ZOMG WEDDING.

September 5, 2007 7:18 PM

Oh poo! Good college bud's wedding this weekend! What to give?

Soooooooo I totally put off that my good friend from college is getting married this weekend, and im a groosman. Its fairly low key (suit and pants, at a local college's chapal). Its saturday, so I have until then to get a gift. I am in the wedding (groomsman), and am pretty absentminded about things until my blackberry reminds me.

So! What do I get a geeky 27yr old guy and his foreign wife for a wedding gift? Hes a crusty old ham whos not quite crusty yet, works on a ship 8 months out of the year being a netadmin/programmer, enjoys surfboarding (not true surfing) on the beach in California. We've lost touch over the last few years and I am not sure what he is really into. He seemed like a frugal ham back in college, and even then, I woulda bought him beer and maybe a new antenna for a gift.

Theres a local artsyfartsy store down the street, but I don't think thats his style at all.

posted by sirliberal to Grab Bag (14 answers total)

Response by poster: I also know lately he has been doing alot of Jeeping, and is into big silly old 2 door wranglers... If that helps for the personality bit at all.
posted by sirliberal at 7:21 PM on September 5, 2007

Pair of candlesticks. Haven't you ever seen Bull Durham? You can get a pair of candlesticks in nearly any price range and their use is obvious - a romantic dinner for two at home.
posted by ikkyu2 at 7:23 PM on September 5, 2007

Are they registered anywhere? Plug his name into weddingchannel.com and theknot.com. Chances are you'll find it.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 7:41 PM on September 5, 2007

If they aren't registered cash is always an appropriate wedding gift.
posted by COD at 7:49 PM on September 5, 2007

REI gift certificate.
posted by footnote at 8:06 PM on September 5, 2007

CASH. Just lived through a big wedding, went by rules and didn't include a registry card in my invite, got $10,000 worth of random (sweet, but few we requested on our actual, easy to find on our website registry) gifts and $5,000 in gift cards to random places (Sears, Pier 1, Walmart, Macys, CRACKER BARREL) and really want that cash so terribly....we had a registry, but people decided to give us random stuff that we couldn't fit in our small apt, so it's with my mom. We don't remember who gave us the Tiffany candlesticks (OK we do), but we REALLY remember who gave us $50 cash to go into our house fund! :)
posted by citystalk at 8:20 PM on September 5, 2007

A power drill. We are the Ikea generation; we require power drills.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:21 PM on September 5, 2007

a followup, no matter how creative you get, chances are you'll miss the mark, especially if you don't know him well anymore. case in point: we received scrabble AND Monopoly from two different people, both games we already owned, and the cash, $25, would have been much more appreciated than duplicate games. i know they thought it was cute because my hub and i are both nerds, but we already had it so it was a waste of money, just like the $75 set of dishes (not on our registry and not returnable and sitting at my mom's house across the country) and the "unique" vases and other special gifts. SUPER sweet, but unless you really know the person, cash is king - let them pick what they want. Our favorite gifts were heartfelt, handwritten notes about wishes for our relationship and how people viewed us, etc. And poems. Those are better than even cash! :)
posted by citystalk at 8:24 PM on September 5, 2007

I like giving waffle irons but then again I am weird.
posted by mmascolino at 8:42 PM on September 5, 2007

You can always send the present after the wedding if you want to take the time and get someting made. Zotter the Potter has cool wedding gifts. For now, you can just send them a heartfelt card and say "gift is being made for you."
posted by GaelFC at 9:01 PM on September 5, 2007

You have up to a year after the wedding date to give a gift according to traditional etiquette. Cash always works, along with maybe a nice bottle of wine/champagne. One of the wedding gifts I have gotten the most thanks and comments for is a gift certificate for a couples class packaged with a course catalogue for a local cooking school. It had options for wine tasting, a class on mezze (middle eastern tapas), tuscan, french, etc. It was something that both spouses were into, it gave them something to do, and allowed them to spend time together. It cost me no more than any other 'basic' gift would have, yet it was a little more novel. Regardless, make sure you give them a card this weekend, offering your congratulations and thanking them for including you in their day; and that their gift will be arriving under separate cover.
posted by dancinglamb at 9:50 PM on September 5, 2007

Also, our default gift is always a bowl or pitcher from Simon Pearce. We received one for our wedding, and hands down, it was one of our all time favourite gifts. Classy, understated, and goes with everything.
posted by dancinglamb at 9:53 PM on September 5, 2007

Angle grinder. If he's into jeeps, he'll need one sooner or later.
posted by electroboy at 7:02 AM on September 6, 2007

My two faves:

1. Something of the month club - bacon, socks, plants, chocolate- whatever. It helps cheer you up after the letdown of the wedding hype.

2. Gift certificates to tasty grocery stores, or even Whole Foods. More stuff is always annoying, but something that can give them a treat, or give them a break in the monthly budget is nice.

And yes, Cash is lovely.
posted by beezy at 9:11 AM on September 6, 2007