It seems as though people are constantly asking for some great wedding gift ideas for their friends or family. They want to get their loved ones something special for their big day, something to show the bride and groom how much they love them and are celebrating with them. I totally understand. You want your gift to mean something, and be memorable for the couple for years to come. My dad was in the same boat when it came to our wedding, but also wanted some special gift ideas for something that he could do. We talked about it, and my husband has a bad back, and the beds that he had been sleeping on in the past provided no support for him, leaving him in pain throughout the day. So we went bed shopping, and my dad also bought us a great set of new mattresses that would support his back and help him feel better throughout the day. And my husband has never had fewer back problems since I’ve known him (and I’ve known him for over 10 years now). If you are looking for some special wedding gift ideas, and are wondering what to do, then here are some great hints to help you get started.
Wedding Gift Ideas off their Wedding Registry
I know this one sounds silly, but think about it. The bride and groom have specifically chosen each item on their wedding registry as something that they want for their new home. So their wish list should provide you with some great wedding gift ideas. If you want to do something special for them, then one option is to get your wedding gift ideas from their registry. Look at what they have registered for, and choose one of the nicer items, or one you really know they want and may not get themselves if no one buys it for them. It will really mean something that you buy them something so thoughtful like that.
Wedding Gift Ideas – Look for a Need
Another idea for finding some great wedding gift ideas is to look for a need. For example, my dad buying us the bed to help my husband feel better was greatly appreciated, and something that we couldn’t buy for ourselves. Otherwise, if the couple is having money problems, then more great wedding ideas can come from this too. Some great wedding gift ideas are to donate towards the honeymoon, or offer to pay for something in the wedding, the couple is sure to appreciate it.
Be Careful with Your Wedding Gift Ideas
If you are looking for some wedding gift ideas that are a little more personal than something off of their wedding registry, then tread carefully. If the bride and groom really wanted something, then chances are it is on their wedding registry. But if you know the couple very well and know that one of them has always wanted a particular item then go ahead. You don’t want to be remembered as the guest who bought you this gigantic horrible painting of a kitten when what they really wanted was a vacuum cleaner.
Be sure to base your wedding gift ideas off the tastes and preferences of the bride and groom. Not sure what those are? Then just check out their bridal registry and look and see what kinds of things they like. I can totally understand wanting to look for special wedding gift ideas for that best friend or family member getting married. It’s not always fun to go to your best friends wedding, or your sister or brother wedding and only have bought them measuring cups and a utensil holder. I totally understand. But just read me here, if you are looking for special wedding gift ideas not on their registry, make sure it is something that they will enjoy for years to come.
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January 11th, 2008 at 1:39 am
thanks for the wedding gift tips!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
In an ideal world, gift registries make life easy for the buyers and more importantly, the couple always gets what they want. How come then most couples are not happy with their gifts when they are the ones selecting the items on the gift registry? Studies show that most couples prioritize their friends and family and they really don’t want to ask for the things they really want simply because they are too expensive or what they actually want or need is money. So instead they select a group of items from these gift lists that fit in the appropriate price range and the couple end up with a large amount of unwanted or unnecessary gifts.
What about giving cash? I just contributed to a wedding gift last summer where the couple set up the registry asking for several $80 salad bowls and a $120 knife. Even if it were made out of diamonds, we figured that it would be a complete waste of money. Instead we decided to go in together and buy a suit case and fill it with cash. Each one of us contributed with less money than every single item on that gift registry and the couple used the money to go to Bali for their honeymoon. I personally normally prefer the easy way out when it comes to buying gifts and I am fine selecting the silver toaster but this time I was really happy that we could leverage the group and pull this together. The pictures spoke for it self. No toaster can replace that trip.
Several surveys have been conducted in this topic and most of them find the same thing, it is not easy to ask for money but people would prefer money or prefer getting one useful gift instead of many not so useful gifts. One survey conducted by the Wedding Channel suggests that more than 40% of brides and grooms find this to be one of the most challenging tasks. So until alternative solutions come up or it becomes more socially acceptable to ask for money, people will continue getting silver knifes for the weddings.
What are the options?
One obvious one is group gifts. Set up a gift list with several expensive gifts you really want. Make sure everybody knows that they are only paying for a small share of it or you might really get them mad. This solution allows everybody to contribute the same amount they would have had they purchased the nice knife and instead you get money towards a nice vacation or maybe even a new flat screen.
The next one is to simply ask for cash. But the key is to do it the right way. One of the main challenges with cash is that the people giving it don’t know how much to give and they don’t want to spend too much and they don’t want to appear cheap either. So the key is to tell them how much you want and ask everybody to contribute the same amount and explain what the money will be used for. If you just started a new family and you have a dream to buy a new home, explain that you are raising money for the down payment of your new home. As long as they know how much they need to contribute and that the money is used for something wisely, then most people would be more than happy to give cash.
In retrospect, wedding registries take away a lot of the pain of shopping for wedding gifts and finding gift ideas, but they don’t solve the fundamental problem with this process, the fact that the gifts are not used. Grouping together towards a group gift or cash gift will get the couple something that is more likely on their real “wishlist”.