If you’re in the time of your life where all your friends seem to be getting [1] married [2] en masse then you could easily spend a small fortune on wedding gifts.
Here are some personal and frugal ideas that will be appreciated by the bride and groom without breaking the bank.
(Photo Credit: fabprom [3]/Flickr)
Creative and Inexpensive Wedding Gift Ideas [4]
- Give a Gift on their Honeymoon.
Find out where they’ll be staying on their honeymoon and arrange to pay for something for them while they’re there. You could have the hotel deliver champagne and chocolate covered strawberries on their arrival. Or you could cover breakfast in bed for their first morning. My mom did this for us on our honeymoon and I still remember thinking how thoughtful it was. - Gift Something for the Wedding.
I don’t know anyone who was not driven just a little bit crazy trying to take care of all the bazillion details of their wedding [5]. Even a very simple affair will have more things to plan than most of us do for any other event. An offer to take something off their hands will be very appreciated, especially if they are trying to save money on their wedding [6]. You could offer to do their invitations or put together the centerpieces. Even if you don’t feel you are very artistic or crafty you could still donate your labor in assembling what they had picked out for favors. - Organize a Group Gift.
A time honored tradition is the group gift. You can get something nicer than anyone could have gotten on their own or put together an experience gift [7]. Just first make sure it is something that they really want. Also make sure to collect from the group well ahead of time (promises to be paid later don’t always work out and if you end up paying for several people this becomes a non-frugal gift very quickly….). - Create a Joint Photo Album.
Even if the bride and groom haven’t known each other for years you can still contact their families to get older pictures of both of them to put together. Put their kindergarten school pictures both on the same page for instance. This is another personal gift that takes more thought than it does money. It’s also a great gift for a wedding anniversary [8] in the future. - Create Your Own BLANK of the Month Club.
I think some of those monthly club gifts seem really cool but wow are they expensive. They don’t need to be if you are creating your own. Give them 6 months of homemade cookies and then deliver a batch each month. Or it can still be something you buy and surprise them with each month. The possibilities here are endless. - Add to Something Small off the Registry.
The nice thing about registries is that you know they want the items on it. The not so nice thing about registries is they are filled with a bunch of expensive items on them. Usually though there are some lower cost items that get left because people don’t want to spend that little. You can buy one or two of these little items and add to them. You can get a few washcloths and gift it to them with a collection of scented soaps. Or you can buy them a pair of coffee mugs to go with some of your favorite beans. Let the registry list spark your imagination and fill in gaps with the list of 15 Great Gift Ideas for Couples [9].
What memorable gifts do you remember from your wedding?
Financial Topics for Married Couples
- How to Manage Money in Your Marriage [10]
- Financial Management For Newlyweds [11]
- Newlywed Finances Part II [12]
- 6 Financial Topics to Discuss Before Marriage [13]
- How to Split the Bills When Spouses Have Unequal Pay [14]
- 5 Ways to Save Money When Your Spouse is a Spender [15]
- 7 Financial Consequences When You Say “I Do†[16]