Tessa’s Freshest Wedding Gifts


It’s wedding season, and you know what that means. Your summer is filled with exciting and much-anticipated weekend getaways, rendezvous with friends old and new, and likely experiencing new spaces that have been strategically chosen for their charm and romance factor. These are the days.

Along with all of this, however, is the part where your to-do list comes in: Find a dress or suit to wear, coordinate your travel and lodging, attend showers and stag parties, and… the gifts. Gifts for all of the pre-parties, the main event, the bottle of champagne and blood orange juice for the day-after brunch — you get the idea. You’ve gotta be fully equipped, and it’s tough to come up with original ideas each time. Am I right? And your best guys and gals deserve just that — the best.

Here are some go-to gifts that I’ve put together that would allow you to have some fun and really thrive this wedding season; get people wondering how they didn’t think of that(!).

First stop: The timeless throw-and-coffee-table-book combination gift. At this time of year, you could have some fun choosing from Faribault Woolen Mill’s summer color collection of light wool throws, and pair it with a lovely coffee table book. It doesn’t matter if someone’s living room is completely finished or if they’re starting from scratch – these gifts will always be treasured and adored. Books about travel, style, architecture and space, food are all winners. Here’s one of my very favorite cookbooks we received as a newly married couple.

wedding gift - cookbook

While we’re still in the living or sitting room, let’s make sure to mention these adorable zip code pillows – you can have them custom-made on Etsy or find them at a lot of smaller local shops. It would be fun to stamp them with the zip code from where the couple is from, where they met, or where they got married – all meaningful and original!

If you’d like to stick to the registry, it’s a lot of fun to pair your chosen gift with something that adds a little personal touch. Here are some fun pairing ideas for kitchen/dining gifts:

Bon Appetit Placemats

Magnetic Kitchen Timer

Personalized eight-ounce Coca-Cola Glass Bottles – you can customize them to have Bride and Groom, Mr. and Mrs., or whatever you’d like on the bottles! Does it get any cuter than that?

Coke bottle

Photo Credit: Hostess with the Mostess Blog

Now let’s head outside – two of my favorite ideas for patios and outdoor lounging are here: fringe hammock and zero gravity lounge chairs. You seriously can’t go wrong with either of these. If your soon-to-be-married couple has an outdoor space that maybe they’re not utilizing, they might be thanking you for years for thinking of these gifts.

wedding gift - hammock

Smaller gatherings require gifts that are just as thoughtful, which can sometimes be tricky – especially when you have the bigger gift coming up that you’re planning for. One of my favorite gifts I received as a bride-to-be was this Kate Spade beverage tray that reads, “Fancy Another?” What girl doesn’t want a hot pink tray to serve her lady guests from when she has them over for a summertime brunch?

This next one is a little bit more personal, so it needs to go to your closest of friends. Etsy has a beautiful array of handmade garters to wear and to toss on wedding day and night. Here is an idea for a simple lace one, but trust me, they can get much more flashy and glamorous. These are so fun!

And then lastly, the Wifey sweatshirt from WeddingChicks.com. This item is bound to be a winner across the board; I know I wish I would have had one when I was boarding the plane for my honeymoon – ahh, so cozy!

Mrs. sweatshirt

That wraps it up for today, but if you’d like to talk about the flip-side of wedding gifts for your wedding party or party favors, that could be arranged as well. Or if you want to get really serious – gift wrapping! It just never ends.