Wedding Gifts Tips

Wedding Gifts For Mom

Mother’s sometimes envision a dream wedding for their daughters, something large, lavish, and traditional. If that’s the case, try to stick with traditional wedding gifts for your mother. Sure she’s happy for you, but she may not be really comfortable with the whole idea of a beach wedding, a wedding under the stars, or any other kind of non-traditional wedding ceremony that doesn’t resemble her cultural values. Because she just wants you to be happy, she’s going to sit on that beach (or wherever) beaming with pride. However, she may not be smiling anymore if you try to give her a non-traditional gift like a conch shell bikini! She’ll appreciate something she can use, so keep her hobbies in mind when you pick out the wedding gifts. For example, she might like a personalized leather wallet, engraved gold watch, crystal earrings, or even a personalized golf set. If you’d describe your mother as “earthy”, give her something unique like a pair of shoes made from 100% recycled material and an organic cotton t-shirt. The key is to keep both mother’s feelings, likes and dislikes in mind when shopping for their wedding gifts.

Wedding Gifts For Dad

For fathers who are into genealogy, or just like to reminisce, you could put together a disc of hundreds of old photos that he can just pop into the DVD player at home. If you’re a photo-buff, or you know something about Photoshop, you could do it yourself, If not, just check your local business listings (or maybe you already know someone) for someone who provides that service.

Now, if you want your father to really be noticed, personalized license plates make great wedding gifts. There are lots of ideas on the Internet, or you can come up with your own by using a combination of letters and numbers that reflect your father’s motto, sports car, life goal, etc. If you’re the daughter giving your dad a personalized license plate, you could play on the whole cost of the wedding issue (if that’s an issue), the fact that he’s not losing a daughter, but gaining a son, etc. It’s tricky, but with a little brain-storming, you’ll be able to come up with something really unique.

Come on guys, don’t panic at the thought of buying your best man a gift! If he’s your best man, he’s probably a close friend- which means you know his likes and dislikes. What kinds of hobbies does he have? Is he into sports? You’ll be relieved to know that you can buy engraved, personalized, sports-themed best man gifts at various bridal sites.

Chances are, your best man will be having some sort of bachelor party for you. Even if that’s not your style, you’ll have lots of opportunities before the wedding to give him a gift. Here are a few ideas:

1) If you don’t want to wait for a bachelor party to give your best man his gift, take him out to the ball game. There are all kinds of best man gifts that fall under this category including personalized baseball bats or engraved baseballs. Depending on where you buy the gifts, prices will vary, but you can estimate a cost of anywhere from $12 to $50 dollars.

2) Take him golfing. The golf course is the perfect place to give your best man an engraved golf luggage tag or an executive golf putter set.

3) In between tennis sets, toss your best man a gift of personalized tennis balls, or a tennis racket keychain. Other best man gifts along the same theme could include tickets to see a professional tennis match or an engraved tennis score watch.

You see? It’s easy. Just use your best man’s favorite sport as a guide, and start looking for the perfect gift.

Wedding Party Gifts From The Groom To The Bride

-Don’t give her a cooking appliance of any type. It’s okay for someone else to do it, but the only message you’ll be giving her if you do that is, “Get in the kitchen and cook something.” Even if she insists that she wants something for the kitchen, don’t do it. Tell her maid of honor or her mother to get her something for the kitchen.

-Don’t give her something really embarrassing, especially if she’s opening the gift in front of her parents or grandparents! What constitutes embarrassing? Anything that falls in the “honeymoon toys” category pretty much sums it up. That kind of thing usually falls under the category of unique bridal party gifts.

Okay, those are a few don’ts. Now, here are a few do’s:

-Do give her a gift certificate to a high-end shoe store. Really. She’ll love you forever.

-Do indulge her like a pampered princess with a full day spa treatment that she can enjoy with a friend.

-If money is an issue, you can still give her the gift of her dreams by creating your own book of redeemable “gift certificates” that include things like a ½ hour foot rub, a back massage, a bubble bath complete with wine (served chilled) and cheese. Just make sure to follow through! Don’t forget to include a bottle of massage oil with the certificates.

Good luck with the wedding gifts!

Wedding Gifts For Bridal Party

Women: The ladies can each get the same gift, just make sure to personalize the gift that you give. You might want to give them each a personalized ladies shaver, gift certificates to their favorite book stores or coffee shops, personalized cameras, blankets, sheets, or something simpler and alternative like a personalized mp3 or cell phone cover.

Men: Gifts for the wedding party should be something you know they’ll enjoy. Maybe it’s a bottle of whiskey, or a weekend pass to a racing event. Maybe there’s an awesome concert coming up that they’ll all appreciate having tickets too.

Kids: If you have a flower girl or ring bearer in the wedding party, don’t forget them! Unique wedding party gifts for them could be a case of bubbles to go through. The bubbles will keep them entertained for hours, especially when you tell them it’s “okay” to spend the day blowing bubbles. Hey, it’ll add to the atmosphere and keep them busy at the same time!

No-Time-To-Get-Creative Wedding Party Gifts

Sometimes the most fun weddings are the ones that give you little time to think about all of the little details that tend to creep up on you. Of course, sometimes they’re panic inducing. If you’re panicked about getting last minute best man gifts, bridal party gifts, or bridesmaids favors, worry no longer. You can relax. Here are a few ideas for last-minute wedding gifts you can buy, from the almost-last-minute gift, to the extremely-last-minute wedding gifts:

NEARLY LAST MINUTE
(one week to the wedding date):

-As long as you’re willing to pay for shipping charges, you should be able to order last minute best man gifts. Some bridal gift websites offer free shipping on orders over a certain price, but you might have to pay extra for overnight delivery. If in doubt, ask the company before placing your order.

EXTREMELY LAST MINUTE
(A couple days away from the wedding date):

-What the heck have you been waiting for? Okay, don’t panic. You’re going to have to go to the store and buy the biggest, fanciest bottle of champagne you can find. Forget price! You waited too long to worry about price. What you need is an awesome best man gift and you need it fast! However, make sure to check with customer service of that bridal site you were looking at. They just might be able to accommodate you, just ask!

The Hunt For Those Unique Bridal Party Gifts

Make sure to buy small wedding party gifts that are easy to hide. Things like candles, coasters, novelty mugs, slippers, lighters, small picture frames, and candle holders make good gift ideas. Throw in a few gag gifts for laughs if you want. Everybody loves a rubber chicken and, while you’re at it, why not toss in a few whoopee cushions? Sure it’s a little juvenile, but after a few drinks on a treasure hunt, your guests have every right to sink into that mode, and so do you! It’s called inexpensive stress therapy. Have fun and don’t forget to take pictures of the day.

Gifts for the Couple Who Asks for Nothing

• Money – Cash gifts may seem impersonal to some, but for couples that are not registered the gift of cash can be put towards anything they’d like whether it’s a down payment on a vehicle, a house or just fun splurge money for their honeymoon vacation – it’s a gift that let’s them get what they want.
• Reservations – You may not think this is such a big deal, but covering their expenses for a night in a luxurious honeymoon suite before they continue on to their honeymoon can be a real kick for many newlyweds. They can savor the room service, the Jacuzzi tubs and the opulent privacy that every newlywed couple deserves
• Gift Certificates – Whether you give them a gift certificate to a wonderful place at their honeymoon destination or to favored restaurants at home; gift certificates are great wedding gift ideas because it allows them to enjoy fine food and a romantic dinner
• Bottle of Wine or Champagne – This is a good wedding gift idea for the right couple. Give them a bottle of wine or champagne with a note to not be opened until their 1^st wedding anniversary. It’s a charming gift that inspires confidence in their choices and their wedding

Tokens of Appreciation

• Engraved purse mirrors are inexpensive, attractive and utterly feminine. Compact mirrors are also a very practical gift for many women. They can be engraved with a name, a monogram or even a pet name and quotes.
• Jewelry is one of the most often given bridesmaid gifts. The jewelry can be a charm, charm bracelet or even the jewelry purchased for the wedding. This can actually be a frugal choice because you will often want your bridesmaids to wear a certain kind of jewelry
• Digital photo albums are a little more expensive, but they are becoming more and more inexpensive every passing day. These are great ways to display photos in your home and they can even have a slideshow option to switch out the image on a regular basis
• Spa certificates are a nice treat for the bridesmaids to be used before or after the wedding and can prove affordable on a limited budget, as some spas will offer group deals for buying in bulk. If you’re looking for something different to give as a bridesmaid's gift, this might be the one for you.

Men at Arms - Groomsmen Gifts

• You can purchase individual gifts for each groomsmen or you can choose a gift that covers everyone involved.
• The groomsmen gifts are meant to be tokens of appreciation, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be practical as well such as a watch and sports sunglasses
• The more technically inclined might go for a MP3 players, thumb drives or other handheld device as a useful groomsmen gifts
• Sports oriented groomsmen gifts can be as casual as a baseballs or baseball gloves
• Engraved pens, silver plated yo-yos and pocket watches are good ideas for the business oriented groomsmen
• Lighters, money clips, key chains and pocket knives are standards and work well

Fun Wedding Gifts

• Personalized Cartoon featuring the Bride & Groom
• Register in the name of the Married Couple at the National Star Registry
• Give certificates of purchase for ocean property
• Rubber ducky bride & groom set
• Mickey and Minnie Mouse bride & groom sets
• Boxed Games – Especially those that challenge your knowledge of each other
• Wedding gift baskets packed with fun toys
• Distorted or photo shopped pictures of the couple

Give a Gift of Choice

A wedding gift basket is easy to put together and can really be quite personal if you take the time to pick the right items. The best thing about putting together a wedding gift basket is that it doesn’t require a huge financial investment to create a great gift. Wedding gift baskets are personal, fun and inexpensive.

Designing your own wedding gift basket begins by picking out the wicker basket. You can locate baskets at a number of different stores and locations. Once you’ve located the basket, you can take fabric remnants to dress up the basket. Depending on the wedding, you can base the color scheme of the basket on the couple has selected for their wedding. You can also adopt some part of their wedding themes. For example, a tropical wedding theme might lean towards a more tropical fabric to use on lining the basket.

Once you have your basket set up and the fabric remnant set up lining the basket, now it’s time to begin filling it with various items for the bridal couples. You can go for things like matching watches, monogrammed handkerchiefs, homemade cookies, fresh breads, candles and more. You can theme the wedding gift basket and include in it all the right things for an evening picnic or movie night or more.

The beauty of a wedding gift basket is you can put just about anything into it and create whatever theme you want to for it without breaking the bank.

Turn Your Wedding into a Celebration

Instead of signing up for items on your wedding gift registry, you can ask that in lieu of a gift purchase that they make a donation in your name to one of these favored charities. With 2.3 million Americans being wed each year, that’s about 380 million wedding guests who can be asked to donate between $10 and $50 dollars to the listed causes.

If only 10 percent of all wedding guests respond to the wedding gift registry and donate $50 to one of your listed charities that’s a potential $1.9 billion that could go to a good cause. A wedding gift registry that thinks of others before themselves is not a new idea, but it is a great one. So if you don’t need new dishes or a fruit punch bowl and you aren’t sure what you could ask for on your wedding gift registry, consider asking for help for causes that need it. It’s a great way to turn your celebration of love into a celebration of compassion.

Wedding Party Gifts, Something For The Groom

The type of wedding gifts you buy for your father will probably depend a lot on his age and his hobbies. If he’s got a crazy sense of humor and is expecting something a little off-the-wall, you could get him an engraved fishing pole and a bucket of realistic looking fish. Maybe you could even give him a disposable camera to take pictures of the one that “didn’t get away”.

For fathers who are into genealogy, or just like to reminisce, you could put together a disc of hundreds of old photos that he can just pop into the DVD player at home. If you’re a photo-buff, or you know something about Photoshop, you could do it yourself, If not, just check your local business listings (or maybe you already know someone) for someone who provides that service.

Now, if you want your father to really be noticed, personalized license plates make great wedding gifts. There are lots of ideas on the Internet, or you can come up with your own by using a combination of letters and numbers that reflect your father’s motto, sports car, life goal, etc. If you’re the daughter giving your dad a personalized license plate, you could play on the whole cost of the wedding issue (if that’s an issue), the fact that he’s not losing a daughter, but gaining a son, etc. It’s tricky, but with a little brain-storming, you’ll be able to come up with something really unique.

Best Man Gifts - Gags For The Groom

-Tying The Knot Theme. For this theme, give gag wedding gifts that focus on the finality of the dating scene. For example, you could give the groom a “little black book” with nothing in it but his wife-to-be’s name and phone number on every page.

-Ball and Chain Theme. Instead of giving the same old literal ball and chain as a gift, give the groom-to-be something to remind him that he’ll never be allowed to leave home again (without permission that is!). A good gag gift could be a fake tracking device, a pager, a cell phone that can only call or receive one phone number, or a leash.

-Time To Grow Up Theme. For this theme, give the groom-to-be wedding gifts to remind him that a married man, is a mature man. For example, you could give him a calendar of sports cars with big X’s marked through them or a note-book with helpful sayings for newly married men like, “Whatever you think dear,” or “What would YOU like to do?”

The gag wedding gifts you get will have a lot to do with how far you want to take the joke, how much you want to spend, and how much you want to annoy your closest friend.

Very Unique Bridal Party Gifts

Stop stressing! You’ve probably spent more sleepless nights than you should trying to come up with the perfect and completely unique bridal party gifts. Do your bridesmaids a favor and get them each something they’ll be able to use…self-defense classes! If you’re opting for a less traditional wedding theme, forget the pink bunny slipper bridal favors, give the ladies something that will make them safer citizens. No doubt your bridesmaids have never been to a wedding, or been involved in a wedding, where the bridesmaids received unique bridal party gifts like this. If you like this idea and want to go for it, here are a few suggestions or guidelines to consider:

1)Location. If all of the bridesmaids live in the same area, finding a common place to take self-defense shouldn’t be hard. On the other hand, if your bridesmaids live in completely different areas, you might have to do a little research to find classes.

2)Physical fitness. Anyone can take self-defense classes, but not everyone wants to. Sometimes people feel they’re too old, too big, or too small to take self-defense classes. For those people, you might want to give them a one day pass to try out a self-defense class, or give them the option of trying out something else like Pilates or Yoga.

3)Membership. Do you want to pay for a full year membership to a gym where self-defense classes are an option, or would you rather buy something short-term, but specific only to self-defense for women? Giving unique bridal party gifts like this are only well-received when it’s obvious the giver had the recipient in mind. There are lots of ways you can tailor the idea to make the gift a success. When you’re picking out classes, don’t forget to consider any physical limitations or health/mental issues that might stop one of your bridesmaids from making the most out of the gift.