My brother is getting married in September. My husband, daughter and I are all in the wedding. I'm looking for a unique wedding gift idea. I'll of course get them something off their registery but I want a non-traditional gift as well, any ideas? Think back to when some of you got married, what was the coolest gift you got?
C. R
I think I'll go with the picnic basket with blanket and toasting glasses that they can use every year on their anniversary. They are outdoors kind of people so romantic picnics are right up their alley. I also got my husbands next birthday (August 9th)gift idea, hiring a personal chef to cook dinner in our home followed by a massage. He is going to love it. Thanks ladies, all great ideas!! You helped me kill two birds with one stone. I love multi-tasking.
Skip the registry and go to the Tiffany catalog. For about $100-$150 you can find a crystal pitcher or cake plate or ceramic vase that will arrive in the classic blue box and the recipient is always impressed.
My SIL had gotten us personalized toasting glasses (waterford crystal). We used them at the reception and still have them on display (almost 8 years later). I thought it was a very unique and personal gift.
Do you know where they are honeymooning? You could arrange a special service at the hotel (i.e. in room massage) for them when they arrive.
I hope this helps!
The coolest wedding gift I got was a hand-carved bird. It still has a prime place in my bookshelf today!
L.
Hi C.,
I have a tradition of giving the couple their wedding invitation framed. I take it to this frame shop back home in CT where they do this technique called quilling. They mat, the invitation and than an artisit makes flowers out of paper; its so cool and pretty and places them around the corners of the invitation. If you know the colors of the wedding you can incoporate it into the framing and quilling process. Every couple I given this gift to says it is the best gift they recieved. No amount of money and gifts from their registery compares to it and it cost $100 to do. Some have placed the invitation in the entrace of their house, in their bedroom, living room, or dining room. If this sounds like something you like you can visit your local frame shop and ask if they can do it. If not I can give you the name and contact number of the place in CT; they can ship it out to. Good luck!
We received a wooden door harp as a present. Each time you open or close your door the harp makes a soothing, beautiful sound. I have since searched around and found a website in which to order more as gifts for others - www.larkinthemorning.com and seach "door harp"
Good Luck!
L.
Recently, I like to give a digital picture frame preloaded with special pics (maybe of event or trip you took together, family, friends, etc). You can also take pics at the wedding and then download them on the frame and give as gift after wedding.
Other special gifts I like: Piece of art (particularly StoryPeople done on wood, a painting of one of their favorite places, etc), gift certificate toward a B&B (it's a national registery - can be used at any participating B&B), his/her massages (gift certificate at home or one for their honeymoon destination).
A Gift Card to the Movies. Example Regal, or AMC. It allows the purchase of tickets, popcorn, etc and after the Movie arrange for a His and Hers Day at a Day Spa. I Love this Gift idea, I actually got one for my friend and I...We were "Butter" afterwards. Really nice to have seen a Great Movie and then go to the Spa and then out to Dinner. (we made a day of it) We both slept very well that night (chuckles)... Or A Dinner Gift card at their favorite restaurant, and Gift Card to a DaySpa... I'm all about something that encourages us to relax and have a Great time... Try this for you and your husband, you won't regret it...
We had friends give us a guided nature walk on our honeymoon. My husband and I are both nature lovers and this is something we never would have thought to do for ourselves...nor shelled out $200 for! It was amazing.
Hi C.,
My most favorite gift was a beautiful wooden salad bowl with matching tongs that I got from my Aunt. It is made from one piece of wood and I just love it. I am about to celebrate my 5th wedding anniversary and almost use it daily. If you do go that route, I would also suggest buying the oil needed to treat the wood occasionally. I have never gotten around to getting it and worry sometimes that my bowl will crack.
Picnic baskets, we got two. One was almost like a traveling picnic tote and I think the woman got it at either Linen's N Thing's (big going out of business sale, old Riverside Mall) or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The other was packed in a portable cooler/ice chest. They were both packed with a blanket/table cloth, plastic table cloth clips for picnic tables, plastic silverware / dinnerware / drinkware, napkins and wet-naps, non-perishable's like ketchup / mustard / pickle relish (Heinz's sells a three pack of these during the Summer at BJ's Wholesale or Walmart) and a bottle of wine. There are of course endless possibilitys of what you could do with them, you could make a wine, cheese, and crackers themed picnic basket....what fun that would be to use on the honeymoon! Or you could make a picnic basket themed around something fun that the newly-weds both enjoy. The possibility's really are endless, have fun at the wedding!!
fondue set,crockpot,personlized picture frame.staceyC
Do they have a tool chest? My uncle got us one, completely outfitted, and now we always know where to turn when we need something along those lines.
Also a magazine/newspaper subscription can be fun.
Good luck!
Ayala
C. -
Do you have any photos from when you two were growing up? I'd put together a little scrapbook of things you did together. It's one-of-a-kind and can be affordable - it will just take time to put it together (during nap times?). Are your parents still alive? They might have old report cards or newspaper articles with pics of him. No one gave me this because I saved all this stuff myself! Are you an artist? You could make them a picture. Or write thema song about growing up together?
Hope this helps!
Hi C.,
My company makes great wedding gifts. If your brother and his fiance haven't chosen to have a slideshow made, I 've had clients do them as gifts and they come out amazing. You compile pictures/video clips of the two of them (as children, their dating period etc.) and we set them to music and put them on a DVD. The result is a beautiful, emotional keepsake. The pictures are also then digitalized and archived, so you never have to worry about what happens if the print gets damaged, you just take your disc to a photo printing place (such as Walmart, Walgreens etc) and have the photo reprinted!
I've also done them where the gift is a gift certificate so the bride and groom have more control over what goes into the slideshow and then can even include the photos from the wedding.
MamaSource members receive 10% off too! :)
Good Luck! I'm sure no matter what you decide they will love it!
What about a digital frame...put pictues on it already too
I'm a picture framer and have a customer who gets the wedding invitations framed. I have started to do it personally and always get great thank you's in return!
My husband worked for Michaels craft stores (at one point so did I), so when we opend the wedding present from them, they had custom framed one of my wedding invitations and did a beautiful job with it. There are always framing sales at Michaels that you can take advantage of if you decide to do something like this.
G.
This might be a little expensive for a second gift, but this is what my sister-in-law did for us as our gift and what I did for my brother's wedding gift. I bought all of the disposable cameras for the tables for the wedding reception. If you search around on the internet, you can get pretty white ones for $3.00 or so. I was responsible for collecting them at the end of the night. I then got them developed and then put them in albums and they were ready for them when they got back from their honeymoon a week later. Since it takes so long to get your actual wedding pictures back, this is something to tide the couple over. Plus, you get some hilarious pictures! Good luck!
I am loving lots of these ideas! My aunt gave us the most unique gift. We live in New Jersey by Long Beach Island and most of our guests stayed on the island for our wedding. My aunt took pictures of the sunrise on our wedding day (in October) and in a 4 section frame, framed 3 of the sunrise pictures and in the last one a copy of our invitation. It hangs on our wall and doesn't compare to anything else we got. Nowhere can you buy that kind of gift! Hope you live near the water or someplace you can get a good sunrise picture! Good luck!
I just saw this posting from a month agao, so you may have purchased the picnic basket already. If not, check out Compliments to the Chef on Broadway in Saratoga Springs. We bought a picnic ensemble there a couple of years ago that we use all the time. It came with plates, silverware, a cheese knife and small cutting board and is insulated. It also has a bungee cord on top to hold a table cloth or blanket. It's on wheels and looks like a small carry on. I'm pretty sure they have other more traditional basket-type styles as well. Here's a link for contact info: http://www.saratogachef.com
The coolest gift we got for our wedding was actually something off the registry, but the presentation of it was the cool part...
A few of my friends chipped in to get us two complete place settings of our china, crystal and silverware. They packaged it in a big rattan chest, along with candles, place mats and a bottle of champagne. After our honeymoon, we had our first "married" meal using that gift. We still set it up on our anniversary, even though we have two kids, and have been married 23 years. I'll always cherish the thought behind that gift.. and maybe even if you can't do a place setting.. Two pieces of crystal, a bottle of wine and a candle would be a sweet gift...
My parents got us a family coat of arms plaque. It has my husbands family coat of arms (Scottish) and my coat of arms (Russian) It has our wedding date on it and on the bottom it has the history of our last names.(How our last names came about) I also bought one for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law when they got married. Very unique gift. You can find them on the internet. Just type in family coat of arms. It's alittle pricy but well worth it. Hope this helps! Good luck!
Hello!
I'm eager to read the responces you get- I'm always looking for more personal gifts that something off the registry for close friends.
My two favorite gifts from our wedding were a beautiful wind chime (that was actually a shower gift), and a little wooden nativity set.
Best of luck!
How about a gift of a personal chef? Dinner/Massage combination? Check out http://www.tedcancook.com.
When one of my daughters was getting married, her sisters put together a basket of candles and wrote about each event to use it for: That first night,after the first fight during the makeup time, the first time you have company for dinner, the first anniversary , the birth of a child, silver anniversary, golden anniversary. I think you get the idea
I also loved my framed wedding invitation. My aunt found one of the poems that were going to be recited, by Gibran, and had it framed and matted. But what I enjoyed the most was actually a gift from my shower. My mom and sister sent blank recipe cards to all the guests and asked for their favorite recipe. My mom filled in with quick & easy meal recipes. They put it in a recipe box so I had everyone's infamous recipes: Aunt A's tomato sauce, Cousin B's cheesecake, etc. I still use it 10 years later. My parents also had the hotel send up a bottle of champagne for our arrival. Hope this helps.
Hi C.,
One of the coolest wedding gifts that I received was when someone had my invitation framed in a stained glass frame with colors that matched the invitation. It was truly unique and I still have it proudly displayed on my wall.
have their wedding invitation engraved on a silver frame or plate...and they can stand it in their livingroom
We got a romantic dinner at the hotel we stayed on our honeymoon. We also got massages as wedding gifts while on our honeymoon........loved these gifts!
Good choice! I'm a little late in responding, but we got one of these for our wedding (picnic basket w/ red and white picnic blanket, flatware, cups, condiment holders, napkins, and plates! I'm absolutely wild over it. My FAVORITE gift by far!
One cool idea is a picnic basket that you write their names and their wedding date on the top along with a traditional checkered picnic blanket. Good luck!
