The Bride is Always Late: Irish Wedding Blog from WeddingDates.ie » wedding gifts

Wish List, Gift List

Ciara Crossan — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:30:42 +0000

As I have mentioned here before, I am not a huge fan of cash gifts at weddings. I know it is the ”done” thing these days, but I still find it tacky to put cash in a card. Then again, some people find the whole registering-for-gifts tacky too. So, how can you win?!

I have written before about the honeypot idea where guests can contribute to the couples honeymoon fund in advance of the wedding and if you do have your heart set on a Gift Registry we had some great Do and Don’t tips from wedding planner Annie.

One irish company that operates an online gift list is called WeddingWishList.ie. They have 10,000 gifts online from 100 Gift Partners – with everything from crystal & diningware to home & gardenware to electronics to fine food & wine to luxury spa weekends so you don’t need to be restricted to just one shop.

They do it all online, so you can set up your list and then send the link to your guests to allow them logon and choose what they want to get for you at the click of a mouse. This is really handy if you are having an overseas wedding where guests can’t bring gifts or you have lots of visitors coming to your Irish wedding from abroad.

This month, they are having a €1,000 giveaway, click here to find out more >>

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Totally unique wedding present

Ciara Crossan — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:46:10 +0000

The big wedding gift debate rages on….money, gift registry, or toaster?! What to get the couple who has been living together for a while and perhaps already own their own home together?

While browsing over on Etsy Ireland, I found these really unique personal wedding prints…you can get them customized with the hobbies or the professions of the couple, get their names and wedding date on there too. But most of all, the hopeless romantic in me loves the fact that this all sits on a print of the 2nd last page of a vintage Pride and Prejudice Book – the one where Elizabeth gets her Mr. Darcy.

Think this is a cute present for a couple you know? Head on over to the Etsy shop to put in your own order…

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Wedding Gift Registries – The Do’s and Don’ts

Ciara Crossan — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:54:19 +0000

Another great blog post this week comes from Annie Byrne, wedding planner from Aislinn Events in Co. Kerry. Here she shares her top tips on Wedding Gift Registries…

There can be a lot of controversary on wedding gift registries and this subject has come up quite a few times for me over the last week; even popping up at most of the Wedding Shows with booths representing companies that do them. Americans expect them but the Irish (especially the older generation) may still getting used to the idea. This can be a touchy subject so I am going to give you my opinion on them which seems to follows the general etiquette.

I think you should register for gifts. You know what you want and no couple wants to receive some bizarre lamp in your Auntie May’s crazy style much less multiple kettles or toasters. These days with couples living together before marriage you probably already have nearly all that you need and this is the opportunity to have something you may not buy yourselves or make as a priority to purchase but really like or have always wanted.

If you would like all cash, as most couples do these days, I still recommending registering for a few items that you want. Some people really do want to give you a gift as a token of their affection. If you don’t register at all you will run the risk of getting something you really don’t want, like the afore mentioned bizarre lamp from Auntie May.

There are also some really interesting alternative gift registries available for honeymoons, activities, or even pieces of art. And if you really, really don’t want gifts, register for donations to charities that may be personal to you. UNICEF, Marie Keating Foundation, The Irish Cancer society; Most can set them up for you and very much appreciate the thought.

Here are a few dos and don’ts:

Don’t

Put a registry card in your wedding invitation. Ever. Even if the registry company says it is ‘tasteful’, it is not. They are just trying to sell!
Ask for cash or mention a cash gift.

Choose items in all price ranges. This will allow your friends who are on a budget to still give you something you want and work colleagues or friends from college may like to pool their money and get you something bigger.
If you have a large guest list, register at a few different stores or use a combination of the suggestions above in art, activities, honeymoon and charities.
Create a Wedding website. The webpage can be put in your invitation (or even on the actual invite if this is where your RSVPs will go. Your wedding website will include all information on your wedding for your guests and noting where you are registered is fine here.
Make it easy for your guests to buy for you. Choose a store (or chain of stores) that is mainly in your guest’s locality or that has a website that they can purchase from.
Tell your parents (and bridal party) to spread the word. Your parents can even say something along the lines of ‘I know they are saving for ___________________’ which will insinuate a gift of cash is most desired.

An additional note, if you are having a destination wedding, your guest list may be smaller and no one wants to be carrying a load of gifts around so if you do register for gifts, request with the store and on your website that the gifts are sent to your home directly (this is the traditional method in any case) or kept at the store for pick up.

Happy Shopping!

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Wall Art – unique wedding gifts

Ciara Crossan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:30:33 +0000

We have talked about Wedding Gifts here on the blog before and I personally like the unusual and original gifts for people that show you have put a bit of thought into it and that it will be something that people will remember you gave to them as oppossed to money.

I have recently come across two very unusual gift ideas – original handmade art. These could be used as Engagement Gifts for the couples home, they could be a nice gift to give to the bridesmaids in your wedding, or as a Wedding Gift for the couple. As with anything creative like this, the only limit is your imagination!

Audrey Shallow is based in Cork and she makes unique wedding gifts in the form of: “Create Wish Angels” beautifully handcrafted angels which look stunning framed and carry a message along with the 3-dimensional handmade angel. ”Angel” is from the Greek angelos meaning ‘messenger’. May this angel be the messenger of your heartfelt wish…

Angel of My Heart

You can get individual framed Angels like the Angel of My Heart above, or a double like the Angel of Love and Angel of Promise for the happy couple:

Audrey also can create “custom” angels, so give her a shout if there is any specifics you want, like the wedding date inscribed or the couples names etc. These also make ADORABLE baby gifts by the way!! The individual framed angels start at €45 and you can get one customized for only €55.

Another Cork artist is Martha Cashman who does Ceramic and Porcelain Sculpture.

Martha’s work is in glazed paper porcelain. She creates very fine kitchen utensils (non functional), some pieces interspersed with woven wire, carved birch and ash wood to accentuate and enhance the delicate white porcelain. The pieces are box framed using limed ash and make really unusual and stunning pieces when displayed in the home.

I think these are really unique Engagement Gifts and would be lovely to give to a couple who had moved into a new home together. The framed pieces cost €110.

Kerry Collins is painter based in Crosshaven in Cork and you can buy her prints directly from her website. She has really colourful work which you can get printed on paper and frame yourself or get it on canvas. I like the largest canvas (50 X 37cm) for €110.00.

She has some really funky stuff including clowns and cows, but I like the landscapes and modern stuff for wedding gifts.

Great to support local Irish artists and crafts and really great as an unusual and highly personal wedding or engagement gift!

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Fill the Honey-Pot

Ciara Crossan — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:30:45 +0000

I have to hold up my hand and admit I am not a fan of cash in cards for wedding presents. I know, I know people don’t want ten toasters, and others think the idea of a gift registry/ordering gifts is a bit cheeky and tacky. But honestly, what is more crude than cash?

There is a new concept knocking around, dubbed the “HoneyPot“, where wedding guests can contribute towards the cost of the honeymoon for the couple. In this way, they don’t have to go buying gifts, but don’t have the stigma with how much cash to put in the card on the day either. From the couples point of view, they can pay for the wedding themselves and have the amazing gift of a holiday from their guests.

MyHoneymoon.ie is a unique online wedding gift registry enabling guests to give couples the ‘Gift of Travel’. Here’s what the company themselves have to say about it:

Honeymoons make ideal gifts and in the present age where many couples already have their furnished house, pots, pans and Waterford Glass, we thought it would be of benefit to an engaged couple to enable invited guests to give the gift of travel online as a direct contribution to their honeymoon. We simply tailor-make the honeymoon, then create a free online honeymoon gift registry which allows them to direct their guests to the site above.

Wedding Guests and friends can make their monetary gift online and couples have full access to all payments. Couples can give as much or as little information on their honeymoon as they wish and all gifts are acknowledged on line. For example, they can specify which tours and trips they want in their package and guests can buy them specific experiences eg. bungy jumping etc.

The company also offer special gift cards on which couples can write their unique access code and include in their wedding invitations. From the day the registry is created, guests can purchase gifts. The account tracks all of the gifts and their givers for easy thank-you’s after the dream trip!

I like the concept and I have talked to a few other brides who do too….what do you think? Comments below please! :) You can find out more info on www.myhoneymoon.ie

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Dinner by Candlelight? Win a Set of 2 Glass Candlesticks

Ciara Crossan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:00:19 +0000

This months fabulous prize is kindly sponsored by Paula over at Mabel and Violet who have a gorgeous range of unusual and quirky gifts. I personally love the site for its antique-y feel products and it is fantastically easy to use as you can browse by price, room in the house or gifts for him and her. Newly launched is the Wedding Accessories section, where you can get great gift ideas for when money-in-an-envelope just isn’t personal enough!

Up for grabs this month are 2 Large Glass Candlesticks worth over €200.00 – for those romantic evenings in and all you have to do to win is to submit an enquiry (has to be genuine!) for one of our venues listed on weddingdates.ie. Simply do a search for venues on your chosen wedding date, browse the list and select your favourites and fill out the Enquiry Form to request a call back from the hotel directly.

So, what are you waiting for?! Get Searching….

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Wedding Cake Card Boxes

Sabrina Dent — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:37:26 +0000

One of the nice things about getting married is that people tend to give you really thoughtful cards filled with good wishes, and occassionally, with money. Woo hoo! I mean, nothing beats that really lovely cut crystal loo roll holder from Auntie Maude, but cheques and cash are nice, too.

It’s also nice to give your guests a designated place to stick these cards. Traditionally, this has been with the bride or groom, the maid of honour or – bizarrely – in a bird cage of all things, but providing a box to put them in at the guest book table is a nice option. And providing an absolutely awesome box to put them in is an even better option.

Here’s a basic example of how to DIY your own wedding cake card box from three different sized hat boxes – you just stack them, glue them, and cut holes between the layers so the cards can fall down:

Once you can see the basic construction, it’s easy to understand how you can paint them, cover them in fabric, use wrapping or origami paper, or even paper mache them and add your own embellishments. But there is no need to stick with basic, boring, traditional white unless you have your heart set on a white wedding:

DIYing your own wedding cake card box gives you a million options – match your theme colours, you brides maid dresses, pick up elements of your reception decor, or even match your actual cake! The above examples come from this Ebay retailer, but making your own is a great, inexpensive project and a fun wedding shower activity, too.

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