It can be difficult to come up with the right wedding gift. This is true even when you’re close friends with the bride and groom. While you might know their personalities and the kinds of gifts they enjoy receiving, there is additional pressure to make the wedding gift special. However, finding a unique wedding gift does not have to be this difficult. Here are some things to consider when looking for unique wedding gift ideas for close friends.
Look Around Wedding Stores
Your gift could be a contribution to the wedding itself. Weddings can get very expensive and often the bride and groom will appreciate someone else chipping in for some of the costs. If you want to go this route, make sure that you plan it far ahead of time. Otherwise, you might go to offer this assistance and find that everything has already been paid for. Talk to them near the beginning of the wedding planning process and ask if there’s anything in particular that they’d like you to buy for the wedding. This could be anything from centerpieces for the wedding venue to hairstyling for the bridal party. As long as you plan it with the couple, this can be a very unique, thoughtful gift.
If you want your gift to be connected to the wedding, but aren’t involved in it, another option is to buy them something to commemorate the wedding day. Go for something tasteful, but fun. It could be a way to preserve artifacts from the wedding or it could be something like an expensive picture frame they’d never buy for themselves. Unique wedding gift ideas for close friends could include things like maps or street signs that have personal significance. Bridal shops or websites can direct you toward an artist who can help you take these ideas and customize them for the couple. The end result will be a beautiful reminder of their wedding day.
If you need ideas about what you could buy, take a look at bridal shops online or in your community. Since they specialize in weddings, they will be able to steer you toward the best unique wedding gift ideas for close friends.
Jewelry and Clothing
While jewelry is involved in the wedding through the exchanging of rings, it isn’t a very common wedding gift. However, pieces of custom jewelry to mark the occasion can be very thoughtful and appreciated unique wedding gift ideas for close friends. Work with a professional designer to craft a piece that has significance to both you and the couple. While you might want to steer away from rings, you might look into necklaces, bracelets, or other forms of jewelry for this gift.
Clothing can also make a unique gift for close friends. While you can get beautiful custom clothing made, this gift can be more light-hearted. Consider getting t shirts made at a custom t shirt print shop. They could be for the bachelor and bachelorette parties or they could maybe be for the wedding parties to wear when not in their formal clothing. If you’re making t shirts or other custom clothing as a present, keep it light and kind. If there are going to be jokes involved, run them past the couple first to make sure that they also find it funny. The last thing you want to do is upset them with an ill-timed joke on their wedding day.
Self-Care Gifts
Wedding planning is stressful. And it is almost definitely not the only stressful thing that your friends are dealing with over the months or years that they’re planning. If you want more unique wedding gift ideas for close friends, gift them with self-care. Depending on their tastes and your budget, this could come in many forms. But any self-care gift will help them to relax and reduce their stress before and after the big day.
One fun self-care gift is a trip to a beauty salon or blow dry bar for the bride. A fun indulgence like this can be a great way to get her mind off of wedding planning. You will also get to spend some time together having fun and taking care of yourselves. You’ll end the day with a new, beautiful hairstyle to show for it.
Along these same lines, you could buy the couple a spa trip to enjoy before or after the wedding. Find a good spa in your area and purchase a day’s pass for them. With things like couples’ massages, facials, and treatments, the couple will be able to bond with each other as they pamper themselves. They’ll feel better mentally and physically, and appreciate the fact that you care about them enough to give this unique wedding gift.
If your budget doesn’t allow for a trip to the spa, other unique wedding gift ideas for close friends are at-home spa days. Gift your friends with everything they need to get the spa experience at home. If they’ve been running around getting the wedding ready, a night at home might be exactly what they need. Set up a gift basket for them that contains all the supplies they need. The basket can be customized to your budget, their tastes, and what is available.
For the Home
Many wedding gifts focus on the couple’s home, but there are ways to make these gifts unique for your friends. If they don’t have a home and are planning to buy one, you could put money toward their down payment. While it might not be the splashiest gift, it is a quiet show of support for their future. The couple might have a fund set up or you can give them the money yourself.
If they already have a house, you can also offer them the gift of landscape design. Many people would love to have a professional come and set up their yard for them, but they aren’t willing to spend the money that it would require. As unique wedding gift ideas for your close friends, hire professional landscapers with their consent. Then they’ll be able to start their new life together with the yard and garden that they’ve always wanted.
If you want to buy a gift for their home, you can also consider upscale items that they might not have on their registry. If your friends love Starbucks, consider purchasing an espresso machine. Likewise, a new sound system for their home gym might be the perfect gift. Consider their personalities and what you know about their home. Have they mentioned anything they want to purchase but can’t afford? These offhand mentions can be a great way to find a unique gift that suits them perfectly.
Activities for the Couple
Experiences are a great way to use unique wedding gift ideas for close friends. Gift them with a special activity that they can share after the wedding. If they’re going on their honeymoon, find out where and what they plan to do. If they want to do things like tour museums or kayak, give them money specifically to do that. When you’re giving them activities for their honeymoon, make sure that they are things the couple already plans to do and will enjoy. That way, you’re not surprising them with something they don’t want to do, causing awkwardness and potentially hurt feelings.
However, surprise activities can be fun and unique wedding gift ideas for close friends after the wedding is over. Buy them tickets to something that they would never buy on their own. Keep it exciting, but flexible enough to work around their schedules. Is there something they’ve always talked about doing but never have? Now is the perfect opportunity for you to surprise them with it. This can be something outrageous or it can be something a little more sedate. But if you give them a unique activity, it will be a memorable wedding present.
Upscale activities can be a unique wedding gift idea for close friends who have to be budget-conscious. If there is a fancy restaurant or event that is out of their price range, buy them a gift certificate or ticket. This will give them the opportunity to experience it without needing to worry about spending money.
Smaller Gifts for Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties
If you’re involved in the bachelor and bachelorette parties, your gift could include contributions toward these. If you all want matching shirts, you can offer to pay for the custom screen printing costs. Not only will this take some of the pressure of the bride and groom to pay for things, but you’ll also be able to surprise them with their own fun shirts. You can also cover the souvenirs, making things like custom craft stamps and wine glasses to let everyone remember the fun night together.
A Charity Donation
Consider donating to a cause that the bride and groom care deeply about. While gifts for them can be very meaningful, gifts made to others in their honor are unique gift ideas for close friends. It shows that you care about them as well as the causes that they support. So consider how much you can afford to donate and where to send it. You might make a single big donation or you might donate to various organizations. The best way to choose where to make your wedding gift donation is to think about which causes the bride and groom care about. Are there organizations that they already support? If they do, you can contribute to those organizations. If they don’t, look for charities that do work for the cause in question and donate to them. You can present the couple with a beautiful personalized card detailing the donation made in their honor.
If you’re going to donate to charity, just make sure that you choose a legitimate organization to support. Sometimes a group will seem to be doing good work, but they are stealing money or handling it poorly. You’ll want to avoid this if you want your present to do good in the name of your friends.
Tattoos
A tattoo can be a beautiful, permanent symbol of your dedication. Many couples like to get matching tattoos together. If your friends have tattoos or want to get some, tattoo vouchers are great unique wedding gift ideas for close friends. Tattoos can be expensive, so people often put them off to pay for other, more immediate things. Go to their favorite tattoo parlor and buy a gift card for them. If they don’t have a preferred parlor, go to one in your area that has a good reputation and does beautiful work.
By giving the couple a voucher, it will force them to use the money to pay for the tattoo instead of other bills. This can take a lot of the pressure off of them in the decision-making process. By giving them this gift, you give them both permission to get the tattoo they want and the means with which to do so. Since most people at the wedding likely won’t be thinking about tattoos, this becomes a unique wedding gift.
When close friends get married, you want to get them the best, most unique wedding gift you can. That way, they get something they’ll love and use. You’ll also show them how much you truly care about them. While a generic wedding gift can be kind, something unique shows that you’ve thought about what they want and need. So if you’re looking for unique wedding gift ideas for close friends, consider the suggestions above. Find something that fits their tastes and your budget and you’ll be sure to have the best wedding gift of all.