Wedding Gifts: Make it Count.

One of my favorite things is giving gifts.  I will admit: it can be scary sometimes, though.  Christmas time is kind of frustrating.  As much as everyone loves giving gifts, what's the point if you don't even know what to get them?  Why buy a gift just because you feel obligated?  I figured out the solution: only give personal or sentimental gifts.  Or a mixture between something they need and something personal.  I posted over the summer about my BFF's wedding and how we made them their tiered-towel-cake in their wedding colors:

The best parts about this gift?

1. We purchased the towels from their registry, so they got what they needed/wanted.
2. I made it myself and gave it a personal touch.
3. It matched their wedding colors and looked so darn cute on the gift table.

So, at the last two weddings that I have been to (both in the last month) I wanted to replicate that feeling (but still trying something different.  For my friend Meghan's wedding, I decided to make them some picture frames to remember their wedding.  Meghan and I had been talking about how she wanted more personal stuff in her house, so I did it for her :-)

I purchased three white frames:

An 8x10, a 4x6, and a 5x7 shadow box.  In the 8x10 I printed a big monogram "R" (for their new family name) on white cardstock and stuck it in there. 

not a very good pic

For the 4x6, I found this cute card at WalMart and LOVED the little love birds, so I bought that, cut it to size, and placed it in the frame.

I put them in a pretty bag (which I forgot to take a picture of) and gave them a really nice card with some cash.  Once again, they get the personal side and something that they need/want (money!).  I also told them that there was one more frame to come.  While at the wedding, I took this picture of Meghan holding the train of her dress by the little ribbon "strap".  It is about as artistic as my photo-taking-skills get.

I also stole the place card with their new "Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Rice" name on it from their actual table at the wedding.  I kept the stamp from the invitation I received from NY because it had her wedding themed stamp on it from her hometown postal office.  I also dried some leaves and flowers from my bridesmaid bouquet, put them in the shadow box frame, added the other stuff, and gave it as the final part to their gift a week or so later.

also not a very good pic

I did the same thing for my brother and sister-in-law's wedding on Saturday.  They were registered for a bunch of kitchen stuff and I knew they needed it.  Some of my favorite things in my kitchen are the little gadgets that I picked out and received for our wedding.  Especially because they all match and are in the same drawer.  Yeah, I'm type-A like that.  So I bought all that kind of stuff off their registry.

I also needed to give a personal touch.  So I bought them this beautiful and inspirational book:

He is the author of The 5 Love Languages.  And this book is basically a collection of a bunch of very inspirational faith-driven love stories that test time and test everyday life.  I thought it would be a beautiful and motivational way to start a marriage.

Another cool thing in this wedding was that my brother married a woman who already had a daughter from a previous relationship.  In the ceremony, they wrote and spoke beautiful vows to my new three-year-old niece, Baelee, and presented her with a necklace in which my brother promised to love her as his own and keep her safe forever.  It officially made me cry.  Here is a pic last Easter of my family with my dad:

My dad is holding sweet Baelee.

And her is a picture of Baelee on the wedding day showing off the flower girl dress (that I bought for her).  I just needed to throw that in there because I am proud of it :-)

So, I thought it was really important for me to give a gift to them that could be appreciated by their whole family.  I saw a few things online about creating a Thanksgiving jar.  So, I bought a little jar and put some cute gold stickers on top to say "give thanks".

I tied a ribbon around the jar and decorated some cards using white cardstock, markers, ribbon, some rhinestone stickers I already had, and a hole punch.

I wrote on their card that every day from now until Thanksgiving, they could each write something that they are thankful for, fold it, put it in the jar, and then on their first holiday as a family, they could pull them all out and read them together.  And if they kept the jar, they could make it a tradition each year (which I also plan to do someday when I have a family 'cause its just so cute). 

I also included a pack of colorful dry erase markers because 3 year old Baelee can't really write her thanks on cards this year, but she can decorate the jar with markers.  And the best part, she can wipe it off and redecorate it each year.

I bought matching gift wrap, bag, balloon, and tissue paper from the dollar store and bought hot pink ribbons and bows, too.  (Her colors were black, silver, and hot pink).

Once again, it looked absolutely adorable on the gift table.

There you have it.  Give sentimental gifts.  Take a few extra minutes and make it personal.  Think about your gifts ahead of time.  They will be remembered forever.