Comments on: ZOMG WEDDING.

Question: ZOMG WEDDING.

sirliberal — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:18:19 -0800

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.

By: sirliberal

sirliberal — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:21:29 -0800

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.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:23:26 -0800

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.

By: Saucy Intruder

Saucy Intruder — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:41:21 -0800

Are they registered anywhere? Plug his name into weddingchannel.com and theknot.com. Chances are you'll find it.

By: COD

COD — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 19:49:18 -0800

If they aren't registered cash is always an appropriate wedding gift.

By: footnote

footnote — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:06:51 -0800

REI gift certificate.

By: citystalk

citystalk — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:20:20 -0800

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! :)

By: The corpse in the library

The corpse in the library — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:21:18 -0800

A power drill. We are the Ikea generation; we require power drills.

By: citystalk

citystalk — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:24:38 -0800

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! :)

By: mmascolino

mmascolino — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:42:34 -0800

I like giving waffle irons but then again I am weird.

By: GaelFC

GaelFC — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:01:36 -0800

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."

By: dancinglamb

dancinglamb — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:50:57 -0800

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.

By: dancinglamb

dancinglamb — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:53:11 -0800

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.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:02:12 -0800

Angle grinder. If he's into jeeps, he'll need one sooner or later.

By: beezy

beezy — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:11:03 -0800

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.