Gifts for the Couple
You have been invited to a wedding and don’t know what to give the happy couple. The problem with what to give gets even harder if the bride and groom are older or are re-marrying.
We all know good things in life are celebrated with gifts and weddings are no exception. Being invited to attend a wedding is an honor but it can be hard to come up with an innovative or offbeat wedding gift idea that the bride and groom will treasure – it is a challenge. With brides and grooms now marrying later in many couples already have most if not all of the home essentials that are usually associated with wedding gifts.
So what can be offered as an acceptable and welcome gift for the newly married couple?
Personalised gifts are always welcome – anything that records the names of the happy couple along with the date of the marriage.
Gifts for the bathroom are very welcome with more people choosing to make their bathrooms into a spa with the addition of heated towel rails, luxurious towels, ornate mirors and multi-function shower heads. If that doesn’t appeal, you might want to consider giving vouchers for the happy couple to actually have a day at a Spa to recover from the stress of organising the wedding.
You may want to give something to symbolise the couple starting their new life together – perhaps a plant or tree for their garden.
If giving something that will last or perhaps increase in value is important to you, you may want to consider a piece of art work. Paintings and sculpture are things that the couple will cherish for years. Of course, if you are artistic, you could make something yourself.
Often, modern day couples have all the material possessions they need and they are more interested in experiences than belongings. For a couple such as this you may want to offer them travel or unique experience vouchers.
Photographs are always cherished and with the advent of digital photography and on demand printing it becomes easy to create the alternative wedding album which can be offered after the event.
On the photography theme, think about framing before and after photographs of the couple – before and after the wedding, that is.
Traditional wedding etiquette still requires that a wedding gift list be circulated amongst the guests or deposited with a particular retailer. Guests should be aware that this list is an invitation rather than an instruction and there is no requirement to restrict your choice to an item on that list.
There really is no right or wrong in regard to buying wedding gifts as every couple is different, as is the budget of every wedding guest. What may be well received and appreciated by one couple may disappoint or horrify another.
A safe, general rule is to stick to the list if you do not know the couple well. In that way you will not disappoint them. However, if you are very familiar with the tastes and preferences of the bride and groom do not be afraid to choose something unique and individual.
