With any wedding that you go to you obliged to buy bride gifts and groom gifts. But that then leads you to the question, what do you buy the bride and groom as a wedding gift? Some couples help you out and register their wedding list. If anyone has seen Sex and the City 2, you will see how the opening of the film is about choosing a wedding gift from a list that was registered at Bergdorf Goodman (that place in incredible by the way). So yes, if the couple is nice then they will give you an idea of what they want and you just pick off the list. Just don’t leave it too long as there is potential for all the good and “cheaper” gifts to go first. Registering is more of an American tradition and it is only in recent years that the trend has picked up in the UK. I’m on the fence when it comes to registering; if the couple is reasonable they will usually choose an affordable place to register but if not then the wedding gift can leave you out of pocket! But here are a few tips when you are looking at purchasing the bride gifts and groom gifts:

1) Which side do you belong to? If you are part of the wedding party that’s great, but you either come with the bride or you’re on the grooms side? Right? If not pick a side and stay there. If you are part of the wedding party I believe that you should get two gifts (this is just an opinion, nothing is set in stone here). One for the couple and one for either the bride or the groom (depending on which side you belong to). There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly as a couple and a newly married couple at that, they need their “couple” wedding gifts. So yes please buy them his and her’s dressing gowns or matching slippers. That is all fine. BUT just because they are married that does not mean that they stop being individuals. So all the time I have been able to (so pretty much since I’ve been a wage earner) I have ALWAYS bought to gifts. The couple gift is big and nice and very suitable for the married couple. I mean I once got a couple a whole dinner service – mainly because that it what they registered for. But the bride was a close friend of mine, and I wanted to get her a bride gift too, sometimes we forget that the two people in that couple are taking a huge step in their own lives and that should be celebrated too. So for my friend as a bride gift I bought her an engraved compact mirror. This mirror was only small, but a sentimental gift from one friend to another. It is nothing that would offend the groom but it was enough to show how proud I was that she was taking the step to get married (nevermind the fact that I had waited long enough to be her bridesmaid!). It’s funny, I’ve only bought the seperate groom gift once and that was for a cousin of mine. He is a very nervous chappy, and as expected on his wedding day his cufflinks were no where to be found! Don’t tell me how I knew this was going to happy. It did and thankfully I was to the rescue (you see how I like to blow my own trumpet here!). Back to the point, as a groom gift I had bought my cousin a set of engraved cufflinks – he lost his cufflinks on his wedding day, but it’s alright – he wore the ones I gave him instead. What does this tell you? – two presents are useful!

2) If you are going to buy a bride gift and groom gift then you need to show the couple that you mean well for their future. I saw this tv program once where someone sent black roses to a couple the day before the wedding. DO NOT DO THAT! A wedding is a very special day and a very special time in someone’s life… you need to capture this in the wedding gift that you buy the bride and groom. A thoughtful gift is also a remembered gift, so think outside the box when purchasing a gift. Engraved gifts are perfect for weddings in my opinion; engraving last a lifetime – just like a marriage should.

3) Good tips always come in threes, so here is my third and final point when you are considering the bride gift and groom gifts…. remember that you have a budget. (If you don’t that is great by the way). The majority of us do and that is very important. If you can go for champagne but still want to get a great wedding gift, then choose a fine wine and give the couple an engraved wine gift. Personalised wine is just as good as a champagne gift, champagne can’t be drunk all the time – but wine can. It’s one of the few drinks that you can open after a hard day at work and enjoy a glass with your partner! A bottle of personalised wine is also a thoughtful gift, you’ve taken the time to personalise the gift and that is going to mean a lot to the newly married couple!

Whatever you do choose to get for the bride and groom, remember to make sure it shows that you are excited for their marriage and wish them a happy and fulfilled life together!

Engraved Champagne Flutes for Wedding Gifts – this is a pretty good read if you want more wedding gift ideas.