little kids right up to the present. It was very memorable and something the couple really appreciated. Plus, he gave them a copy to keep, which was also a really nice present. (And it gave us all something to do while waiting for the reception to start, and it was fun to see the baby/kid pictures of our friends.)
If you’re a scrapbooking type and neither of them are, you could offer to help them put an album together of the wedding photos after the big event. That was just about the worst part of the whole wedding thing for me. I ended up just stuffing a bunch of pictures into a pretty looking album. They aren’t labeled and they’re in no way attractively presented. I’d love it if someone made me a nicer album/scrapbook.
This gift idea was actually my fathers so I can’t take credit for it. He did it for a friend of his and I followed suit many years later for a friend of mine. It takes a little leg work but it’s worth it. It seemed to be a big hit and others thought it was pretty genius. YMMV.
(Prerequisite: Gift getters must be wine drinkers, regular or occassional)
Go to a specialty wine store (where the people actually know about wines) and ask for 4 bottles of wine. One that will be aged well in a year, one that will be aged well in 5, aged well in 10, and 25.
Get some nice card stock stationary, some ribbons, and a basket.
Now handmake a little card to be tied to the neck of each bottle.
On each card write a sentence or two saying something like “This bottle is for your first anniversay, it should have aged well just like your marriage, blah, blah, blah…” you get the picture.
So basically they get 4 bottles of wine to be opened on their first, fifth, tenth, and 25th weeding anniversaries.
Put em in the basket with some dried grass or something.
I always give money and two silver dollars from the year of the marriage.
Wife and I just bought a house and we registered for expensive things at home depot, figuring people would instead get us gift certificates for to use towards those bigger purchases. It worked, and we got a lot of home depot gift cards.
Good thing, because when we bought our house, after closing, we had only a couple hundred bucks left over, yet we still had to buy over $1500 worth of stuff for the house (paint, supplies, etc). So the Home Depot gift cards were awesome.
But yeah, they’re not really romantic. But on the other hand, if they are handy, you can get the home depot how-to books which are very good.
Unique, precious and special? I make the couple a quilt so I guess that works. Commission a quilt from me.
j/k I am not soliciting business here on the Dope