By Donna Ennis
So you want to get some about-to-be-married friends or family members a nice wedding gift, but you're bored with the usual sort of linens, crystal, china, or kitchen gadgets. A lot of couples nowadays are not really interested in such things, anyway. So what's the secret to giving really great, even unusual wedding gifts? Read on for some clues in the ideas below:
* Artwork - if you know the couple well enough to know their tastes in art or décor, a nice piece of framed art that suits their tastes would likely be much appreciated. (Since taste in art can be highly subjective, however, please do the couple a favor and include a gift receipt just in case you were a little off in what you thought they might like.)
* Furniture - if the soon-to-be newlyweds are young and just leaving home or getting out of school, chances are they have very little furniture. Just like more traditional wedding gifts, furniture comes in a range of prices, so you need not buy the couple a leather sectional couch if your gift budget tends more towards a coffee table. If their taste tends more towards the quirky, you may want to offer to take them on a shopping spree through local second hand stores to help them find something unusual or offbeat.
* Entertainment - many couples these days are paying many if not all of the expenses for their wedding, so their post-wedding entertainment budget may be stretched pretty thin. Give them a break from watching rented DVDs - buy them tickets to see a favorite performer live in concert or to see their favorite athletic team.
* Alternative to Cash - Stocks and bonds make a nice alternative to cash and offer you, the gift giver, a way to personalize your gift by buying shares of stock which interest the couple.
There are, in fact, a lot of unusual wedding gifts you can give that can provide a welcome relief from the mundane. One note of caution, though - be sure the couple will be happy with something unusual! Straying from the safe, pre-approved confines of a department store wedding registry can be risky for the gift giver. Remember that a great gift is a reflection of both the giver and the receiver. While you may not want to "spoil the surprise" you may be doing yourself and the couple a favor by approaching them before the wedding and bouncing ideas off them for what you would like to give. And that's the secret for giving a really great wedding gift (and what is perhaps the greatest gift of all) - thoughtfulness.
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