Wedding gifts. So hard! How do you find 'the one'? That present the bride and groom will love? Here's a wedding gift guide to give you a little inspiration.
Back in the day, a wedding gift was supposed to help the happy couple set up their new home together. Now, with the majority of couples living together - some for five years or more - before tying the knot, that idea is somewhat outdated. Many couples opt out of creating a wedding gift list with a big department store and ask for honeymoon contributions instead. But a lot of people still like to get a wedding gift and want to choose something meaningful the bride and groom will love and actually keep. If that sounds like you but you could use a few ideas, this wedding gift guide will give you a little food for thought.
Remember the golden rule: know your bride and groom! That vintage bottle of red might be your idea of a fantastic wedding gift but if one of them prefers white wine to red? Not so much.
Wild Apple Tree
Image credit: thepresenttree.co.uk
Obviously they'll need a garden for this one but it's a good choice if you want something that will flower and grow over the years. Like a marriage. You see where I'm going with this, right? You can get cherry trees as well, which flower in spring and bear fruit in autumn. These trees tend to cost around £35 - £40. An apple tree is a sustainable kind of wedding gift the bride and groom will love if they like eco-friendly stuff.
An Experience They Can Enjoy Together
What are the bride and groom into? Do they love movies? If so, consider a cinema gift card. They'll love it if they're film people. Are they outdoorsy and adventurous? If so, how about something like a quad biking session or a Segway trek in the country? A cookery lesson is good for foodie couples. And everyone loves dining out, especially if someone else pays for it! Restaurant vouchers (do they have a favourite place to eat?) are also worth considering as they're great for date nights. As is a spa day or massage because planning a wedding can be pretty stressful!
Retro and Vintage Wedding Gifts for the Hipsters
Image credit: Esquire.com
No, I'm not suggesting you get them a twin tub of the kind my nan used to use. Or a mangle for that matter. A retro phone is a good choice. Esquire magazine came up with a great suggestion: a vintage 1950s-style record player. Vinyl is enjoying something of a renaissance, and every couple needs a kickass music collection.
Personalised Prints
Image credit: Artylicious
No wedding gift guide would be complete without personalised prints! Now, these don't have to be cheesy. My sister got us something I wouldn't have thought of but actually really love. It's still hanging on our bedroom wall four years later. It's a framed large-scale retro ticket stub that says 'Happily Ever After Admit 2 Cathy & Jim' and has our wedding date as well. Notonthehighstreet is a good place to look for personalised prints wedding gifts or Etsy, if you want one-of-a-kind pieces. Tread with care though, as this technically falls into the Art category so keep their taste in mind when you're choosing, not yours.
Bride & Groom Personalised LEGO Minifigures
Image credit: Pinterest
If you're looking for fun wedding gifts a geeky bride and groom will love, get them personalised LEGO minifigures. Upload a photo, build your minifig and then choose how you want it presented. They do nice display frames and boxes. You can choose whether to use standard LEGO parts or customised ones, which cost a bit more. The nice guys at LEGO send you a picture before they post it to you. Go to Minifigureme for more details.
Go Kitsch with Traditional Wedding Gifts
Image credit: Amazon.com
There is another option: go kitsch. Embrace the whole traditional wedding gift thing and get a selection of those classic items couples used to be given back in the 1950s and 1960s, when sex before marriage was still a big no-no and the very idea of living together was practically sacrilege. Go on, get them that melon baller! Be tongue-in-cheek about it and fill a box with Royal Family tea towels, his and hers flannels, a toaster (if you're feeling flush), can opener, a mop, mugs, and an egg slicer. Because every home needs pointless kitchen utensils! If you're looking for wedding gifts the bride and groom will love in a !funny because it's true' kind of way, the traditional gift angle could well be a winner. You do have to know them pretty well to get away with this one, though. Them seeing the funny side is a must for this idea to work.
Rob Ryan
For a fresh take on the traditional ceramics, plates, mugs and glassware, check out wedding-friendly gifts by Rob Ryan. He's an artist famous for his intricate, whimsical and romantic laser cuts, often with couples kissing. Think modern fairytale. Funky, and ever so slightly hipster.
Picture Frame
Yes, a picture frame. It might not be the most original entry in this wedding gift guide but if you pick a good quality, simple and classy one the bride and groom will love it because if there's one thing a wedding produces, it's pictures. Lots of pictures. And this way they won't have to go out and buy a bunch of picture frames when they've already spent lots on the wedding and honeymoon.
Champagne
Personalised or not, champagne is a classic wedding gift the bride and groom will love if they like booze. And let's face it, that's highly likely. It costs around £40 to personalise a bottle or wooden box with names and dates. Champagne flutes are good too because that's something the couple are less likely to have invested in and would appreciate as a wedding gift.
Date Posted: Thursday 21st July 2016
Author: Jenna Halford
