Present for brother's wedding

Meathlass

My younger brother is getting married this summer. This is the first wedding in our family and I'm at a loss as to what present to get. Previous family weddings I would give cash but I want something a bit more personal for my brother.

He lives abroad with his wife to be. They rent an apt. This rules out vouchers, furniture etc. Anything he is bought will have to be carried back to London.

I will ask them what they'd like but I know they won't say. I suggested to my mum that I'd pay for something in the wedding or their honeymoon but she didn't think this was a good idea.

My budget is about €500. I'd be open to giving them some in cash and I will probably do up a book of wedding photos etc but stuck for another idea.

dee_mc

How about a voucher for a weekend at the venue of the wedding, to be used on their first Wedding Anniversary?
I know someone who commissioned a sculpture/wood carving as a wedding gift, could be a really personalised present for them and needn't be very big.
A great quality set of his and hers luggage could be nice too, would remind them of you and their wedding every time they go on holidays
I had the same dilemma a few years ago when my brother got married, also renting so same restrictions, I started making them a customised patchwork quilt... may finish it in time for their 5th wedding anniversary

Edit: there's a specific forum for gift ideas, post might get more responses there.

How about a nice Waterford crystal photo frame, vase, wine glasses and the rest in cash?

Meathlass

Deleted User wrote: »

How about a nice Waterford crystal photo frame, vase, wine glasses and the rest in cash?

They live in London in a tiny flat so would be a nightmare to get stuff like that across after the wedding. Pity, it's the kind of thing that would be a lovely keepsake.

Meathlass

Meathlass wrote: »

They live in London in a tiny flat so would be a nightmare to get stuff like that across after the wedding. Pity, it's the kind of thing that would be a lovely keepsake.

You can have it delivered from shop. They would insure it too. For a bit extra, of course! The Photo frame is a great one I got one for my wedding and another for my 25th from the same couple and I really treasure them. They don't take up too much place and are timeless. I bought my Mother In Law a Tipperary Crystal clock that she loves. It's worth looking around your nearese stockist, like Shaws in Waterford, etc.

Meathlass

How about a voucher for a weekend at the venue of the wedding, to be used on their first Wedding Anniversary?

That's a good idea, though the wedding venue is in their home town so they might perfer something a bit more exotic.

A great quality set of his and hers luggage could be nice too, would remind them of you and their wedding every time they go on holidays

They do a lot of travelling so they already have their ryanair approved samonsite cases!

I had the same dilemma a few years ago when my brother got married, also renting so same restrictions, I started making them a customised patchwork quilt... may finish it in time for their 5th wedding anniversary

Can imagine the howls of laughter if I tried to present them with something arty. It wouldn't be my forte!! I could buy them something online and get it delivered to London but they don't know where they're going to settle yet so I'm loath to pick household stuff for that reason.

Edit: there's a specific forum for gift ideas, post might get more responses there

Thanks, will try there.

Meathlass

Deleted User wrote: »

You can have it delivered from shop. They would insure it too. For a bit extra, of course! The Photo frame is a great one I got one for my wedding and another for my 25th from the same couple and I really treasure them. They don't take up too much place and are timeless. I bought my Mother In Law a Tipperary Crystal clock that she loves. It's worth looking around your nearese stockist, like Shaws in Waterford, etc.

Thanks. Yeah I'd like to get them some good quality stem ware as he in particular is a big wine drinker. I'll have to do some subtle checking to see what they already have.

dee_mc

I like Maryanne's crystal idea, you could get a piece engraved with the wedding date or their names etc

dudara

You could get them a voucher for something like the Mr. & Mrs. Smith collection - this would give them a chance to book something nice for their first wedding anniversary.

We gave a very close family member a 2BB1D voucher for a very fancy 5* hotel, and they used it on their wedding anniversary

Meathlass

dudara wrote: »

You could get them a voucher for something like the Mr. & Mrs. Smith collection - this would give them a chance to book something nice for their first wedding anniversary.

We gave a very close family member a 2BB1D voucher for a very fancy 5* hotel, and they used it on their wedding anniversary

Actually a voucher for an upmarket hotel collection like that is a great idea. That way they could spend it anywhere they wanted to and not have to come back to a certain hotel which mightn't suit.

xalot

you could give them currency for whatever country they're going to on their honeymoon....we got a couple of really nice hotel vouchers when we got married and we really appreciated it.

Gatica

if he's a big wine drinker then why not get them a collection of wines?
That was one of THE best wedding presents we got from a good friend. It was a wine decanter and a sealed wooden box with several bottles of very good wines with a schedule.
We had wine for 1st month anniversary, first xmas, first new years, 6 months married and 1 year married. It's been fantastic cos we've had these wines to drink and think of our friends.

btw, I don't agree with your mum that paying towards their honeymoon is not a good idea. My brother-in-law and his wife signed up to a travel website with whom they booked their honeymoon. Anyone could donate money just to the cost in general or purchase particular gifts: e.g. airport transfer by limo with bottle of Champagne, a night in a 5 star hotel at their honeymoon destination, a hot-air balloon ride. It really was a brilliant idea. They had enough money to pay for the wedding, they'd their own house for a couple of years so were sorted on the hardwares. However, people still felt like they contributed something towards their enjoyment and not just giving them cash.

westies4ever

when my brother got married, he and his wife went to Bali for their Honeymoon. I contacted their hotel and booked them a luxury spa & pampering day for when they were there. It was a 5 star hotel so it was pricey enough - about €250 if I recall. They were delighted and really enjoyed it. I also gave them some cash in a card.

aSligoDub

Meathlass wrote: »

My budget is about €500. I'd be open to giving them some in cash and I will probably do up a book of wedding photos..

I think that after paying for a wedding, he'd be delighted with the cash.
The wedding book is a great personal touch, especially if you preface it with photos of all of the home preparations he's missing out on.

Meathlass

aSligoDub wrote: »

I think that after paying for a wedding, he'd be delighted with the cash.
The wedding book is a great personal touch, especially if you preface it with photos of all of the home preparations he's missing out on.

I just feel cash is so impersonal for a close relative. It's easy to withdraw a couple of hundred and stick it in an envelope but I'd like to get them something they'll remember.

The wine collection idea is great but he already has a decanter and one of those aerating things.

I'd like to pay for something in the wedding, be it the flowers, drinks bill etc but for some reason my mum thinks that's a bad idea.

Their honeymoon is fairly low key, a driving trip around Croatia for a few days so I think the hotel voucher for a boutique chain might be the way to go plus the wedding book with lots of photos taken during the weekend.

evilmonkee

Online shopping can be great for this kind of thing!

You mentioned you couldnt get them a gift voucher, if this was something you wanted to do you could get them an amazon one. This wouldnt need to be used in Ireland.

Or buy them a present from amazon etc. and get it shipped to them.

Meathlass

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Some great ideas.

foggy

When my close friends got married I got them a double family crest. It has the grooms family crest on one side and the brides on the other. They're not that dear but are very personal and you could give them the rest in cash.

Gatica

if you know they'll like that that's fine.
However, there have been lots of people on these forums who've said they'd gotten crests and as presents and didn't like them, especially having to have them displayed somewhere the gifter may see them.... so I'd be careful with that one.

Meathlass

Gatica wrote: »

if you know they'll like that that's fine.
However, there have been lots of people on these forums who've said they'd gotten crests and as presents and didn't like them, especially having to have them displayed somewhere the gifter may see them.... so I'd be careful with that one.

Yeah, a crest definitely wouldn't be their cup of tea.

clint_silver

Gatica wrote: »

if you know they'll like that that's fine.
However, there have been lots of people on these forums who've said they'd gotten crests and as presents and didn't like them, especially having to have them displayed somewhere the gifter may see them.... so I'd be careful with that one.

I was just about to comment on this. while some people may like them, I'd liken them to woodchip wallpaper. from times gone by. we opened 2 "crests" pressies on our wedding day, missus silver and I looked at each other with a really awkward wtf are we gonna do with these, she thought even less of them than me. Been in the attic ever since I think, Im not hoping on finding them anytime soon.

I'd second amazon vouchers. amazon is used a lot more in the UK than here... maybe half on a voucher and half on the wine.

km79

Gatica wrote: »

if he's a big wine drinker then why not get them a collection of wines?
That was one of THE best wedding presents we got from a good friend. It was a wine decanter and a sealed wooden box with several bottles of very good wines with a schedule.
We had wine for 1st month anniversary, first xmas, first new years, 6 months married and 1 year married. It's been fantastic cos we've had these wines to drink and think of our friends.

btw, I don't agree with your mum that paying towards their honeymoon is not a good idea. My brother-in-law and his wife signed up to a travel website with whom they booked their honeymoon. Anyone could donate money just to the cost in general or purchase particular gifts: e.g. airport transfer by limo with bottle of Champagne, a night in a 5 star hotel at their honeymoon destination, a hot-air balloon ride. It really was a brilliant idea. They had enough money to pay for the wedding, they'd their own house for a couple of years so were sorted on the hardwares. However, people still felt like they contributed something towards their enjoyment and not just giving them cash.

Sorry for bringing up such an old thread but where did ya get that wine collection ?

Gatica

I think it was somewhere in Dublin. Like Wine Buff but I'll check with them

summer breezer

some currency for their honeymoon and maybe a painting, i know we got a few lovely paintings and i love them as wedding presents. failing that i think they would really apprciate a voucher for the hotel where they got married so they could go back on 1st anniversary

Gatica

km79 wrote: »

Sorry for bringing up such an old thread but where did ya get that wine collection ?

Hi, so yes, they did get the box of wines in Wine Buff in Ranelagh. There's also one in Galway and I'm sure there's other stores around the country as it's a franchise. The wine shop made up the box with the wines for them. I'm sure they can help with the wine selection and recommended storage/consumption times.
Really looking forward to having our next 2 bottles of wine from that box for our 1 year anniversary.