A couple of weeks ago I found myself caught up in a whirlwind wedding week (not my own, I hasten to add) in lovely Brittany, France. The beautiful bride and dashing groom were my very good family friends Anna and James, who went on to enjoy a well deserved mini-moon in Paris after the festivities were over. I was honoured when Anna asked me to be a bridesmaid for the first time, and I'll never forget the amazing experience I had alongside such a lovely bunch of ladies.
Let's be honest though - mushy romance stuff aside - the best part about getting married has to be receiving lots of presents, right? Like most couples, Anna and James registered for gifts so their family and friends could purchase something online, but they were also happy for guests to bring along their own choice of wedding present. It was a brave move - they risked ending up with seventy or so romantic birdhouse mailboxes (any Office fans out there?) - but they also opened themselves up to a little bit of surprise and mystery (alongside the towels and Playmobil pandas - a must have for all newlyweds).
As this seems to be a wedding heavy time of year for a lot of people, I've put together a list of gift ideas below (at varying costs) to inspire those guests bold enough to go 'off list'. By now you all probably know that I usually lean towards practical things, but that doesn't mean they can't be beautiful too!
Making a scrapbook or album of photographs is a fairly low cost gift option, but it is undoubtedly one of the most thoughtful presents anyone could give. I think the laser cut heart scrapbook from Paperchase (£12.50) is very wedding appropriate, and you can either fill the whole album with special memories, or leave some pages blank for the happy couple to add to in the future.
If you're in the market for a bigger gift in the same vein, Polaroid style, instant cameras are very 'in' at the moment. Sadly, Polaroid film is pretty ridiculously expensive these days, but the Fujifilm Instax brand is a comparable alternative. I think their Mini 8 Camera (which comes in a few different colours) is adorable! The John Lewis set of a Mini 8, batteries and twenty shots (£69.95) seems to be the most cost effective, seeing as Amazon are charging £59 just for the camera. Make sure you hand this present to the bride and groom on the special day so they can start taking snaps straight away!
Crockery might seem like a boring cop out, but there are plenty of cute and quirky marriage appropriate pieces out there that I'm sure any couple would appreciate as a reminder of their wedding day. You can find 'Mr & Mrs' mugs in different styles and at various prices all over the internet, but I'm a big fan of the Emma Bridgewater set (£39.95) because they also do a matching tea pot with four mugs (£54.95) and a 'Just Married' cake plate (£39.95) all in the same pattern and style.
Le Creuset is a fairly traditional gift, but (even though your Mum undoubtedly has some in her kitchen cupboards) the brand is still very popular, and they have some lovely and unusual items in their range that will last forever! I like the idea of giving little 'Sweet Hearts' lidded dishes (£30 for a set of two) as a wedding present, maybe even filled with the bride and groom's favourite sweets or chocolates? A good trick for guests on a budget is to keep an eye out for these dishes in TK Maxx, as they usually have them for sale individually at much cheaper prices.
Everyone loves a good novelty gift, but - come on, guys - let's make sure yours are cute and useful so they don't end up at the back of a cupboard somewhere, 'til death do us part. They always say communication is key in any relationship, and the speech bubble chalkboard from Urban Outfitters (£12) will give the new Mr and Mrs an easy way to leave love notes (or abuse) for each other every day.
I think a heart shaped vinyl record would be an adorable wedding present, whether it's to be played or hung up on the wall for decoration. The one above happens to be a remastered version of 'Love Me Do' by The Beatles which I found on Amazon (from £5.99) but any heart shaped record would do! I know that Scottish band Kid Canaveral also have one for £4.99.
Finally (if you don't fancy any of my suggestions) there are approximately one billion lovely wedding gifts for sale at notonthehighstreet.com. My personal favourite has to be these 'big spoon' and 'little spoon' pillow cases (£25).
Let's be honest though - mushy romance stuff aside - the best part about getting married has to be receiving lots of presents, right? Like most couples, Anna and James registered for gifts so their family and friends could purchase something online, but they were also happy for guests to bring along their own choice of wedding present. It was a brave move - they risked ending up with seventy or so romantic birdhouse mailboxes (any Office fans out there?) - but they also opened themselves up to a little bit of surprise and mystery (alongside the towels and Playmobil pandas - a must have for all newlyweds).
As this seems to be a wedding heavy time of year for a lot of people, I've put together a list of gift ideas below (at varying costs) to inspire those guests bold enough to go 'off list'. By now you all probably know that I usually lean towards practical things, but that doesn't mean they can't be beautiful too!
If you're in the market for a bigger gift in the same vein, Polaroid style, instant cameras are very 'in' at the moment. Sadly, Polaroid film is pretty ridiculously expensive these days, but the Fujifilm Instax brand is a comparable alternative. I think their Mini 8 Camera (which comes in a few different colours) is adorable! The John Lewis set of a Mini 8, batteries and twenty shots (£69.95) seems to be the most cost effective, seeing as Amazon are charging £59 just for the camera. Make sure you hand this present to the bride and groom on the special day so they can start taking snaps straight away!
Crockery might seem like a boring cop out, but there are plenty of cute and quirky marriage appropriate pieces out there that I'm sure any couple would appreciate as a reminder of their wedding day. You can find 'Mr & Mrs' mugs in different styles and at various prices all over the internet, but I'm a big fan of the Emma Bridgewater set (£39.95) because they also do a matching tea pot with four mugs (£54.95) and a 'Just Married' cake plate (£39.95) all in the same pattern and style.
Le Creuset is a fairly traditional gift, but (even though your Mum undoubtedly has some in her kitchen cupboards) the brand is still very popular, and they have some lovely and unusual items in their range that will last forever! I like the idea of giving little 'Sweet Hearts' lidded dishes (£30 for a set of two) as a wedding present, maybe even filled with the bride and groom's favourite sweets or chocolates? A good trick for guests on a budget is to keep an eye out for these dishes in TK Maxx, as they usually have them for sale individually at much cheaper prices.
Everyone loves a good novelty gift, but - come on, guys - let's make sure yours are cute and useful so they don't end up at the back of a cupboard somewhere, 'til death do us part. They always say communication is key in any relationship, and the speech bubble chalkboard from Urban Outfitters (£12) will give the new Mr and Mrs an easy way to leave love notes (or abuse) for each other every day.
I think a heart shaped vinyl record would be an adorable wedding present, whether it's to be played or hung up on the wall for decoration. The one above happens to be a remastered version of 'Love Me Do' by The Beatles which I found on Amazon (from £5.99) but any heart shaped record would do! I know that Scottish band Kid Canaveral also have one for £4.99.
Finally (if you don't fancy any of my suggestions) there are approximately one billion lovely wedding gifts for sale at notonthehighstreet.com. My personal favourite has to be these 'big spoon' and 'little spoon' pillow cases (£25).
It was such an intimate moment and you could really feel the love and energy in the place. They had out sparkling water, wines, champagnes, etc. for all of us upon arrival at wedding location venue, and provided dishes and serving utensils for the bagels and other snacks we brought.
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