Wedding Etiquette & Gifts Ideas

• Gifts for the Bride

For many women, their wedding day is one of the most memorable days of their lives. Be a part of their cherished memories and give the bride a gift she’ll appreciate and remember. As most couples have a wedding registry set up at their favourite stores, choosing a wedding present isn’t as hard as it used to be. If they do, make sure you choose something meaningful from their list for the bride. Any present for the home or a present that’s for her would be a great gift to choose from the list. If they don’t, you’ll find the following gift ideas incredibly helpful.

If you’re part of the wedding party or close to the bride, jewellery is a timeless classic. You obviously won’t need to spend too much—she already has a ring that takes the cake—but smaller pieces of jewellery like a lovely silver bracelet or a topaz pendant would be a perfect wedding present. Jewellery is a great wedding gift because it's lovely and will last a lifetime. A beautiful necklace or bracelet will be sure to please. Another great present is a jewellery box. A jewellery box is a great gift idea as it gives her a safe place to store her valuables like her new engagement ring. Through the years, she’ll collect more and more pieces of jewellery and that jewellery box can still be of use to her. Jewellery and jewellery boxes are presents that will last forever and they’re something the bride will appreciate for a lifetime.

More affordable gifts that brides love are gift baskets. There are all kinds of gift baskets, with make-up or perfume sets and much more. One gift basket that is always appreciated is a skin care gift set. A beauty or skin care gift set is great because it's a practical, usable gift that's of high quality and feels luxurious. While there are countless kinds of gift baskets for her out there, the most important thing to consider is her personality and choosing the right gift basket for her.

• Gifts for the Groom

The groom is about to take the plunge! Best to help him make a smooth transition into married life with a gift he’ll appreciate. Unlike gifts for the bride, a gift for the groom can surprisingly be more challenging. The reason is because gifts for the bride tend to be generalised, for example, gift baskets with beauty products can be given to just about any woman. For the groom, gifts tend to be a bit more specific. While that tends to be the case, there is one gift that bucks that general rule of thumb. Cufflinks, like earrings or a bracelet for a woman, are items that a man can use throughout his life. Cufflinks are a perfect wedding gift because they'll add value to the groom's suits and are perfect for any formal occasion. Tasteful cufflinks are absolutely great presents that will be treasured by the groom and choosing one won’t be too much trouble for you either.

Knowing the groom's personality and hobbies are imperative when choosing the right gift. If there isn’t a registry to go to for gift ideas, knowing the groom’s interests is even more important. For instance, does he love playing golf? Consider a golf club set. Golfers would absolutely cherish a new set of clubs. Does he love wine? A wine rack might do the trick. Is he an espresso aficionado? A Gaggia espresso machine may be his dream comes true. An espresso machine is an appliance that's a bit more than mundane (it's definitely not boring like a toaster), but also practical and useful. Like gifts for the bride, there are gift sets for him as well. Most of them consist of skin care products, colognes and deodorants, but again take caution when choosing a gift set. Many men have a favourite cologne or deodorant that they prefer above others, so buying a David Beckham gift set when he really prefers French Connection would be a waste of time and money.

• Gifts for the Home

As the newly married couple begins their journey through life together, items for their new nest are common and welcome gifts. Couples with wedding registries often select gifts for their new home; if they don’t have a registry though, here’s a great list of gift ideas for their new home to consider.

Quality flatware and glassware are classic wedding presents, as is cutlery. Gifts like these stay with the couple throughout their lives together and will no doubt be cherished. Cutlery is an extremely traditional gift as most couples don't have a set of quality flatware for their new home. Many people also choose to buy appliances for the couple’s new nest. That’s a perfect investment in their future and it’s sure to be highly useful to them as well. Think about every room in the home: the bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathroom. You can buy something useful and lovely for any of these rooms and it would make a perfect wedding present. For the bedroom, an Egyptian cotton duvet is a perfect present. There are some amazingly priced scented gifts that are great for the home as well. In the bedroom, lavender scented candles or scent diffusers are ideal as lavender has been proven to improve sleep quality. There are also gift baskets for the home that offer scented candles, scent diffusers, bath salts and much more.

The new couple will have loads of new pictures from the big day. Digital photo frames are a great gift. They’ll be able to proudly display their favourite wedding moments and their loved ones easily onto a digital photo frame. One digital frame can display hundreds and hundreds of high quality pictures. They can set up a slideshow, put in videos and play music on most digital photo frames as well.

• Gourmet Gifts

Everyone loves food. There’s no denying that. High quality food is something we all desire and is a great wedding gift idea, especially if the newlyweds are gourmets. If food or wine shows up in their wedding registry, you will definitely know that they're gourmets. If it does, make sure you get exactly what they’re asking for as anything else will probably be a waste of your money. If they don’t have a wedding registry and you know they love fancy food, think about what kinds of foods they love and talk about. Do they love to eat out? Consider giving them a gift certificate to their favourite restaurant. Fine wine and chocolates usually come in gift baskets and are another present to think about. Nothing screams celebration like high quality rose Champagne. Rose Champagne can throw in a unique twist from just regular Champagne. It also has a sweeter taste that most people prefer over typical Champagne. If you want to give them a bit more than just one bottle of Champagne, consider giving them a set of wine. Fine wine gift sets typically come with two or more bottles, and who can turn down a quality bottle of wine, let alone two? Wine sets are a very popular wedding present. And another thing to think about: cheese goes great with wine! If the newlyweds love cheese, as most gourmets do, a gourmet cheese basket would be a perfect present. They come with all sorts of different kinds of delicious cheeses that won’t go unappreciated. And if all those ideas don't sound appealing to you, maybe they'd love a chocolate gift basket. They are also highly popular this year and many gourmet chocolate companies like Godiva and Ghirardelli make exceptional baskets filled with their goodies.

Finally, if they don’t care for chocolates, what about tea? You can use this opportunity to buy them a quality teapot and a set of organic teas. When buying food and wine, always consider buying organic. Organic food and wines are grown using eco-friendly, sustainable methods that always ensure a higher quality product.

• Homemade Wedding Favours

If you are good at crafting things, why not offer to make all of the couple’s wedding favours? There is nothing more rewarding than using your imagination. For example, when creating the favour bags for holding sweets, how about recycling mini jam jars and wrapping a lovely ribbon around them? Nowadays with the excellent technology available, it's very easy to create and print your own customised and professional-looking wedding menus and invitations. All you need is some basic Photoshop knowledge and/or some cool artwork and let your imagination and creativity take care of the rest! The bride and groom simply don’t have any time to devote to such tasks since there is so much other organisation required for the planning and logistics of the wedding. Buy some fancy paper, do some thorough research and most importantly, show them some samples of the menu and the wedding invitations that you intend to create for them!

Ask them for their guest list and create original and unique wedding tags. You could shape the tags as a cube or use old suitcase tags. You could also attach the tag to a candle or a flower that can double as a prop for the cards! Finally you could also use a blank CD as a prop and print out the tag on adhesive paper. Then at the end of the ceremony you could collect them all and send them along with the thank you notes and keepsake pictures from the wedding.

If you are a good photographer, you could also offer to be their official wedding photographer for their reception. The couple will definitely appreciate the offer and best of all, you will save them a lot of money for which they will be even more grateful. Most importantly, you need to be sure that you have the necessary skills and are up to performing this job to meet their expectations as bad pictures on what is supposed to be the most memorable and unforgettable day of their lives can quickly ruin a friendship!

Use your networks! If you know someone that is a great hairdresser or if you know someone that owns a great restaurant or a flower shop; you can probably get a good deal on behalf of the couple and they will surely be grateful!

• Gifts based on Relationship

If you are going to the wedding and you are the guest of an invitee, you don’t necessarily need to get a wedding gift as you probably barely know the couple. However, it’s certainly more polite to bring something to show your appreciation for the invitation and the reception. Your gift does not necessarily have to be expensive, so a nice picture frame or a gourmet basket, like the Edinburgh preserve, assortment will definitely be appreciated by the happy couple.

If you are going to the wedding of a colleague or someone you are merely acquainted with, you don’t need to spend too much either. Even though there is no actual rule in place, many suggest that you spend at least 50£ on the wedding gift. If you choose from the registries you probably want to pick from the tableware categories as there are many pieces that go for less than 100£, like a Laguiole set or perhaps a set of crystal candlesticks. If the couple doesn’t have a registry or you can’t find anything that fits within your designated price rage, then you could consider offering a bottle of Courvoisier Cognac or a subscription to a magazine or two, if you are aware of any of their particular hobbies or interests.

• Gifts for the Bridesmaids and Flower Girls

The bridesmaid and/or maid of honour are the people that the bride will rely on to help her to plan the perfect wedding. It could be a sister, a cousin or just a close friend that helps the bride during the very hectic, stressful and time consuming experience of planning the wedding. They will help before and during the wedding day; they will have to prepare the hen party, help with all the organisation and logistics. Of course they will also provide lots of advice and support throughout the entire planning process. While a thank you gift is not necessary, it will be a nice gesture on your part, especially if you feel that they really helped you a lot during all of the planning and preparations.

For the little bridesmaids or flower girls, today is also an important day for them as they actually have a key role to play in the wedding. To give her/them a little something will show them just how important they were to you and they will value any token of appreciation! How about a designer tote bag that they can decorate with studs, sequins, gems and glitter? Little girls will simply love something like this. Otherwise, how about a chubby plush rabbit to hug at night?

For the adult bridesmaids or for the maid of honour you should probably base the budget for their respective thank you gifts based on how much of an excessive and demanding bride you have been during the planning and organisation of the event! You could offer her/them a nice crystal vase. You can find them in a wide variety of styles and price ranges so it will be easy to set your own budget and choose the perfect gift. If you really feel that your maid of honour has truly been there for you through thick and thin, and you maybe want to get something that is extra special and more personal, in which case a Swarovski necklace could be a gorgeous idea.

• Gifts for the Pageboys, Ushers and Best Man

Your pageboys are probably very worried about doing a good job while walking up the aisle with those rings, so to give them some courage, how about offering them their very first watch just like the grown-ups. If they already have a watch or if they are too young to appreciate such a gift, I’m sure that the adorable Paddington Bear would make a great companion for them and you can never have too many of those.

The usher will help you during the reception, especially at the beginning when meeting and greeting your guests and directing them to their designated places at the event. Cufflinks will be a nice idea as they are not very expensive and it will be a nice thank you gift for them that they can use again and again. If your ushers are more of the party boy type, then a hip flask would always be a definite winner that they can use for any occasion.

Your groomsman is your best man. You chose him because you want him to be part of your big day. He probably represents the old you, the single you and for that, your best man probably threw you a memorably decadent bachelor party that you will remember for the rest of your life. Your gift should correspond to how much your best man was involved in the wedding planning, the ceremony itself and will of course, be entirely dependent on your budget. You could get him a nice bottle of wine or specialty liquor or spirits that he can only open on his wedding day, or if he is already married, one that can only be opened at his 10 year anniversary. Talk to your merchant and ask him to recommend a bottle that will be at its prime in 5 or 10 years time. If your friend enjoys whisky or other quality liquor, then two crystal whisky glasses would be more than welcome and can always be put to good and regular use. If you want your gift to be more significant, than a Casio watch would be a great gift if he is a sporty type or if he has more of a classic style, a Citizen watch would be more appropriate.

• Gifts for the Parents of the Newlyweds

Thank you gifts for parents are not required and they are probably not even a tradition, but they are still just a nice way to say thank you to your parents. It’s a kind gesture for all their help and support, for both the moral and most likely financial support that they have provided while preparing for your wedding day. There are so many gifts ideas that are appropriate to say thank you to your parents, so really, the only limit is of course your budget! The other important thing that you should keep in mind is that the gift for the parents and the in-laws should be of equal value so as to not hurt any feelings on either side. This is a key and sometimes overlooked aspect that will not only keep everyone content, but will also ensure that the relationship with your new in-laws and parents starts off on the right foot!

For the moms you could get a name necklace or a handkerchief, if that is more their style. For the dads, you could get a pair of quality cufflinks or tie clips; the nice thing about all those gifts is that they could all be worn at the wedding. If you have a bigger budget, why not plan to reward them with a fun-filled weekend getaway or a relaxing weekend at the spa. If the wedding planning left you with very little money, then a simple bouquet of flowers or a bottle of wine will also be very much appreciated, after all it is the thought that truly counts.

Sometimes the best things are the simple notes. This is your big day but it is probably a very emotional day for your parents as well, as it’s the official day when their child starts his/her very own family and now is a perfect time to say thank you to your parents for being there for you today and for all the times leading up to this great event. Just write a little note that you can frame, or videotape your message for a more high-tech type of note. That will become a keepsake for your parents for years to come.