5 strange, wacky and unique wedding gift ideas
We’ve all been there, you have a big wedding to attend, the sands of time are running out, and you’re yet to find the perfect wedding gift. Although it often feels like it, buying wedding gifts is not a competition, but if it was the ideas in this post would win hands down. Often the best wedding gifts are those wacky, unusual, original and unique ideas that become the talk of the day!
Being 25 years old I am now at that age when attending weddings feels like it has become a central part of my life, like a job or religious belief. As a result I have seen and bought my fair share of wedding gifts. Coffee machines, chinaware, chef’s knives, Playstations, antique mounted stuffed stags’ heads……….wait………what?
Yes you heard me right, I recently chipped in with a group of mates to get my friend a wonderfully presented antique stuffed stag’s head, a gift that we thought spoke volumes of our love for our newly married friends. Sadly it turned out that the bride was a bit of an activist and animal lover, so wasn’t able to share our collective joy. My friend, the groom, however loved “Staggers” who now takes pride of place in his private bathroom, above the toilet.
So having gained my wedding stripes I feel that I am more than qualified to share with you my top 5 list of strange, wacky and unusual wedding gifts. This list is compiled of true life examples and is intended to help you think outside the confines of John Lewis’s perfect vision of married life.
1. My Monopoly Board
My Monopoly is probably up there with sliced bread and stags’ heads in terms of good ideas. I attended a wedding last year at which the married couple were presented with their very own My Monopoly Board.
My Monopoly is very much what it says on the tin, it allows you to completely customise and personalise your very own Monopoly board. This couple’s board featured the bar where they met, the destination of their first holiday together, the location that he proposed, as well as various names of friends and family along the way.
I have since been round their flat and have played the game, it must be said it is much more fun and deeply satisfying to ensure you own their wedding day than it is to own Mayfair.
2. Personalised Art
By far one of the most impressive gifts I ever witnessed was in fact the cheapest. At my brother’s wedding one of his oldest friends presented him and his wife with a piece of art that he had created for them, titled “Life’s Journey”.
The concept of the piece was simple, two black lines on a red canvas that intertwine and cross paths from the centre of the top, to the centre of the bottom of the canvas. However this was completely hand painted, and on a 6ft canvas. The amount of time and patience that went into this amazing piece of canvas wall art was immense.
The piece cost less than £15 to make yet, after the Playstation 3 I gave of course, was the best gift that my brother and his wife received. So why not harness your creativity next time? It could be the best gift you have ever given.
3. Customised Whisky
As a Scot, I do love a tipple of fine Scottish whisky from time to time. However my mind was truly blown recently when the ushers at a wedding I was attending showed me their gift to the couple. A customised blend of whisky!
My first reaction was to ask the obvious question, “Where did you get that made?”. The boys had found a fantastic website called Whisky Blender. What Whisky Blender allows you to do is create your very own blend of Scottish whisky using an extremely easy, and ridiculously fun, application called the Blending Lab.
You get to blend several whiskys together to create your customised whisky, name your blend and credit the creator, next you choose the bottle for your whisky and finally purchase your whisky which will be delivered to you. I was so blown away with the idea that I had to give it ago, and now “Petey McPete” is my weapon of choice for a quiet, relaxing post work wind down.
4. Flying Lessons
When my mate first came up with the idea of flying lessons as a wedding gift for our friends who were getting married I laughed and put it down to the 4 pints of larger we had both consumed that fateful Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t until we were both stood in front of the newly married couple, with him insisting they open his gift now, that I realised that his idea had become a reality.
As the envelope was fearfully opened, the card surgically removed and ever so gently opened, I watched as my friends’ faces adopted a series of unforgettable expressions. Fear, curiosity, surprise followed by more fear and anxiety. Both tried their best to smile and look grateful, but it was obvious that this was a gift that wasn’t getting used anytime soon, or so I thought.
A couple of months after the wedding I was round at my newly married friends’ house and from the moment I walked through the door, to the moment I escaped all I heard about was how good the flying lessons were. Stories, photos, videos, they both oozed so much enthusiasm and excitement as they took me through their experience.
They enjoyed the gift so much that they actually got my mate a gift to say thank you for his gift!?? This is a great example of thinking outside the box and getting something outside of the couple’s comfort zone.
5. Personalised Jewellery
Most recently I attended the wedding of a dear friend here in Edinburgh. One of the guests at the wedding was the partner of one of my friends. She runs a small business creating beautiful personalised jewellery, taking her inspiration from Edinburgh’s city landscapes. www.jencunningham.co.uk
She gave the bride and groom a his and hers bracelet that came in two halves, one half was the city landscape and the other was the skyline, when joined together they created one complete piece that was recognisable as Edinburgh. Personalised jewellery is a great gift as it shows you have put thought into your gift. It doesn’t have to be expensive or extravagant, but if it helps retain or create a memory then it will be the best gift you could ever have given.
When it comes to buying wedding gifts I think creativity is the key. The more creative you are with your ideas, the more likely you are to find the perfect gift. Just like the stag’s head and the flying lessons, sometimes the most bizarre gifts will create a memory that will last long after that coffee machine has died, and memories make the best gifts.
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Pete runs one of the UK’s leading canvas prints companies, transforming your everyday images, photos and Instagrams into magnificent canvas wall art. These fantastic canvas prints make ideal gifts. Be it a wedding, birthday or anniversary our canvas prints will show your loved ones that you care.