My fiance and I purchased a home before we got married. We saved and were fortunate enough to be able purchase items for our home. We were also given furniture and household goods so we had a fully furnished home a few months before our wedding. We had also saved for our wedding which was going to be a tight budget due to the fact that we had purchased our home. As we got closer to the wedding, I started to receive requests from our guests on where we were registered. I had not set up a registry…. I quickly jumped on Zola and went through their fun registry feature that has a similar layout as tinder-swipe left if you don’t want it and right if you are interested. As I was going through all these beautiful and useful items, I noticed that I already had most of them. It got me to start thinking of some areas that I may have missed or items that we would need in the future. Below are five possible gifts that would be fun and useful alternatives when you can’t think of anything else you need.
1. Picture Frames and Photo Albums
You can never get enough of these! Even though most pictures are digital now, there is something about having a great photo of you and your spouse-possibly a wedding day picture on the wall or in a nook.
2. Have people contribute to a honeymoon.
Honeymoons can really add up! The flights, hotel/resort, food, transportation, and miscellaneous activities can really add up. Zola has a feature on their site that allows people to contribute to their specific gift.
3. Ask people to make you something unique if they have a specific skill set or talent.
There is something about receiving a gift that you know that person had spent hours on making it perfect. If you know someone that has a specific talent such as painting, carpentry, ceramics or some other creative talents-express to the person that you would appreciate it if they could create something beautifully unique for you and your significant other for your wedding present.
This could even include if you have an accountant friend that may own their own business. A free tax return sounds mighty nice to me!
4. Have people contribute to the wedding.
This may be for family and close friends that are involved in the everyday wedding planning hullabaloo. Wedding costs can add up really quickly. If you have family members that want to contribute to the wedding, let them! Make sure that they know that that is your wedding gift and that you truly appreciate their help and support. Remember to still send a thank you card!
5. When in doubt, suggest money.
Many people like to give something more tangible. When you or your guest isn’t sure what you would want or need, money or a gift card is a great alternative.
6. Have people contribute to your bills.
This one probably won’t be as common as the other ones. If you really don’t know what you want or if you don’t really need anything, you always need your bills paid, especially during this money crunch time. If a family member or a close friend wants to contribute to paying a certain bill for a month or two, let them. Make sure that you express how much you appreciate their insight and gift during this time. A bill or two paid for the month will be one less thing you have to worry about.
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