Today I’m excited to share a blog post with you guys that I put together with a little help from some of my best girlfriends…
The Best Wedding Gifts
I reached out to a handful of my friends and asked them to share a little bit about the wedding gifts they received in the past. I posed the following questions to them:
- What was the most creative/thoughtful wedding gift you received?
- What wedding gift do you find yourself using the most often?
- What is one item you registered for that you ended up not using much at all?
- What is one gift you didn’t expect to use or love that ended up being one of your favorites?
- Stick to the registry: Yay or nay?
(Big thanks to all of my girlfriends who weighed in! I am not sharing their names with their answers in this post for privacy purposes since blogging has taught me that this is a very, very small world and I wanted them to feel like they could be totally honest with their answers without fear of who may, by some slim chance, see this blog post!)
Ryan and I usually stick to the registry when it comes to giving wedding gifts, but I’ve also strayed a few times for a close friend when I was pretty sure I had a great gift idea in mind that would be a little more personal and might mean something special to them.
If you’d like to weigh in, I’d love to hear your answers to these wedding gift questions in the comments section of this post!
- My dad gave my husband his favorite classical guitar which is a pretty big deal in our family!
- A homemade wreath for our front door along with a personalized doormat.
- At my bridal shower, I received a gold necklace with our wedding date engraved in Roman numerals on a thin bar. Love love love it!
- We received a high quality SLR camera – Perfect for documenting our honeymoon and life as husband and wife together!
- Art with our wedding date.
- Since we didn’t really register for the wedding, any of the donations we received for the Humane Society and local food bank were the most thoughtful.
- I loved the gift you gave me with our wedding picture framed in the middle and the maps from where we are from framed on either side.
- A beautiful glass decorative plate from Tiffany’s engraved with our wedding invitation. It was such a surprise and was so thoughtful. I love that I will get to see my wedding invitation in our home forever now.
- Our blender, towels and every day silverware.
- Definitely our Wusthof classic chef’s knife.
- Cutco knife set! It’s amazing!
- Definitely kitchen stuff from our registry.
- Our toaster (I never knew that you could have an amazing toaster!) and lamps (we registered for a lot of lamps – haha)!
- Our Wusthof knives and our pans – without a doubt!
- Serve ware. I’m happy to have it when I need it, but that’s not very often.
- Extra pans… I use most of the same ones all the time.
- A mandolin slicer.
- A salad spinner.
- A cupcake carrier. Why did I register for this!? Ha!
- A panini press. We probably use it twice a year if we’re lucky.
- Pyrex glass storage containers. We use them every day!
- Dyson vacuum for wood floors. I expected to use it, but I did not expect to love it so much! (Professing love for a vacuum makes me feel so old!)
- A clothes rack on wheels.
- Snowshoes!
- A wine aerator. It makes such a difference!
- A cake platter. I have used it an embarrassing amount of times. Plus, since we received it before our wedding and loved it so much, it was the cake stand we used for our wedding cake!
- I loved getting gifts from my registry, but I usually gift cash. Not sure why I do that…
- Yay!!! Registry gifts are always a winner.
- We got many of our gifts from our registry but we loved things people got us that weren’t on there like Christmas stocking hangers and home décor.
- Yay! But money is always a very appreciated gift as well. We were able to pay for our honeymoon with the money we received. We also have a bit leftover and are hoping to put it toward a new couch that we need.
- Mostly “Yay!” but I liked getting random, creative gifts as well!
- It depends… Some of the BEST gifts I received were not on our registries (Tiffany plate, amazing cook books, necklaces, thoughtful quote books). I guess these gifts were more geared towards gifts I received at my bridal shower, but the gifts that seemed like people took the time to think of something that spoke to me or my personality were my favorite. In this case, receiving something off the registry for my shower was fun. However, off the registry gifts for the wedding seem to be much more random (more like random house things we probably will never use), so regarding wedding gifts, unless it is something personalized, stick to the registry. Our registry was full of items we would love for our home, but couldn’t see ourselves actually splurging on!
- Yay! Though a non-registry gift can be amazing, 95 percent of the time they are just a little too “out there.” I’d definitely stay away from gifting art. I’ve heard horror stories about strange paintings, statues, decorative vases, etc.!
Questions of the Afternoon
- When it comes to wedding gifts, do you usually stick to the registry or veer off in favor of something else?
And feel free to weigh in on the main questions from this blog post, too! Here’s a quick list for easy reference:
- What was the most creative/thoughtful wedding gift you received?
- What wedding gift do you find yourself using the most often?
- What is one item you registered for that you ended up not using much at all?
- What is one gift you didn’t expect to use or love that ended up being one of your favorites?
- Stick to the registry: Yay or nay?
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I give gifts listed on the registry or cash usually. This made me laugh though because I registered for a cupcake holder and have used it a total of 0 times in my two years of marriage too! haha
Ha! The salad spinner…Yes, we NEVER use ours either!
Neither do we! Haha!
I use mine all the time! Although it wasn’t a wedding gift. How do you wash your salad/lettuce then?! 🙂
I was so surprised to see this because I use mine allllll the time. Isn’t lettuce soggy without it? I literally don’t know because I always always always use mine! I’m always shocked when people don’t have salad spinners or rice cookers since I use mine so much.
I was surprised to see salad spinner as not used… I love mine and use it at least once a week! Some other items I’d add: a clothes steamer, monogrammed tote from lands end, and Sonicare Toothbrush!
We did a Honeyfund which was really great because people gave us money for the honeymoon but they got to pick out certain activities to give towards. So instead of just giving cash they got to go on the website and pick something like zip lining, horseback riding, dinner at a nice restaurant, or massage…etc…which I felt way better about than just saying “Money please!” 🙂
I love this!! I’m getting married next year and a lot of my friends are engaged, so I need ideas like this! I especially love the idea of a picture of the couple with maps of their hometowns on either side. I usually like to stick to the registry if I don’t know the couple that well, but if it’s a close friend or family I try to do something a little more personal. This was such a fun post!
This is perfect timing because I’ve got a ridiculous amount of weddings to go to this year.
And I’ve got a registry question: normally I am quite able to find something on a registry that I’d like to give and that I feel like costs enough to be a nice present, but I’ve got a wedding coming up where the couple is registered at Target and nothing is more than $20. Normally I would then get them a couple of things, but their registry is pretty small and the wedding is pretty big, so I don’t want to buy up too much off the registry and leave others with nothing. Any advice?
I’d consider throwing in a little something special with the registry item. If you get them glasses, find some unique wine charms or coasters to add in, throw in a cute pair of oven mitts or a trivet with a baking dish, a cutting board with knives, a recipe book to go with a slow cooker, etc…
Love this idea! You can also supplement a smaller gift with a check or a Target gift card since Target seems to be a place they like!
I have found myself in this situation often. Sometimes there are a few things in my price range and the rest is waaaay expensive. I usually purchase the one thing off the registry and round it out with a few coordinating, smaller items. For example if it’s kitchen stuff (like a pan or something) I’ll include a set of cute towels or cute dish gloves + scrubby.
My pet peeve (after recently getting married and having my first baby) is when people buy off registry and DON’T INCLUDE THE GIFT RECEIPT! Boo. We ended up with things we couldn’t return & didn’t want/need/already had.
I generally stick to the registry. In addition to the registry gift, I like to turn the couples invite into a Christmas tree ornament so they have a new ornament! The ones I have made have gotten rave reviews! It’s super easy to do: buy a plastic/glass globe ornament from a craft store, cut invite into strips, and arrange in ornament. Here’s a link to my blog with more instructions and pictures: http://www.sneakersandspatulas.com/2014/12/22/wedding-invitation-ornaments/
We use our everyday plates and silverware the most. I LOVE our Cuisinart griddler and use it for all sorts of sandwiches.
Most random gifts: a serving platter with a picture depicting Italy on it. Neither of us is Italian nor have ever gone to Italy. After about a year I finally donated it to Goodwill. We also received a random ceramic wind chime that terrified our dog. That was also donated.
I love that idea!!!! So cute!
I am getting married in August, so this is super helpful! We have been trying to find useful things to add to the registry….
I’m SUCH a rule follower — I hate going off registry, and I kind of think it’s rude to go off registry UNLESS you’re getting something unique and not at all similar to anything they have on their registry. One off-registry item I got that I love and can’t live without is my 31 Casserole carrier – a group of friends went in together and got it for me and had it embroidered with my new married name.
Now that I think about it, some of the off registry items I got were my favorite — including a quilt made by my great-grandmother, vintage crystal champagne flutes and a cutting board made from local wood from my home state. However, if you’re just getting mixing bowls, don’t try to shake it up by getting them a different brand just because you think it’s a better brand.
Oh fun questions (especially since my brother just got married this past weekend!)
What was the most creative/thoughtful wedding gift you received?
My MOH asked every person invited to my shower to send back a recipe. Since I LOVE to cook, this gift was really special to me (and definitely had me in tears). For our wedding, a friend gave us a gift certificate to a really nice restaurant. We wound up using it for our 6-month anniversary and it was a nice treat since we probably wouldn’t have gone somewhere as expensive had it not been for the gift.
What wedding gift do you find yourself using the most often?
We actually use almost all of our wedding gifts regularly. We mostly registered for kitchen stuff, sheets, towels, and only a few fun things because we were living in an apartment at the time and just wanted to update our cheap single stuff to nice married couple stuff.
What is one item you registered for that you ended up not using much at all?
I registered for a dust buster to help combat the puppy fur, and I don’t use it nearly as much as I thought I would (laziness?). We also don’t use our grill pan as much now that we have a full size grill, but I still break it out for panini’s and grilled cheese.
What is one gift you didn’t expect to use or love that ended up being one of your favorites?
A friend’s parent got us a decorative bowl (art piece, not serving) from a local artist. When I first saw it I thought it was totally not my style, but we have it on display on our bookcase and I actually really love it now.
Stick to the registry: Yay or nay?
Depends… Cash is king, but if you can get something nice off the registry that you think the couple will use and appreciate, I prefer to go that route.
When it comes to wedding gifts, do you usually stick to the registry or veer off in favor of something else?
I try to stick to the registry, especially if I can get a larger gift that other guests wouldn’t necessarily be able to do. I’ve teamed up with friends to buy all the bedding for one friend. For my brother’s wedding I knew I wanted to get them a stand mixer so I stalked the sales until I found the one they had on their registry for what I was willing to pay. I’ve also done more personal gifts (like an Art.com gift card) for close friends.
I have two upcoming weddings in June (two weeks apart). One is family and the other is a friend. Neither one is registered for anything (except for their honeymoon). Some of these ideas are great, but what gift ideas do you have for someone who doesn’t register? I know money is great, but I feel it isn’t personal enough if I give money (especially being family and a close friend).
I had one of my best friends’ wedding invitations made into a jewelry plate which she loved! I also had a talented artist on Etsy sketch a friend’s wedding dress & her husband’s tuxedo to frame. I do think money is a good option when people don’t register, but also 100 percent understand wanting to send something more personal when it’s someone you’re really close to!
If you’re just talking about the gift for the actual wedding, I would definitely give cash. It may seem impersonal, but I can promise you they will appreciate it. I’ve given gift certificates to restaurants before too – a lot of people are pretty broke after their weddings, so it’s a free date night and nice meal!
I’m getting married next month and we only registered at ourwishingwell.com
We did this for a reason. We have most of the items we need for our home since we’ve been living with each other for almost three years. We’d like to use the cash from our wedding on bigger ticket items that we couldn’t place on a registry.
The only down side is that not everyone likes to give cash as a gift. So, unfortunately, we’ve received gifts that we have no use for or don’t particularly like. I think if a couple is only asking for cash, you should stick to their wants. If not, make sure to include a gift receipt. : )
I vote yes for money, even if it seems impersonal! Money can be used for ANYTHING, and by the time you pay for your wedding, you feel so broke that it’s like winning the lotto to even get $20!
I usually stick to the registry. I like getting a bunch of the smaller items and putting them together in a cute way. Or I will go together with friends family and get a big ticket item. I’ve also given a check or cash if I didn’t know the couple that well.
I had a friend that was given a huge table service set (plates, bowls, flatware, etc..) that wasn’t even on her registry and not her style at all. It was in the original box but it looked like it was a least 20 years old and looked like it was from a garage sale.
I definitely believe in sticking to the registry unless you know the couple very well. A guest gifted us with a pitcher from Pier 1 that was a final sale item and a dog treat. My husband and I frequently joke about the gifts.
Julie! This blog post was spot on. It’s all so true and funny, too! I have a little Etsy shop where we sell this card to give brides at their shower that says “I can’t wait to watch you act surprised when you open the pre-selected gifts from your registry”. Thought it would be appropriate to share that here! Please take a look if you have a second – I’m sure a lot of your friends would find it amusing!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/227226902/bridal-shower-wedding-funny-wedding-card?ref=market
Oh, and I use our blender and toaster oven ALL THE TIME. The ice cream maker? Not so much.
-Kathryn
This was a really great post, I’m getting married next year and although we haven’t even started our registry yet it’s nice to know what other people think are useful!
I stick to the registry when buying wedding gifts. My stance on that is unless it’s something personalized that you KNOW the person would like, sticking to the registry is the safest bet!
That’s how I’m feeling about baby gifts, too. We’ve received some things off the registry that can definitely be helpful (some baby medicines, books, etc.), but I’ve also gotten things that we have double of and can’t return now (i.e. someone bought us a bather and a diaper bag with no gift receipt and I already had received the ones we had on our registry–and I like the ones we registered for way better!!)
What a fun & helpful post! The gift we received that I love and use daily is a large cutting board that has our last name engraved on the front. On the back, it has our wedding date. That has been the item I now have made (through Etsy) for our friends getting married and everyone seems to love the practicality, yet creativity of it. The other two gifts we have used the most are the Dyson vacuum and coffee maker (duh!).
I either stick to the registry or give cash most of the time 🙂
My husband and I were JUST talking about this!
We use our electric kettle all the time and never thought we’d be fans. We also love our Wusthof set. I thought our old knives were fine, but good ones make a huge difference.
We also ended up returning all our fine china from our registry, and I’m glad. We don’t have the space and exchanged it all for Fiestaware that we will use every day and can mix and match with fun decor to dress up.
We love our electric kettle, too!
We received a gorgeous mounted invitations and my mom also had all of our shower invites, save the date and wedding invite mounted into a gorgeous collage with our monogram in the center and wedding date
My slow cooker has been my very favorite wedding present – I didn’t even expect that I’d use it but 8 years later I’m still using it 2 – 3 times weekly. If I see one on the registry for a wedding, I’ll always buy it and a cookbook of slow cooker recipes.
The weirdest gift I ever got was off-registry and I still am not 100% sure who it is from since it didn’t come with a card – I received a picnic basket stuffed with relationship and sex books – The Joy of Sex, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus, and a few others. If you could die of embarrassment, I probably would have when I opened up the basket in front of my friends and family.
My favorite wedding gift I received was made by my mom’s best friend. She’s a superb artist and personalized a gorgeous plate with our names and wedding date in our wedding colors. It’s so beautiful and thoughtful.
I think registries should be there as a guide, and of course, like a commenter said, if the couple has a set of mixing bowls on their registry then don’t get them a different brand because you think it’s better. However, I also think that a gift is a gift – and although you’re taking a risk of the couple returning your gift, I don’t think it’s bad to stray from the registry. That’s like saying my family should only buy my Christmas or birthday presents from my wish list and not stray – seems like it’s missing the point and thought behind the giving and is only thinking about the actual present. I suppose that mentality is bound to happen when you are receiving dozens and dozens of gifts at once though! 🙂
Side note – my brother got married this fall and registered for a very small vacuum (like a “shark”) for their studio apartment – well their very generous aunt and uncle gifted them a $1,500 vacuum that is about the size of their studio apartment haha. Needless to say, they had to return it…
Friends were married last August and their invites had bicycles on them…as did some of their wedding decor. They are big fans of running, biking, hiking etc….so I checked out Etsy and had a print made that had two bicycles on it, facing eachother, with a cute quote and their names and wedding date. I framed it and gifted it to them, along with a set of Pyrex that was on their registry. It was a nice way for me to get them something I knew they wanted (Pyrex), but also do something more sentimental, which is more my style. They loved it! And it’s fun going to their house and seeing the print I got them in their living room.
I love that idea!! And so nice to pair it with something from their registry, too!
A little off topic, but have you seen these “mom” dresses? http://www.sonnetjames.com/
I’m not a mom (and won’t be any time soon) but they’re so cute and comfy looking!!! I definitely see you wearing one.
love them!!! and no, i had not seen them before but they really do look very comfortable & super cute!! i love the length!
I love this! I agree that some of the things I wasn’t excited on my registry, I use a ton. I stick to the registry for most people, but for very close friends, I like to get monogrammed or personalized items with their name and wedding date. Fun post! Brings me back! 🙂
What was the most creative/thoughtful wedding gift you received? I would have to say either a craft my best friend/matron of honor made me that had the date we met, started dating, got engaged, and married, OR my engagement band because it was my grandmothers!
What wedding gift do you find yourself using the most often? My crockpot! I love it, and it has a gorgeous Demask print on it. I always get compliments on it
What is one item you registered for that you ended up not using much at all? We decided to register for a Queen size bed sheets/set because we thought we were going to get a new bed… Well almost three years later and we’re still squeezing into a full size bed with too big of sheets!
What is one gift you didn’t expect to use or love that ended up being one of your favorites? Honestly, nothing… We registered for a ton of gifts and didn’t really get much (We did get a lot of cash, but that went to other things). I will say I love the Magic Bullet/NutriBullet. We moved into our first apartment right after our wedding and realized we didn’t have silverware, a toaster, or even a microwave. Our first night in the apartment we made frozen pizza and realized we didn’t even have plates to use.. Let alone a pizza cutter!
Stick to the registry: Yay or nay? YAY!
Never used my salad spinner! My neighbor had a yard sale and I brought mine over and she had hers out too. We both laughed. No one bought them.
I get shower gifts from the registry but give cash as an actual gift at the wedding.
I love this!!! I’m getting married next April and I suddenly feel the need to passively share this with my family and friends 🙂
Love this! I’m getting married in September so this is super helpful. Wine aerator def going on list now 🙂
Great post!
For my wedding, I had a small registry because we were having a small wedding and because, honestly, we didn’t need much stuff. We thought very hard about whether we would regularly use the items we put on the registry, and that helped nix the “this would be cool to use twice a year” items. Registry items and cash were wonderful gifts. Some guests bought off-registry gifts, and most of those ended up being returned or donated. One of the best (and off-registry) gifts I received was a wedding congratulations card with a picture of my husband and me from during the recessional. It was given post-wedding obviously, but it was very thoughtful and creative and budget-friendly for my grad student friend.
This is good timing to me. I’m getting married next month and we’ve started getting gifts. I definitely say stick to the registry or cash unless you really know the couple’s taste. My future in-laws got us a bunch of crystal (cake stand, S&P shakers, butter dish, creamer/sugar set). I know we’ll never use it. I don’t even own a cake pan (nor did we register for one). We’re just not formal people. We own two heirloom sets of china that have been in storage boxes for 5+ years each. Even when we have people over for dinner we use every-day dishes that are dishwasher safe.
Now we just have to figure out how long we need to keep the crystal before we can sell it.
I am getting married in September and just finished my registry.. Is it sad that I kind of want people to surprise me with unique gifts instead of buying the plates that I know I’m going to get!?
Also I just went back and read your bridesmaids gift post…. I needed those ideas! It’s so hard thinking of something that everyone will love because I have such a diverse mix of personalities to deal with 🙂
I usually stick to the registry but try to put a couple pieces together into a theme of some kind (like a pizza stone, pizza cutter, and wine/beer glasses for an at-home pizza night). That’s about as creative as I get.
One of my friends put a basket of holiday decorations together for another friend’s shower. She had small decorations for every holiday – Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. It was perfect because the friend getting married was buying a house with her fiance and they didn’t have any decorations. So thoughtful and so useful!
Sticking to the registry is good for common stuff (mixing bowls, cups, etc). I honestly got 4 sets of measuring spoons and had to return the ones I registered for, although the ones I kept were nice too!
At my bridal shower, we got a personalized cake server set that we used during the wedding. This and personalized artwork were some of my favorite gifts.
I usually gift a 9×13 pyrex with a carrier that I etch the bride and groom’s names onto. Although, non returnable, it’s usually well loved and I have had requests to make them for friends of friends!
I didn’t have a registry for our wedding bc we had already been living together for 2 years and also have a problem where we just buy things as we need/want them. So there wasn’t really anything that we needed that we registered for. We used most of the money we got for savings and our house down payment.
We did have some friends who got us monogrammed robes though and we wear those all the time!
I like to get something unique and personal for the shower and then stick to the registry from the wedding. I like to wait until super close to the wedding and then purchase the rest of a set or the last missing plate, etc. Fill in the gaps of things that other people have already purchased. I’m just OCD like that 🙂
Our off-registry items that I really liked were a framed copy of our invitation, a “first Christmas’ ornament, and 2 $100 checks so we could each go buy ourselves new running shoes (we’re big runners).
Things we LOVED from our registry: Ninja blender, Cuisinart Griddler (LOVE LOVE LOVE this), and just nicer upgraded kitchen utensils (nice wooden spoon, high quality spatula).
The things that haven’t made it out of the box: rice cooker and immersion blender.
If it’s someone I’m not super close (i.e., distant cousins, high school friends that I’m not as close with, etc.) I ALWAYS stick to the registry.
However, if its a close close friend I try to mix and match. For example, I love to get my girlfriends something personal for their wedding shower and something off their registry for their wedding gift. I love to give all my girlfriends a cute ring holder in addition to whatever I get them at their wedding shower. It’s always a crowd pleaser and I have ring holders all over my house — they’re just so useful!
A younger cousin gave my husband and me a BIG BIG bag of cleaning rags. It was completely unexpected but turned out to seriously be the most useful wedding gift. Not only are rags something you don’t think about needing, but there were also so many that we don’t feel bad about throwing them out after more intense uses. Best gift!
We also received many art with our names and wedding dates but… I think we got TOO MANY! One is great; five is excessive. 😛
We had a honeymoon fund, where we registered online so they could “gift” us things for a vacation in Europe. The website actually just sends you a check so that was totally our thing! We paid a few grand for our wedding, so we replenished our savings with that money! A year later, we’re actually taking our Eurotrip honeymoon (and without planning, but over our wedding one year anniversary!). So that money is going towards that, indirectly. I think the only thing I got aside from that was a personalized cutting board with our wedding date and last name engraved from a bridesmaid. I loved it and have it on display on a shelf in my dining room!
What a fun post! I love doing a combination of both – mainly because I HATE getting so much random stuff that I didn’t WANT or NEED. Example – I can’t tell you how many tacky heart picture frames we received, ha! If I know the person well, I think it’s special to take a little extra time and do something homemade plus a little something from their registry! I mean, they DID register for that stuff for a reason, but sometimes the homemade more special gifts are the best!!
I typically stick to the registry but like to add something personal/off the registry as well. Last year my go-to was two small nesting dishes for the bride’s rings to put by the kitchen sink and bedside table. I found small ones in the dollar spot at Target and personalized them and they were such a hit! I also got personalized “Mr. and Mrs.” luggage tags for one friend, it was fun!
It really depends on who’s getting married. If they are really close friends, then I may choose something more personal. It also depends what’s left on their registry by the time you get to the store. A lot of people register just for the sake of registering (like I did) and don’t necessarily *need* those things they listed. I wasn’t going to register but older family members really wanted me to. And then, funnily enough, we got almost nothing on our registry! haha! We also had a destination wedding so we got a lot of cash. But my favourite real-gift was a handmade quilt by my husband’s aunt. Love, love it and will keep it forever.
Love this post!!
I received three unexpected shower gifts that I use ALL the time: a gold monogrammed necklace with my new initials, a big monogrammed makeup/toiletry bag, a Michael Aram ring catcher. Now, whenever one of my friends gets engaged I immediately get them a pretty crystal ring dish (with a gift receipt of course).
We received several gifts that were not on our registry but thankfully were able to return and exchange for items that were on our registry but didn’t receive. Because of our experience, I tend to stick to the registry when buying a couple a wedding gift!
From our registry we LOVE our Vitamix, vaccuum, and Kitchen Aid stand mixer/pasta maker. We also love pretty serving pieces and use them often when we entertain!
One registry item we decided to return and exchange for something else (towels lol) was a $350 turkey platter. I’m a vegetarian and we never host Thanksgiving or make whole, roasted turkeys, hah!
This was such a fun post!
I usually stick to the registry or do money. I just feel like it’s a win-win with either! I’ve done some more personal gifts for family & close friends, but otherwise def registry or money.
We LOVE our panini press-it’s one of our fave gifts we received because we use it so much! That and our electric kettle.
Serving ware is also something we don’t use often, like one of your friends said. It takes up so much space & it gets used a few times a year. I’m glad we didn’t register for china or anything like that!
Since we lived together before we got married, we were pretty much well stocked. We did register but only for things we really wanted or upgrades/replacements for things we had. Our registry was rather short and kept it in the lower price range, and our families/friends mostly gave us cash–our families’ cultures just did that kind of thing. But, I do use the perforated pizza pan and knives a lot!
When I give a gift–I tend stick to cash. If that seems impersonal, or I’m not able to give a substantial amount, I’ll get a gift card at the place they’re registered so they can put it towards something on their list they didn’t receive, or pick something moderately priced on their registry. Sometimes I go off list and pick a gift of my own choosing–I will definitely give with a gift receipt. (Because no one should be stuck with something they didn’t particularly care for, or have changed their mind.) Once we did give a Blu-Ray player which they loved because theirs was on the fritz and most people I know aren’t about to spend money on things like that just before their wedding.
Having 8 weddings (including my own) in 2014…. I had a lot of practice with this. For shower gift I would usually go off of registry and if it was a really close friend, add something personal as well.
For weddings, we always have money. Even though it is impersonal, I know it’s always appreciated.
We loved getting money for our wedding because we used it to completelt gut and renovate our bathroom and in our thank yous let our guests know that is what we did with their gift!
For our wedding we did receive some gifts that weren’t on our registry that weren’t our favorite but I also loved some of the thoughtful non registry gifts. My mom got me a Willow Tree figurine which I absolutely love and never would have bought for myself. My friend got me a groupon for a 16 x 20 canvas so we go one of our wedding pictures printed on it. My friends mother made a cross stitch for us with our names and wedding date on it that is absolutely beautiful- I think she said it was called a wedding bell.
Probably my favorite registry item is my Kitchen Aid mixer. Love it!
My husband and I got engaged on top of a local landmark in Baltimore, and got married at a local museum. My brother-in-law contacted a local artist and had him paint our venue–it ended up being a “special edition” painting that the author only made 50 copies of. Ours is signed and has “1 of 50” on it, which is so cool! And the other thoughtful gift was a friend of mine painted the landmark building where we got engaged, even adding the sunset in the background and our figures on the roof. It is hanging in our bedroom and makes me smile every time I see it. It took her months to paint and frame and it made me cry when I opened it!!
For giving gifts, it mostly depends on how well we know the couple. If we’re really close I’m typically invited to a bridal shower too – then we’ll usually do one of the gifts (wedding or shower) of things from their registry, then the other gift will be something more personal/fun. If we’re not as close with someone or if we have to travel a long ways for the wedding, we’ll usually do a gift card (or a few for a date night out) or something from their registry right to them.
I debated about whether or not to even do a registry when we got married a few years ago, and I was glad we did in the end – we use nearly everything we ended up getting!