Thoughtful wedding gift ideas

August 3, 2009 7:09 AM

What would make a good, thoughtful gift for this newlywed couple?

My boyfriend's childhood friend decided to ditch the plans for a planned desitination wedding in favor of quickly getting married this past weekend in a very small ceremony (<30 people).

Because of the quick timing (think: hey, what are you doing tomorrow morning?), we were not able to get a gift. After having met the couple for the first time, we would like to get them something thoughtful. I know money could and would help out, but would prefer that be a last resort or an add-on.

About the couple:
Late 20's
He's an aspiring football coach.
She's in the first year of her residency. I think she will be an OB/GYN.
They were in a quasi long-distance relationship, and it will continue to be a long-distance marriage for at least the next 4 years. They will be in the same state (NY), but one will be in NYC, and the other in upstate NY.

I am open to any suggestions because I don't have much to go on either.

posted by alice ayres to grab bag (15 comments total)

I just got married and the best present I can imagine is money or Target gift cards. We live in a small apartment and don't have room for much - even wonderful, thoughtful gifts. Another nice gift we've received is wine and gift certificates to nice local restaurants.
posted by jrichards at 7:13 AM on August 3 [1 favorite]

2nd the gift card or an awesome bottle of champagne and two glass/crystal flutes.
posted by bunny hugger at 7:18 AM on August 3

Do you know how they will travel to see one another? You could give them gift certificates to their favorite mode of transportation.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:21 AM on August 3

Jessica Rust Designs makes awesome personalized platters and mugs. I have given the birch tree mugs and they were much loved by the couple. They could split the set and each have two, leaving a couple's worth of mugs in each home.
posted by iscatter at 7:24 AM on August 3 [2 favorites]

I love to give clear things like vases or pitchers or glasses stuffed with $50-100 in crumpled up dollar bills. The physical gift is something that can be used for a long term, and it makes receiving money a more fun experience than opening an envelope with a check in it. I've had more than one couple thank me for giving them cash in small denominations, too, since they wouldn't otherwise have had it on them for tolls, small purchases at the airport, etc (this might not apply in your case, since I gave these gifts at events where they opened them up right before going on their honeymoon).
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 7:27 AM on August 3 [3 favorites]

We got a few bottles of wine at our wedding. They are still in basement somewhere as neither of us drink, so keep the recipients drinking habits in mind for the alcohol gifts. I'm from the camp that thinks cash gift cards are tacky and show a remarkable LACK of thought. I treasure the personalised gifts I received, especially the art (most of which were small and apartment sized - the ten foot by four foot unframed piece has never been hung do to the cost of proper framing and lack of wall space). Chose a small, well-made gift (I'm partial to this one but I guess it depends on your sense of humour).
posted by saucysault at 7:43 AM on August 3

A yearlong train pass would be nice, so I'm seconding sciencegeek.
posted by Max Power at 8:05 AM on August 3

If they will ultimately live upstate, you could do what I did for my best friend -- offer to buy them a pair of fruit trees to plant in their yard, and make them the promise of giving them a hammock for their 10th anniversary (to be hung between those same fruit trees, which will by then have gotten strong enough to support a hammock).

Of course, this won't work quite as well if they will live in the city. But there could be another garden-related thing there too.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:24 AM on August 3 [3 favorites]

I know everybody wants to gift the newlyweds with some lasting momento they can treasure forever, but these days most people don't need more "stuff". And since this couple already have two households, they probably don't need more knick-knacks and have multiple household goods that will be combined eventually.

When we got married last year, we very much appreciated monetary gifts, either cash or gift cards. One gift we really enjoyed was a gift certificate to a posh restaurant that we wouldn't necessarily go to if we were paying for it ourselves. We would've loved a membership to a museum or a botanical garden, too, but nobody took our hints.
posted by socrateaser at 8:29 AM on August 3 [2 favorites]

Nthing the restaurant gift card idea. I know with me and my wife there's no way we would have spent any of our wedding present money on going out to eat. But we got an Olive Garden gift card which forced us to go out and eat, and made that day a lot easier.

Also, some way of communicating or seeing each other more easily would be nice.

But really, money isn't that bad of a gift at all.
posted by theichibun at 8:52 AM on August 3

If they're going to be long-distance, give them a gift to facilitate their connection while separated. A pair of webcams for chatting, or a pre-paid card for long distance calls.
posted by Billegible at 10:16 AM on August 3

Plane tix (southwest gift certs), or gas cards.

Good luck.
posted by hal_c_on at 2:38 PM on August 3

I'm not sure this fits into your budget, but what about gift cards for a nice restaurant or hotel that will be about halfway in between the two locations?
posted by hishtafel at 3:56 PM on August 3

Normally I'm not a fan of giving small appliances that will give out eventually, but a friend and her husband made it through her residency due to having a good rice cooker (Zolirushi fuzzy logic brand) and a slow cooker. (This depends if you can find out if they have it already)
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:37 PM on August 3

sorry, Zojirushi was the brand of the rice cooker
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:38 PM on August 3