Gifts For Your Wedding Party!An important part of any wedding is to say thank you to those people who have helped to make it a wonderful day for the newly married couple. To that end it is normal to give a small token gift to certain people in the wedding party. Typical recipients include bridesmaids, the best man, flower girls and of course the parents of the bride and groom. You can also give a small gift to anyone else within the wedding party whom you think should ideally receive one. But what do you give? How do you know what kind of gift would be suitable? Knowing how much to spend and what to get can be a tricky problem, so let’s explore some of the possibilities you have available. The first thing to remember is that each gift should be a keepsake. Everyone will want to remember the role they played on your wedding day, so don’t worry about having to find something that is perfect for that person. The chances are they will keep it as a memento anyway, so you should find something that can act perfectly in this sense. For the men in your wedding party cufflinks can be a nice idea. You don’t want to choose anything too big if you can help it, and cufflinks with ‘best man’ or some similar wording on them will be perfect to wear on the day as well. Other good ideas for men include personalised golf balls and tees (if they like golf) or perhaps a mini engraved token with their position on it – ‘usher’ for example. When it comes to women there are lots of other ideas you could opt for as well. Pretty cosmetic or toiletry bags are a nice idea, and once again you could get these made up with the name of the person receiving them. Charm bracelets, jewellery boxes and picture frames to hold a special photo of the wedding would also be worth thinking about. As you can see, engraved or monogrammed gifts are a wonderful idea and add a certain degree of personalisation to them. But the best place to start is always with your budget. How much can you afford to spend on gifts for your wedding party? Once you have an overall figure in mind, you can decide what to give to whom. Gifts such as these can be bought for £10 or sometimes even less per item though, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about spending a lot of money. It all depends on what you want to buy and how many people you are buying for. Obviously if you have ten bridesmaids and a huge wedding party you will be spending more than you would if you went for a small wedding with just one bridesmaid. So a lot will depend on numbers as well. But the good news is that there are plenty of gifts available, so you just need to decide what you will buy for whom. Source: www.countywedding .co.uk

If you?re stumped for the idea of a wedding gift, relax! There are plenty of appropriate gifts to choose from in a wide range of prices. There?s a reason why couples tend to register for weddings at stores like Debenhams, Heals or House of Fraser. House ware is often the most requested and desired items on wedding registries. The reason? Just look around your own kitchen. How many basic items do you see? Any new couple setting up house needs, at a minimum, a set of silverware, plates and bowls, cups, and some cookware. House ware is also easily customized to any couples? personalities and tastes. Almost any item related to the kitchen or to dining would be welcomed. Reasons to give: There is a huge range and variety of house ware and kitchenware to choose from. You can definitely find a decent set of glasses or matching napkins and placemats for reasonable prices that won?t burn a hole in your pocket. Plus, house ware can be generic in case you don?t know the couple very well. Reasons to avoid: Stay away from gifting cutlery. Unless the couple is into circus knife throwing, it?s best to stay away from such, err, pointed gifts. There are plenty of other gifts to be had that don?t carry such deadly connotations. Also, unless the couple appreciates a ribald and youthful sense of humour, avoid kitschy items. Besides, that ?moo-ing? cow cookie jar screams of clearance rack junk. Idea #2: Art Similar to house ware, a gift of art also appeals to couples looking to setup their new home. In this case, you are gifting them something to help fill the walls or empty corners of their living space. It may take needing to know the tastes of the couple better, but you can find plenty of inexpensive prints to have framed as a wedding gift. Or, if you?re creative, you could try gifting them an ?original? of your making (who knows what it might be worth in the future?). Art doesn?t have to be paintings or drawings but also interesting small statues, a pretty vase or candle. Reasons to give: The gift of art is the road less travelled for wedding gifts so it?ll help make yours stand out. Reasons to avoid: Unless you know their tastes, don?t go for religious themes, or anything too abstract. You might end up buying a piece of art that they wouldn?t normally buy or want to have in their house, or you might even offend them with a particularly controversial piece. Idea #3: Things to do on their honeymoon No, not that thing (get your mind out of the gutter!). But why not secretly upgrade their honeymoon lodgings from basic rooms to a more luxurious suite? Or arrange to have a gift basket with champagne, chocolate, flowers or fruits waiting in their rooms when they retire? If you know the area where they?ll be spending their honeymoon, try to arrange a fun activity for them or make reservations at the local spa or fine dining restaurant. Reasons to give: After spending so much time, effort and money on their own wedding, the bride and groom will surely appreciate these indulgent and pampering gifts. Reasons to avoid: Again, this sort of gift is more suitable if you are close friends with the couple. Idea #4: Money Though it is tasteless for the bride and groom to request money, it is actually acceptable in many cultures for guests at the wedding to gift the couple with money. In Chinese culture, for example, money is provided in red envelopes. You can discretely tuck a cheque, gift card or some cash into the card that you give to the couple. As an alternative to gifting money to the couple, some modern couples are asking guests instead to donate to a charity of their choosing. Check with the couple or their families first to see if this is a reasonable option. Reasons to give: Money is always a practical gift. Reasons to avoid: You stand a good chance of coming across as stingy or a penny pincher if you gift an amount that is too little?unfortunately, there?s no rule to how much is or isn?t appropriate. Source www.countywedding .co.uk

Wedding Gift Lists Options For WeddingsThe gift list is an essential part of any wedding. Guests will want to buy the happy couple a gift to celebrate their union, and as such it pays to create a gift list as early as possible so people have a variety of things to choose from. Firstly you have the traditional list which is lodged with a well known department store of some kind. Nowadays you don’t necessarily have to book an appointment to go into the store to create your list. You can also do it quite easily online and indeed if you don’t want the help of a sales person you have never met, this can be the easiest way to do it. And of course the other benefit of using this service is that all your guests can sign into the website you have chosen to select what they want on the list. You can see who has ordered what and how close you are to attaining all the items you want. When we think about wedding gift list options we tend to think about where we want to lodge the list. But you also need to think about giving your guests plenty of options. For example you might have several items you really want to have that are priced at £100 or more. But not everyone will be able to afford that kind of gift. So be sure you also include other items you want just as much that are a lot cheaper and attainable within a much smaller budget as well. Of course there are other types of wedding lists you can opt for as well. Since many modern couples tend to live together before they get married they may already have everything they need. In this case some couples have asked for monetary donations towards the cost of the honeymoon. This can be done provided you do it tactfully! One couple wrote a poem to put the request into words more thoughtfully, for example. You can also forget your own needs and desires altogether and opt for a charity wish list. There are websites which enable you to do this and your guests can sign in and donate whatever they wish to your chosen charity. You can either opt for one charity that is close to your heart or let people choose whichever ones they wish to donate to. You can then announce what the total donations were at the wedding if you wish. There are also some more unusual options available, such as asking people to chip in to give your garden a makeover. It just goes to show that there are lots of more modern and versatile ideas you can think of using even if you have everything in your home that you need! So think carefully before you opt for your chosen wedding list. If you get it right it should delight both you and your partner and the guests as well. Source: www.countywedding .co.uk

Wedding Gift ListsMost couples will choose to create a gift list in advance of their wedding. This gives those people who are invited to the wedding or the celebrations afterwards the chance to buy something that the happy couple really want for their home together. When it comes time to create your gift list you need to think about where you want to have it – and what kind of list you want. If you are already living together you may find you don’t actually need very much. Some couples elect to create a charity gift list or simply ask people to donate to a specific charity. But if you want to have a proper gift list you need to decide where to lodge it. This may depend on what kind of items you want to ask people for. For example if you are truly setting up home together for the first time you will no doubt need all the essentials that are traditionally given as wedding presents. So find a store that offers a wedding list service and which sells lots of different items for different areas of the home. If you already live together and you have all of these smaller items, you will need to decide on the kind of things you would like to have before creating your list. For example you might want to focus on asking for donations towards larger items for your home. So instead of asking for various pieces for your new dinner service or small appliances such as a toaster or a kettle, you can ask for donations towards something larger such as a washing machine for example. Once you have decided where to have your gift list, you need to set up your gift list at the appropriate store. You can now do this quite easily online and it saves having to make an appointment to attend the store. You can then tell people where the gift list is lodged so that they can view it online and see what is available for them to buy. Even if you have a gift list you need to accept that some guests will want to give you something else. To try and combat this you can always set up more than one list if you wish. Having several lists at different outlets does give you the advantage of giving the guests several places to choose from. If they do not have the ability to buy online or don’t have access to the internet, they should have one of your stores close by to be able to get to. Take your time in choosing the items you want to include on your list as well. Think about what you need for your home as well as what you would like. Items that are suited to both of you are ideal, as people will want to give a gift to you both instead of something that appeals to just one of you. A well balanced gift list should enable you to get a good range of gifts from your guests. Source: www.countywedding .co.uk