Third marriage for groom, second for bride, more money than God between them. They've asked for no gifts,, they need nothing in the merging or two well established households. But I can't go empty handed to my brother's wedding, can I? Thoughts?
A really fun gift we received was an outdoor fire pit with all the fixings for s'mores inside ~ it had a box of graham crackers, a package of marshmallows, a package of chocolate bars and 2 roasting sticks. It was awesome! We love to camp so it was a really fun gift for us. Do they camp? Do they have any children?
Maybe something like this that my friend Tracey does.
You could spell out their last name or the word home or love.
When my step-sis got married I was extremely broke...just out of college and in grad school. I like to draw/paint. I went to a paint your own pottery place and picked out a large pasta bowl. I painted a beautiful design in the middle and around the edges. I put their two names and the wedding date in the middle. She loves that thing! She displays it all the time. It did come out pretty.
A nice bottle of wine or champagne. Get something that can be stored for a while, and enjoyed on a future anniversary.
One gift a friend gave me was a framed invite to our wedding...with 'quilling' in our wedding colors around it.
Even though I am divorced for many years, I still hang this in my home. It reminds me of my friend, and is a discrete way to acknowledge...I was married!
Best!
a nice bottle of wine
how about a scrap book of pictures and stories of when he was a kid? I'm sure he'd love to remember that and his new bride hear them?
and if you can get with her family and maybe do both of them in one book, Right side bride left side groom????
NO FRAMES! PLEASE!
I cannot tell you how over gifted Frames are. When my father married for the 3rd time, it became a joke, how many frames they were given. I am not kidding 22 frames! Some of them so hilariously hideous, we were crying with laughter.
I swore I would NEVER give another frame as a gift.
For people that honestly have everything make a donation to their favorite charity in their names.
I concur if they have a Wine cellar a really good bottle of wine. Or a good Bottle of Brandy or Sherry.
Baccarat, Waterford, or Lalique Crystal
If they are more laid back consider Simon Pearce Glassware. It is very simple in design all hand blown American glass.They do server ware like bowls and pitchers, cake stands but also amazing glassware. And Men love the weight of it. They are comfortable holding it.
I believe that you can, especially since they have let you off the hook. As time passes and you see them together, you might think of something that you'd really like to give to them. Do it then.
Otherwise, I'm always a fan of books. Get them something fun, like a how-to for...smuggling geese. Something for their coffee table or powder room.
I'm a person who doesn't like "stuff" just lying around filling up space. I tend to be annoyed when I have to figure out where to put a knick-knack from some random loved one who refused to show up empty-handed.
I don't know how much time you have, but something like this is pretty ...
What are they interested in? We love fine wine. Waterford crystal, BBQ goodies for our grill, etc
We'll occasionally splurge on our favorite bottle of wine for special occasions. It is a 2011 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. You can find it at a good wine store for about $70 a bottle. In a restaurant it is no less than &200. It is heavenly if they are red wine lovers.
Another favorite that we drink more often is 2011 Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon. It's much more reasonable.... About $22-$30 in a good wine store per bottle and around $70 a bottle in a restaurant.
Our daughter gave us a nice wine decanter and really neat stoppers for leftover bottle of wine.
2010 & 2011 were good for great wines.
A beautiful Waterford crystal vase, frame, bowl are very nice as well. You can usually get a nice quality piece for $50 and up.
I hope you find what you are looking for!
A pretty frame with a good photo of the two of them. Swype said photo from their face book page is you have to lol
They asked for no gifts. Why not honor their wishes and just give them a card with well wishes since they really prefer not to receive a gift. A card would mean your hands would not be empty.
If you must get them a gift, why not get them something like flowers, fruit, or steaks of the month.
I really do think if they asked for no gifts a card would be just fine. Relax and enjoy their wedding.
Case of wine? Restaurant gift card? Show tickets?
-a nice bottle of wine w/their picture on the label (the winery can do this
for you) with their wedding date.
-a tree to plant for their backyard.
-An outoor mat for their backdoor patio with their last name on it.
-a framed poem you pen yourself w/their wedding date.
Love the charitable idea or a lasting memorial like a tree... Another lasting gift would be some time of artwork. A commissioned piece doesn't have to cost a lot of money, but it is more significant if you know what they like... a "portrait" of the two of them can be anything from Andy Warhol pop art to an ethereal pastel... same with a sketch of their home or some thing or some place that they love...
Pretty champagne glasses with their names and wedding date etched on them.
I like the idea of a tree or a plant or a donation to a charity of their choice. Perhaps you could have a tree planted somewhere in honor of their wedding? If it would appeal to them, the Jewish National Fund has been in the business of planting trees in Israel in honor/memory of people (and events) for decades, and they provide a nice certificate.
Since they've asked for no gifts for themselves, how about making a donation to a charity in their names? Is there anything that they might feel strongly about? If not, just pick one that you like. Do they have children? There are charities where you can literally donate say $25 to and they'll use it to give a bunch of chickens to a needy family in a third-world country. You could also purchase books for school children or materials to help women craft items to sell through these kinds of organizations.
A plant, bush or tree if they garden and have room at their place. Or donate to a charity of their choice. I think both are thoughtful.
Do they like to travel, cook, read, photography, hike, sports, etc? Find something they like and give them something related to that. Or maybe even a gift card to a nice restaurant (like Chop House or Ruth's Chris) for dinner? Or to cover a portion of it.
But I really think if you can acknowledge something they love to do together that would be an awesome gift.
Yeah asking for no gifts never works. :-/ One of my favorite gifts was a special blade for my circular saw. Yes mine, his friend didn't know he borrowed it from me when they were doing whatever project.they were doing. Don't know, it made me laugh that not everyone knows I do stuff too.
Another cool gift was BBQ stuff. We love to BBQ so it was perfect.
What do they enjoy doing together? That is the biggest new thing. Find something related to that.
Get them something more personal
- you can have made a "subway" style print with important dates for them (met, engaged, married)
- for my wedding I had a large wood monogram made that now hangs in our house
- get a Christmas ornament with the year for them (I love frame ornaments and add a picture from their wedding)
- my brother did a destination wedding and I did one of those picture frame mattes that everyone signed. Then I took home some sand and seashells and did "love" in sand and added the shells along with a picture from their ceremony.
- put together a basket for the wedding night and leave it at their hotel as a surprise when they get there (champagne flutes, champagne, strawberries, other snacks cause they might be hungry, massage oil, etc.)
