Wedding Gift Suggestions?

I am attending an out-of-state wedding soon and could use some help. First, I was heading to Pier One to buy a $20 or so gift, but would like a second, similarly priced gift. Naturally I thought of food and food-related goodies. I don't know the couple that well, so...

I don't want to buy anything that would best suit gourmands who love to cook or bake.
Nothing that requires special equipment, like whole bean coffee.
No perishables, since I don't know if the couple is going on a honeymoon directly, and the wedding is outside.
No gift cards.

I was thinking maybe some nice olive oil, maybe some balsamic too? Then at Pier One I can pick up a nice appetizer platter or serving implements, a salad bowl, etc. But really, that's the best idea I have. Any more would be greatly appreciated!

If you really don't know them well, then my suggestion is find out where they are registered and just get something that fits in your price range. Saves you on having to transport and shop for it, and you know it's something they will want (and can return if they get 47 of them)

They don't have a registry.

These are always nice. May go unused but it's a nice gift:

http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices-by- ... ts#content

If these people aren't registered anywhere.......... Yikes!!!! We went 15 years without a wedding invite and then last year we had 4! That meant 4 wedding presents, 4 shower presents plus we had a baby shower (of one of the brides to be... whose new baby wound up being part of the wedding service) as well as 2 graduation parties! Thankfully all were registered somewhere. It is so easy to register so I am surprised they are not. Gift certificates to Target, Wal-Mart Kohls will probably work, they all have basic stuff. Check for $100 works too.

I like to give Dorie's Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours. You could add a bundt pan, cupcake pan, cookie sheets, cupcake liners, parchment paper, measuring spoons, good cocoa powder, wooden spoons spatulas, dish towels, etc.

Or I've also started with the pancake warmer from Crate and barrel and added a nicely packaged pancake mix, maple syrup, jam, pancake molds, etc

Spice mixes, oil and vinegar are good, too.

I have been married 27 years. One of the most cherished wedding presents I still have is my Perfex pepper mill. It's been used nearly every day since I got it, it still works perfectly, and I think fondly of the giver whenever I use it.

It's perhaps pricier than you had in mind, but do not be fooled into getting a cheap knockoff with a plastic grinding mechanism.

One other favorite wedding gift I still use is a set of nine Duralex bowls, graduated from tiny to large. I did break one of them, but the rest are in regular use, and still looking good.

A gift I often give to young newlyweds is a big compendium cookbook. My favorite is The New Doubleday Cookbook, but it could be Joy of Cooking, if you prefer that. Even if you don't know they cook, everybody can use a big fat general cookbook. You could personalize it by marking a few of your favorite recipes, or adding a few personal recipes.

One strong recommendation is that whatever you give, ship your gift in advance of the wedding (easy if you mail-order); then you won't have to schlep it in your luggage and the bride and groom won't have to deal with getting it home from the reception. It used to be considered impolite to bring a gift to the wedding itself; that etiquette rule has likely lapsed, but I still think it's considerate to ship or deliver it beforehand.

There are a few things that I still have from my weding 40 years ago and use today: a pepper grinder (it is a turkish coffee grinder), a cast iron skillit (I can't use it on the stove (glass top now) but I bake with it a lot), a knife sharpener, and 13 X 9 glass pan with a lid.

Maybe I'm just too old, and i've given up.
I don't even give checks any more because of the number that shockingly go uncashed!
Most of the time I get a nice crisp $50 or $100 bill (or multiples) depending on the closeness of the couple or if it's a relative, etc.
and slip it in a lovely papyrus card.
Done.

But I do like the spice house suggestion-
and shipping it ahead of time....

LAZ wrote:One strong recommendation is that whatever you give, ship your gift in advance of the wedding (easy if you mail-order); then you won't have to schlep it in your luggage and the bride and groom won't have to deal with getting it home from the reception. It used to be considered impolite to bring a gift to the wedding itself; that etiquette rule has likely lapsed, but I still think it's considerate to ship or deliver it beforehand.

I never knew this until recently, when I read it in Miss Manners. I think most people don't know that, since people brought stuff to our wedding, even though the card stated "no gifts".

It used to be considered impolite to bring a gift to the wedding itself; that etiquette rule has likely lapsed, but I still think it's considerate to ship or deliver it beforehand.

BIG no-no to bring gifts to the wedding/reception. That rule hasn't lapsed. To do so is a recipe for disaster, including breakage, theft, lost to/from cards (leading to no thank-you notes), etc. Don't do it!

Most people give money. Gifts are unwelcome at weddings as most of the gifts have been given at the time of the showers. Brides are not buying fancy china or silverware anymore it seems. I usually give money at the wedding and gifts at the shower. Its amazing how few people really know how to cook and would even be able to use a cookbook properly let alone other cooking implements. Of course there are exceptions.

I just remembered seeing this the other day. If you're not supposed to bring gifts to weddings, why do they set up gift tables?

Pie Lady wrote:I just remembered seeing this the other day. If you're not supposed to bring gifts to weddings, why do they set up gift tables?

For the people who insist on bringing gifts to the reception.

A LOT of people insisted on bringing "box gifts" to our wedding reception - it sounds ungrateful to sat this, but we were pretty annoyed. Our wedding was in Southern California, 25 miles from my in-laws' place, and there were enough gifts to completely fill the trunk & back seat of my rental car. So I drove for half an hour to lug the gifts home from the hotel, then had to go all the way back to get my luggage and check out of my room.

Needless to say, we weren't about to ship all that stuff back to Chicago, so we just returned it all for the cash, then came home and repurchased the stuff we really wanted.

One that was actually pretty funny was the family that bought a set of three large 4qt stainless steel airtight storage jars from a Bed Bath & Beyond near their home in New Jersey, carried them (still in the giant plastic BB&B bag) all the way to SoCal as a carry-on item, and deposited them on the gift table ("wrapped" in the same plastic BB&B bag).

I have never had a miss when giving a Spice House gift box - we use them for company gifts, relatives, events like weddings ... always wonderful and feels very warm. For noncooks, the beverage set or seasoned sugars always work ... the beverage set and some nice coffee mugs (and maybe a package of La Colombe coffee from Elaines at the Hotel Lincoln?) might work very well indeed.

My household was pretty set when we got married almost 11 years ago.

I only registered for china. My preferred china was not inexpensive. Basically, we got a couple of pieces and cash.

My guess is if they didn't register somewhere they probably don't want stuff.