Ok,my friend just called and asked me to help her come up with some ideas for a very special wedding gift. Her father is getting remarried. He has been with his fiance for 25 years and has recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He has decided that he wants to marry the woman that he has spent most of his life with before his illness progresses. She wants to come up with something really special. My first thought was something religious but she tells me that they are not religious people... I'm totally stumped. Can anyone give us some help???
I love all of these suggestions. May I also recommend the gift of a tree or other lovely plant (antique roses come to mind)? If they don't have their own property, you could contact the city or other facility like the Heard Preserve here in McKinney...that way others could see their love grow.
I vote for a book or photo album of their life together. If they've been together for 25 years, there should be plenty of family pictures. I would think this would be special to the new "step-mom" after your friend's father passed away... memories of all the good times spent together.
I would make a scrapbook of their pictures and get friends to tell stories to put in the book. I did this for my parent's 50th anniversary. It would be a great way to look back over their years together and would be a nice rememberance for the future after you add their wedding pictures.
put together a scrap book of this couple's 25 years together. why would a person stay with another for 25 years without being married? oh well... to each their own. good luck.
There are places that make individualized bound books. I know I've got a brochure for one somewhere - but I would have to really dig to find it! If you are interested let me know asap so I can find it!
check out my website www.onceuponafamily.com/missyjo we have elegant and reasonably priced gifts that can leave a legacy and keepsakes for you and your family. From weddings, to graduations to births, lessons for little ones...any occasion that you want to remember and/or pass down. Family tree booklets, leather albums, memory trunks, and so much more. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me.
Maybe a really nice quilt. That is something functional, and can carry a lot of memories. Especially if you can incorporate things like t-shirts from places they have been together, etc.
How about a book about their lives together? You can do this on Shutterfly--incorporate pictures, stories about how they met, major events, etc. You can make extra copies for the rest of the family, too. My MIL has made a couple (one for our DD's christening, telling her about her fam, and one about my DH's great-grandmother), and they always mean a lot to the whole family, and look very professional!
How about a nice piece of Waterford crstal.
I love Waterford crystal and I keep my pieces in my china cabinet with my good china.
I have put together picture montage videos for friends' weddings, two funerals and my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. They have always been a huge hit (with the receipients and the guests) and extremely appreciated and enjoyed over and over again.
I did them myself but I know you can also pay for this service. I used Photoshop Elements but there are a lot of other products out there. It was very time consuming (sorting through pictures, scanning them, organizing, choosing songs, etc.) but it was so worth the effort. At my in-laws anniversary party it was shown (as a surprise) after we cut the cake and I don't think there was a dry eye left in the room when it was over. A couple weeks after the party, my MIL told me they had watched it just about every day since the party.
I included a note in with the party invitations that told the guests about the surprise video and asked them to email or mail me any special pictures they might have of the couple - together or individually. I also told the guests there would be a special anniversary box at the party for them to drop their cards, stories, etc ... anything that would help the couple in their "walk down memory lane". I also told them these could be mailed to our home if they couldn't make the party. I bought a wooden box at Hobby Lobby that was also a picture frame on top and put some of my favorite pictures and their names. We presented the box to them before the party and the guests dropped their cards, letters, etc in it when they arrived.
If you'd like to see a couple that I've done, I'd be happy to send you a link to where I have them uploaded. Just send me a PM.
It sounds like you are a good friend ... my sympathy goes to your friend and her dad.
