Awesome wedding gift idea?

kaskade

Anyone?  My very good friend is getting married in a month and I want to get her something special that will last a long time. 

What were your favorite wedding gifts that had some sentiment to them?  I'm not going for just spending a buttload of money on something off her registry.

suzie711

We got an "established" type wood sign from my mother in law that I love.  We have it hanging in our kitchen.  It has our last name in large letters and a quote over that in a different color and our wedding date at the bottom.  I bought my best friend a similar sign for her wedding this summer with their last name, first names over and their wedding date under - it turned out awesome - etsy has a ton of good sellers  let me know if you're interested in where I got hers - the turn around was really fast as wel.

blueLu25

My fav was the Kitchen Aid mixer, which I use ALL the time still. Doesnt sound too sentimental, but my grandma got it for us which I thought was nice b/c she also taught me how to make pizza dough with it, which is kind of a big thing in our family. 

rachel927

I just bought a friend of mine an EST sign from this shop on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/78104684/large-personalized-distressedrustic?utm_source=OpenGraph&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

She texted me the night they opened their presents about how much she loved it!  I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Seattle_JiLLn

Honestly, I wanted stuff off my registry.  I didn't want other random "special" stuff.  I didnt' want an engraved bowl or picture frame.  I wanted my dishes.     If she has something special she's into, you could maybe do something with that... like if you know she loves deep dish pizza, get her a cook book and a pizza pan and some dough mixes or something.    But those "established" signs - sorry.. I wouldn't have any use for that personally.  I actually think DH's aunt gave us one... and it used an "apostrophe s" after our last name and that grammar error really grates on my nerves... plus like I said, I have no where I'd want to put that.  (sorry!)

coribecca

I'm not really an EST sign sort of person, either.  I do, however, love this:

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/72236236/personalized-last-name-sign-any-8-letter?ref=sr_gallery_1&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=personalized+last+name+sign&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

cwhip77

How about mixing the two ideas?  Like get her a small cooking item off her registry (baking pans or whatever) and then do a personalized recipe book from Etsy or wherever with their family name on it so they can add their own recipes through the next few years?

doublem

One of my friends got us a few gift certificates to some of our favorite restaurants so we could continue to have date nights after we got married. 

We just got some friends (who didn't need much) gift certificates for canvas photo printing so they can have some of their wedding photos done well. 

I'm also with Leanne - some of our closest friends bought our ice cream maker and our Kitchenaid mixer, and I think of those two families whenever I use them.  

kaskade

Hmm...lots of interesting ideas.  I think she may be like me and keeping her maiden name, but I'm not sure.  Maybe I could do something neat with their first names.  They are not traditional and are more into modern art, but I bet I could find something in their style.  She has excellent taste in art so the pressure is high there

I think she has a kitchenaid mixer already - now I'm racking my memory.  One of our roommates had one when we all lived together, and I thought it was hers.  Hmm.

Thanks for the ideas, I have some places to start now. 

keri1013

Are they going on a honeymoon? One of my favorite wedding gifts was from my book club, they all chipped in and got us a big gift certificate to a really nice restaurant on Maui. It was so awesome to have a delicious dinner prepaid and we could order whatever we wanted without worrying how big the bill would be! Four years later I couldn't tell you what most people gave us, but I still remember that one.

myself1nme

I got one of my good friends a gift certificate to this Etsy shop for one of these: https://www.etsy.com/listing/76351820/unique-wedding-gift-your-photo-with

It's something that I would love to have, but would probably never purchase for myself.  She said it turned out beautiful and her and her husband love it!

braveangel2

Seattle_JiLLn:

Honestly, I wanted stuff off my registry.  I didn't want other random "special" stuff.  I didnt' want an engraved bowl or picture frame.  I wanted my dishes.     If she has something special she's into, you could maybe do something with that... like if you know she loves deep dish pizza, get her a cook book and a pizza pan and some dough mixes or something.    But those "established" signs - sorry.. I wouldn't have any use for that personally.  I actually think DH's aunt gave us one... and it used an "apostrophe s" after our last name and that grammar error really grates on my nerves... plus like I said, I have no where I'd want to put that.  (sorry!)

I agree with Jill. Especially since I'm into smaller living now, I'm trying to attach less sentiment to stuff. The things I do have attachment to are a part of my childhood. I'm a big fan of Christmas though, so while it may be presumptuous to choose one for them, I think a nice first Christmas ornament might work. Just please don't do anything that tarnishes. Those are a PITA.

What about doing an experience instead of 'stuff'? Like, cleaning their place while their gone on their honeymoon? My MIL did that, and I'll love her forever for it. It was a disaster! Wedding stuff was all organized for us to go through when we came back. You could also tuck a meal in the fridge the night before they get back because who wants to cook after all that time relaxing. (And relaxing is tired business.)

You could do a gift certificate for a mini cake from their baker for their one-year, purchase credit for photos from their photographer (find out what package they have though), offer to pester people about photos after the wedding, address her thank yous - almost like a gift certificate book you do for you parents, but it's all wedding stuff.

JessieJH

We bought our friends a case of a wine we know that they love (and which had some shared history with my DH and I). They loved it and knew we were not the type to buy off a registry. We liked getting it because we knew they would like it.

kaskade

I should have added, I will be doing a registry item for the shower, since I remember spending so much time picking registry gifts and really wanting those items too. 

Thanks ladies!  These are all awesome ideas that are getting filed away..

stacylu

If you're at all crafty, I made this for the last wedding I attended and the couple went nuts. They were so excited to have their last name on a pyrex it still makes me laugh.

https://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2011/01/insulated-casserole-carriers.html

 

ETA: Just read that she was keeping her last name...  I saw this too which could be really cute and thoughtful

https://rustyandlaura.blogspot.com/2011/07/wedding-gift-idea-year-of-monthly-date.html