Tonight, our newsroom shares a few of the best wedding gifts they’ve received. Plus:
My husband and I are not fancy people. When we got married nearly 26 years ago, we were really not fancy people. At the time, we shared a 15-year-old Subaru and enlisted the help of our friends to paint and sand the absolute dump we’d bought using every last penny we had between us. We thanked them with pizza and beer. When we registered for wedding gifts, I felt like my 9-year-old self carefully planning her dream bedroom, complete with a mauve eyelet-lace canopy bed (my childhood idea of perfection). I gleefully registered for all sorts of things, including claw-shaped lobster shell crackers (what?) and a set of tiny espresso cups, but sadly, no espresso machine. We weren’t interested in china or silver, but to this day, I regret not registering for a set of good everyday dishes, like these beauties. Nearly three decades and two kids later, very little of those gifts remain. The towels, wine glasses, and sheets that served us well for a time are now long gone. But a few things have stood the test of time to become either daily workhorses or lovely reminders of Aug. 12, 2000 — which remains one of the most spectacular days of my life. We still use our simple stainless flatware for every single meal (our set is discontinued but nearly identical to this). We’ll pass our All-Clad pots and pans down to our kids, and you’d be surprised how often this giant cutting board comes in handy, often as a handsome serving platter. This set of ice cream dishes still comes out for fancy desserts. But our most cherished wedding gift is the 3-foot-tall outdoor lantern that our friend crafted from sheet metal and then carved our vows into with a torch. It lives in our garden, rusted and rickety and utterly one-of-a-kind. As a wedding guest, I believe in shopping the registry (unless guests have something personal, unique, and emotionally resonant planned). Once there, choose items that have a chance of lasting forever. They can be utilitarian, like kitchenware, or they can be little luxuries, like a lovely vase or an exquisite throw. But they should be as close to heirloom-quality as your budget allows. Oh, and always write a nice card. Whether you’re attending a wedding this summer, building a registry of your own, or simply making a few upgrades to your house, the journalists in our newsroom recently shared with us the very best wedding gifts they received:
More great wedding gifts (that you won’t find on the registry)→
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They love the outdoors, snowmobiling in winter, dirt bikes, and ATVs in summer. And they’re big campers. They are also constantly working on projects, like fixing other people’s boats or renovating their home. They don’t need a lot of stuff … so I’m looking for something special. — S.G. From gifting expert Samantha Schoech: They sound like a great match. You could nod to their love of working on things with matching pairs of bespoke hand-sewn leather work gloves. The gift is actually a hand-tracing kit, so they can get the sizing exact. After they send it in, the monogrammed gloves will arrive with conditioning oil, a storage pouch, and a handy carpenter’s pencil. For more relaxing campground activities, a pair of these sturdy, deluxe chairs could be just the thing. These blanket ponchos (with pockets!) will keep them cozy, and they double as a place to picnic or take a wilderness nap. This set of cast-iron cookware could be a rugged take on a classic wedding gift, and they can be used at home or over an open fire. Pairing it with a custom meat brander could be pretty darn cute. If you want to get a tad more sentimental, you could get a gorgeous framed custom map of the stars on their wedding date, or an engraved compass so they can always find their way back to each other.
Have someone who’s impossible to shop for? Submit your question here.
One last gift (for you): This luscious, rich shampoo bubbles beautifully and rinses clean — leaving hair refreshed and silky but not stripped. We found it on sale today.
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