What was the best wedding gift you received?

[user50316]

A friend of mine is getting married in a few weeks so looking for gift ideas.
They don't have a gift registry and they've been together for years so already have things they need for a house etc!
Would rather give a gift as opposed to money.

So, what was the best thing you received for your wedding day?

Honestly, sadly for your request, it was money! We received a large cheque from my husband's churches which paid for a summer house in our garden, absolutely the best present as we have used it endlessly!

Aside from that, the ones I remember best were an artwork hand-created by a very talented friend of ours, a picnic basket complete with booze, two champagne boats and a variety of snacks, which came on honeymoon with us, and a sort of wordle thing where a friend took our order of service and made a word picture out of the readings, the date and our names etc. That was very cute, but I can’t recall where she got it made so I can’t recommend a website for it!

Well, it was probably the big Le Creuset casserole dish because we use it weekly over a decade later and I still remember who gave it to us (only family members posh enough to spent nearly £300 on a wedding gift!).

But I would say that other than that, the things that still make me think about the people who gave them to us are the things we use every day. We did have a gift registry as dh moved from his student flat and I moved from working abroad 3 months before we got married, never lived together before, so we had absolutely nothing for a house. One friend got us a cafetiere, and as basic as that sounds, I think of them every time I use it, which is nearly every day.

A family member, who was living abroad, got us some beautiful wooden pot stand/trivets for putting hot pots on, which was made my a local craftsperson in the country where she lived. Again, really simple thing, but we use them most days and they are really unique and I still think of her every time I use them.

So I think something unique but also every day, something that won't just get shoved in the back of a cupboard. But that's probably quite dependent on the couple themselves.

Money was the most useful

A lovely hamper that some friends clubbed together and got us. It was a beautiful wicker hamper full of really lovely treats that they'd chosen, obviously been to Harvey Nics or similar for much of it. All things we would never have bought but lovely selections of wine, tea, coffee, chocolates, posh crisps, Crackers, jars of all sorts of things. We had our honeymoon in the UK and took it with us, it was lovely!

Best gift we got was mil not coming!
Sorry no help at all!!

Two stand out 35 years later.

• a beautiful hand made wooden fruit bowl made from a tree in my godfather's garden.
• a pair of hand made vases.

Posted too soon.

We put the money towards a big Le Crueset set that'll last us forever.

We did have a list, but quite a few people went off-list. Nearly 25 years later the thing that is still in most regular use is a simple, modern crystal vase.

For the word art things, I can recommend https://www.irisoccasions.co.uk/

Le creuset is still going strong 24 years later and we could never have afforded it. Also a bay tree in a huge pot that still survives and is lovely. The 2 champagne flutes have never been used!!

I bought my best friend a voucher for a famous restaurant. That way they could have a very special meal out. They loved it

An ice cream maker and a set of champagne flutes in rainbow colours (young at heart lol)

my fav present was a gift voucher from a few friends for a gorgeous overnight stay with dinner, cocktails and afternoon tea.

Our most used gift is a set of le crueset lasagne dishes, love them and use them all the time.

We mostly got cash which to be honest was fab, we used it on our honeymoon and also upgraded some of our glasses and kitchenware.

Currency for our honeymoon

Another vote for a Le Creuset casserole dish, it is used every other day! And it looks beautiful.

Money. We couldn't believe how much put in cards. Also some people clubbed together and us a weekend stay in a nice hotel. Also Euros.. useful for honeymoon.

Ask your friend if they have anything in mind for a gift or if they’d prefer cash. They’re your friend, surely you want to give what they actually like or need?

”I’d rather give a physical gift” with no consultation often ends up with money being wasted. We have a Hotel Chocolate Velvetiser (I don’t think we’ve ever mentioned liking hot chocolate), an artisan ceramic tea set with tiny cups (we’re teabag and mug people) and two handblown glass and silver champagne ice bowls (just ?) boxed and unused in the loft because “physical gift = better” and one day I’ll get around to selling them on eBay, but what a waste of time and money.

We were given a Le Creuset dish but it was red and everything in our kitchen is blue and white, we sold it so I'd say if you go for LC make sure you check on colour.

Things that never got used were cocktail glasses and shaker, strange wicker basket tray thing, various photo frames (although one plain crystal freestanding one does get used).

I did the same.

Came on to say a big blue Le Crueset casserole, used daily for 26 years.

Have they specified they want money? I think that's the most important consideration here.

If not Le crueset is good but as pp said can be tricky choosing the colour, otherwise vouchers for a night away or special treat are nice.

In my experience people who don't have a gift list would generally prefer money but are to classy to say so.

We had a mix of money and gifts. Our best gifts were three bottles (champagne, red and port) in a nice presentation box, to be drunk on our 1st, 5th and 20th anniversaries, crystal champagne glasses which we use when we're feeling really fancy, and some simple glass candlesticks.

Le Creuset is great, but as a PP said, you need to have a good idea about the colour, or buy it somewhere like John Lewis and get a gift receipt.

Cash. Sorry, not helpful 😬We already had everything we needed, plus I don't like surprises.

An afternoon at a cookery school. Great fun!

Roomba robot hoover, use it daily.

The euffy is cheaper and good quality I believe.

Or a guide book for their honeymoon destination plus currency.