What wedding present should I get for close relative?

[Pariswhenitdrizzles]

Shamelessly posting for traffic (sorry!)

A really close of relative got married recently. The plan was always to get her and her DH a wedding present, but I'm a bit stuck on what to buy for them.

Just to give an idea of what other people have bought them, her Mum and Dad have bought them a picture that they quite liked and some friends of theirs have bought them a food hamper.

They're both 'foodies' and love going out to eat and trying out new restaurants, and her DH really loves cooking. They're based in London, so that'll also be really handy for going to an experience-type wedding present as well.

One gift idea that I had was to get them a gift voucher for a restaurant with no specified date on it, so that they could choose to use it whenever they wanted.

Or I was thinking of maybe getting them a gift voucher for something like a cheese and wine tasting evening somewhere, or a 'cooking class' where they could learn to make something together and then bring home what they've made?

(I went on a brownie-making class with the relative not long ago, after she bought it as a Christmas present for me and another relative as well, and we all really enjoyed it).

I'd like to get them something else too - I was thinking maybe something else food-related maybe. Maybe a mini food hamper or something similar?

What do you all think?

Thanks :)

[smallmercys]

I find this kind of thing a minefield and just ask people what they want, since it seems so easy to cause offence.

[KarateKitten]

I'd say money to be honest. Easy for you and deeply appreciated by the couple. No risk of getting it wrong.

[19lottie82]

I'd give money.
You may think it's preferable to give a thoughtful and personal gift, but when people get married, they want money. Sorry.

[19lottie82]

PS again I appreciate you're trying to be thought full but a huge no to the food hamper.

[shakingmyhead1]

a large mortar and pestle

[jay55]

Neal's yard do gift vouchers towards cheese classes.

[Tsundoku]

It sounds like you know the kinds of things they like, and there are tons of suitable options in London, so (unless it's really stressing you out) I'd go with a personalised gift rather than cash.

Vouchers for a deli (Valentina?) or cookery shop.
Subscription to a food/wine/coffee delivery service or club.
Restaurant vouchers for a place which does something special, like a tasting menu, or huge wine selection?

We went to a fantastic place recently: The Humble Grape, in Battersea. Tried five different wines, and eight different food dishes. Everything amazing quality but very laid back and unpretentious. They do gift vouchers (which I think can be used in the restaurant or wine shop).

Disclaimer: I don't work for them. Just having that dull Monday morning kind of moment where you think happily of the weekend's overconsumption...

[SandyY2K]

Money or a Universal gift card ... like love 2 shop or one4all

[Jedbartletforpresident]

My go-to gift if I want to go for something personal for people without wedding lists is a lovely throw. It's something that should last a lifetime and doesn't necessarily need to match any particular decor as it can go in any room. It can be used to cuddle up on a cold evening together, for picnics/outdoor events, for long journeys in the car, or just to brighten up a sofa, chair or bed. My favourites are Avoca - they are gorgeous and properly luxurious - but there a loads of wonderful mills in the UK and Ireland who weave lovely throws. We have a couple of Avoca ones and I adore them. We have bought some for other people and they have always gone down well.

Avoca

[Aftershock15]

I think money would be really odd for this couple. From the sounds of the gifts they got from parents and friends they sound like a financially secure maybe slightly older couple. Not everyone who gets married is hard up. I would have found it really strange to get cash for our wedding. You could get something like a wooden personalised cheese board or bread board - not in the high street or somewhere similar. That would go well with the Neals yard vouchers mentioned earlier.
Or we were given wine labelled for different future anniversaries. That was nice as people know dh is a wine lover. And me too, but I'm just less knowledgable but extremely good at drinking it !

[Pariswhenitdrizzles]

Thanks so much everyone! :)

I really like the idea of getting them something personalised that'll hopefully also be quite useful - I've just bought them a personalised cheeseboard, which I really liked the look of.

I'd love to also get them a gift voucher for a tasting menu or something similar. I've looked at prices though, and most of the most reasonable tasting menus are around £45 per person, which would mean spending £90, as I'd buy it for both of them. It's slightly out of my budget, I think

Does anyone have any ideas please for something food-related that might be around £30 per head? Would be so grateful if you've got any ideas :)

[MaxPepsi]

Taste card.
Think it's about £40 for the year? They will only need one as it can be used between them.
It a cheese hamper from Wensleydale Creamery.

[CandyMelts]

Taste card was very heavy on the chain restaurants and full of restrictions on days to book etc when I last checked, so wouldn't recommend that for foodies.

Vouchers for a nice cook shop?

[IamtheDevilsAvocado]

Taste card- too many chain restaurants on it for a real foodie!

Hampers from la vialla in Italy start from about 40£-we've had one - beautifully packaged and decent quality.

Here :

flavialla.lavialla.it/?prov=

[angelnix]

When we got married, we realised that once we had said goodbye to everyone, got the kids into bed, sorted everything out and removed a thousand hairgrips from my head, that we were so hungry! All we could find in the hotel room were a couple of packets of complimentary biscuits!

Now, we often make a wedding night food basket with a little bottle of bubbly, some snacks and treats (hotel chocolat is my go to place), nice tea bags etc because I would've literally sold my husband for some food that evening. Feedback has been great, the bride and groom really appreciate it and we either deliver it to the hotel and ask for the staff to leave it in the room, or drop it by their door as we go to bed.

[washingmachinefastwash]

I would give them money, they can then choose what they want to do with it.

[pasturesgreen]

Fortnum's hamper, maybe slightly predictable but always goes down well.

Case of excellent wine or champagne.

I tend not to give vouchers for experience type presents as they can be a bit of a hassle for the recipient, what with booking, finding a time that suits, arranging transportation to get there etc.

[bridgetreilly]

Spice box subscription.

[MiddleClassProblem]

To be honest I think you're on the right track anyway. NotOnTheHighstreet is good for the personalised gifts. My brother wrote a reading for his wedding which I read so I got it printed on a cushion for them through them.

[MiddleClassProblem]

Also my fave wedding gift was a picture in sketch style of our wedding venue with the details through them but obviously if they are already receiving artwork you might want a different route

[PoohBearsHole]

go for a personalised chopping board with dates/names. not on high st can point you in the right direction, you can cover a variety of budgets. Foodies can use it regularly, looks good and nice on the kitchen surface :)

[PoohBearsHole]

loads similar to this wooden chopping board

[CheeseGirl4]

I'm not in London, so don't have any specific ideas, I just wanted to say that as a foodie my heart sinks a bit when people buy me food as a gift. I would love a tasting/ cooking class, but that's probably out of your budget, but one thing foodies will buy themselves is food, so a food gift doesn't feel like a treat. Is there a wine tasting you could book maybe?