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Looking for the perfect bridesmaids’ gift? Consider a Coffee Corset from the crafty Jenn Gee over at Etsy, a sexy and stylish gift for your coffee drinking bridesmaids, and for yourself! These coffee cup corsets are a great eco-friendly alternative to the plain old wasteful cardboard sleeves, since they are made out of fabric that can be reused over and over again. These corsets work for hot or cold drinks and are conveniently small enough to fit in your purse to go everywhere you go. There are over 200 coffee corset designs to choose from, all handcrafted by Jenn; you are bound to find one to fit each one of your bridesmaids’ style or personality. The perfect accessory for a morning latte!
Well, the countdown is on with just five more days to Christmas. For budget-conscious shoppers, giving a combined holiday-engagement gift can be a practical way to celebrate the season.
Today’s post–covering some great gift ideas for the Holidays–is brought to us by GetMarried.com, the popular online wedding planning resource and provider of the Get Married TV show (the new season is on WE tv every Saturday @ 9:30 et/pt starting January 2) as well as the new Get Married magazine.
GetMarried writes:
He popped the question! She’s over the moon. How do you show her you’re here to help celebrate this gi-normous life changing event? Here are 10 girly gifts to give your sister, soon-to-be sister, childhood confidant or BFF, a.k.a bride to be. Plus we could never forget the groom so we’ve got him covered as well.
1. Plan Ahead
The best gift you can give a bride is organizational skills. Bestow a bright and funky planner on her to get her started down the aisle.
2. The Spitting Image
For the fashion-forward friend, give a personalized, unique illustration that expresses her personal style. From every hair color to every style of dress, there’s a framed and matted creation that will remind her of her inner fashionista.
3. The Bridal Party
Pamper her with a collection of shower gels inspired by wedding traditions. Sure to get the beautiful bride ready before the big day, this set includes a 6 oz Wedding Cake Ultra-Delicious Shower Gel, 6 oz Bubbly Ultra-Rich Shower Gel, and a 6 oz Bridal Bouquet Ultra-Feminine Shower Gel in a signature box.
4. The Princess Bride
For bridal royalty. Inspired by the tiara gifted to Queen Mary, enjoy this bride tank top - something old on something new. An ideal present for the princess bride.
5. Etiquette Lessons
Ok, you don’t have to spring for a whole lineup of classes. Just buy your gal pal Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette in hardback. It’s the go-to-guide for the classy, thoughtful bride. Make sure she never makes a misstep.
6. Hands Down The Best Gift!
Only the newly engaged know how embarrassing it is to have scruffy cuticles and unpolished nails. Everyone is always grabbing your hand to ooh and aww. Buy her this kit and her hands will be ready for show-off showtime!
7. With This Ring
You know she wants to tell the world he put a ring on it-without having to say a word. Get her this fun-key ring to show off a bit. She’ll toss her house and car keys on it and every time she pulls it out will be reminded she’s headed for wedded bliss.
8. It’s a Wrap!
Comfy terry cloth wraps are always a favorite gift and can be personalized with her future monogram. Get her ready to be Mrs. Happily Ever After.
9. For Her (and Him)
Give your friend a boudoir photo session she can use to surprise her fiance. A hot trend for brides to be, noir-inspired shots can be tasteful (think more Dita Von Teese, than Playboy) and will get her in the mood for her wedding night. Tell her to smile and work it, you sexy thing!
10. Sweet Siblings
Tell sisters and soon to be sisters-in-law how much they mean with a sentimental token. Personalize this folksy, sweet frame by sliding in a childhood photo. Sugarboo Designs uses quotes from luminaries and simple classic style for thoughtful gifts she’ll love.
11. For the techie, gadget groom:
Forget cord confusion, the Duracell Mygrid allows for all of your electronic devices to be charged at once.
Thanks, Get Married. And happy hunting everyone!
Photo Credits: Item imagery from GetMarried.com, Prismeradesign.com, Philosophy.com, Amazon.com, Sephora.com, and Poopsies.com
Posted by gift_girl on Wednesday, November 25, 2009
This month Wishpot brings you creative and fun ideas for wedding favors for a beautiful winter wedding! Trying to find new ways to personalize your favors and make them memorable? Wishpot wedding experts have so many great ideas for wedding favors that will leave a lasting impression this winter season!
Wedding expert Wedangel has tons of inspired ideas for wedding favors. Having trouble finding something to put your favors in? Winter snowflake favor boxes are a perfect solution for this. Also, a way to give a favor that can last forever is to use elegant snow flurry glass ornament place card holders. This way you can give your guests a gift that they can always use and cherish. Snowflake guest soap favors are also an inexpensive yet neat gift that matches your winter wedding theme.
Want to make your favors personal? Wedding expert Cherished Gifts & Favors has the idea of personalized candle party favors. This is such an imaginative way to give your guests something practical and personal. And what guest does not love chocolate! Wedding expert It’s a Jaime Thing suggests these personalized Chocolate Letters. This is a low-cost way to please your guests and be personal at the same time. And lastly there is my personal favorite which is the scented pine cone favors. These are adorable and affordable!
Don’t forget to heat up your winter wedding with these economical and inventive wedding favor ideas!
Wishpot is a shop anywhere online wish list service. Find us on Twitter @wishpot and fan us on Facebook.
Etsy.com has several categories of wedding items to shop for
In case you haven’t already heard about Etsy.com, you definitely want to check it out if you’re in the market for wedding accessories or favors. Etsy’s mission is “to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.”
It’s is a marketplace for handmade crafts of all sorts, and includes an entire wedding section with subcategories like cake toppers, bouquets, guest books, and more. People from all over the world create custom handcraft goods and sell them on this website, so you can find some incredibly creative and unique pieces that aren’t available anywhere else.
Was there a do-it-yourself-project you took upon yourself while designing your wedding that you found particularly enjoyable? If you find yourself especially adept at putting together such DIY elements for your big day and want to turn it into a side business in the years to come, Etsy is a fantastic platform to sell your own custom creations as well.
I found these really cute and whimsical paper crafts for your autumn wedding from Sunshine and Ravioli via Etsy.com. These are very rustic, custom handmade pieces of paper with autumn motifs for your save-the-dates, thank you cards, favor packaging and table numbers. Perfect for any fall inspired wedding!
This is the third installment of a three-post series on wedding gifts. Monday’s post discussed alternative gift ideas. Wednesday’s installment covered some popular online registry services available and how to integrate them with your wedding website. My wrap-up post today will guide you through gift tracking and writing thank-you cards.
In this post:
Gift record keeping with tools like Google Docs and your wedding website
WedShare e-Stationery and automatic correspondence tracking
The art of writing the thank-you note
While many guests will bring gifts to your reception, some will find it convenient to ship items directly to you, especially if they’re ordering the items online. Gifts can start coming in months before your wedding, depending on when you set up your registry, and the closer you get to the big day, the more will come. The key is to keep on top of your records and pace your thank-you cards to avoid getting overwhelmed later.
Gift Record Keeping
As gifts come in, make sure you save the enclosed card, mailing label, and invoice; you’ll need these for exchanges or returns. There’s some specific information you want to capture for each gift, and how you do it depends on which tool you prefer to use. We’ll get into that next. Here’s the stuff you should jot down:
The sender’s name
The sender’s mailing address
A description of the gift
Date the gift arrived
The store it was shipped from
Comments (anything that comes to mind. It will help later when doing the thank-you card)
The date you sent out the thank-you card
How to Track It All
This really depends on you. For some, using pen and paper does the trick. For others, its an Excel spreadsheet. If you’ve got your notes and guest info on a spreadsheet, you probably want to keep all your information in one place. Something I’ve seen a lot of couples doing lately is using Google Docs (docs.google.com), Google’s online suite of office tools, to manage their details. There’s a spreadsheet and word processor, among other tools, available to all free of charge.
Creating a new spreadsheet in Google Docs. You can also upload spreadsheets to store and work on. A free and powerful info tool.
Editing a spreadsheet online using Google Docs
What’s so great about Google Docs is that it’s available online with nothing needed to install on your machine. And if you have existing spreadsheets or other Office documents, you can use the upload button to edit them.
Still others prefer to integrate their information with a tool or set of tools specifically designed for wedding detail management. If you’re using a WedShare website, for example, you’ve probably already got a Guest Manager full of all your guest details, possibly with information your guests have posted themselves via your wedding website. The same database that you use to receive and track RSVPs, send invitations, and exchange other correspondence can be used to track your wedding gifts and thank-you cards.
Your WedShare Guest Manager contains all your guest information and correspondence records
Gifts are one of the many details you can record in your Guest Manager profiles
Because most of your guest information should already be entered in your Guest Manager, you can edit a guest’s profile online when their gift arrives and quickly add the information you’d like to capture. Then, when it comes time to write thank-you notes, it’s a simple matter to do a search on all guests who have sent a gift. WedShare’s Guest Manager provides a one-click dropdown menu option for this.
If your wedding website service has a space to record correspondence, you can keep notes on when each guests have been sent a thank-you card in the same place. In fact, WedShare’s online e-stationery can automatically add this to your guests’ profiles anytime an e-card is sent. Note that e-Stationery thank-you’s can accompany handwritten notes, but shouldn’t substitute them completely (see my point on this below).
WedShare allows you to design your own e-Stationery, including thank-you cards, and send them out to your guest list. A record of sent correspondence is automatically added to guests' profiles
Using a centralized information system like this makes it easy for you to keep up with your received gifts and track your correspondence, all in one accessible place.
The Art of Writing the Thank You Note: My Three-Step Guide
Sending a prompt note of thanks for everything you receive is key. Handwrite your thank-you’s. I think it’s best when the task is split: let the groom send them to his family and friends, and the bride send them to hers. Online and printed thank-you’s can be sent if you need more time to get your handwritten ones done, but they shouldn’t be considered a substitute. Having bad writing isn’t an excuse, either: your chicken scratch will make it that much more personal.
Thank-you’s shouldn’t be boilerplate. Be unique with each one: mention their contribution to your wedding and their gift, specifically. How will you come up with personal, unique ways to thank potentially hundreds of guests? The answer: use a formula.
Step One: Identify the Gift. Name or describe the gift that you received.
Thank you so much for the china place setting.
Step Two: Mention how you and your spouse (by name) will use it.
Peter and I love having company over and these will get a lot of use!
Step Three: Add a personal comment in a sentence or two. It’s up to you and your relationship with the particular guest. If they came from out of town, this is the perfect spot to thank them for the travel.
We were so happy you were able to make it to our wedding. Thank you for coming so far to make our day that much more special!
Wrap up your note by signing it. You don’t both have to; whoever is doing the writing on the particular card is fine. Give yourself a little time each day to send some out to stay on top of things, and it’ll be smooth sailing.
Have a fantastic weekend everyone, and come back to visit next week for more e-planning tips and wedding inspirations!
This is the second installment of a three-post series on wedding gifts. Monday’s post discussed alternative gift ideas. Today’s installment will cover some popular online registry services available and how to integrate them with your wedding website. My wrap-up post on Friday will guide you through gift tracking and writing thank-you notes.
Wedding gifts have traditionally been a way for guests to contribute to your new life together by providing you with all kinds of vital household necessities with which to feather your nest. Nowadays, couples are marrying older and are often combining households, or for whatever reason just may not want another blender or linen set. In Monday’s post, I covered alternative wedding gift ideas for couples who prefer not to receive wedding gifts, such as charity and honeymoon registries.
So who said registries need to be traditional? Beyond charity and cash registries, you can set up gift registries that include anything online or even offline that you can find. Combine traditional and nontraditional items. Include a honeymoon registry on top of that. Online gift registries are updated automatically when guests purchase, so you can see at a glance if available items are running low in any of your price ranges, making it easy to stay on top of your registry selections as time goes on.
Wishpot gift registry service: reserved items ensure no duplicate purchases
One of my favorite online registry services is Wishpot (wishpot.com), which lets you add any online item to your registry using a downloadable browser toolbar widget. Such shop-anywhere consolidation services make it really easy for you to build a single list of items for your guests to select from, containing items from any store online. Wishpot also includes options for charity and cash registries, by the way, so definitely check them out.
My Registry gift registry service
My Registry (myregistry.com) is another consolidation gift registry service that lets you add items from any store for your guests to view and purchase in one place. Amazon.com launched their own gift registry service as well, with the similar goal of consolidating all your gifts into a single list.
Amazon.com allows you to create a gift registry to consolidate your gifts as well
There are even online gift registries that cater to the groom’s point of view! Check out The Man Registry (themanregistry.com) to include gifts for the other half of the engagement equation.
Part of a groom's gift registry from The Man Registry
Getting the Word Out
Where guests traditionally had to be informed of your gift registries by word of mouth, today’s personal wedding websites offer the best medium to give guests the scoop. Guests will be there anyway, checking out your photos, signing your guestbook, posting their online RSVP, and finding hotel information. And it’s the same place they’ll access your registries. Embedding or linking your registry details is a snap, too. Most wedding website services allow you to embed third-party code snippets or, at the very least, links to your registry service(s); WedShare even has its own cash registry you can take advantage of.
As an example, see how simple it is to add a Wishpot gift registry widget to a WedShare wedding website in two steps:
Most services will provide link code for you to insert into your website's pages. Wishpot allows you to customize a widget badge and copy the code to generate it.
Step 1: Copy the code or link to your registry.
Edit your wedding website and paste the registry's code into your gift registry page. WedShare allows you to toggle to HTML view so that you can insert any third-party item or widget. Alternatively, you can simply add a link to your gift registry as you would any other link or item.
Step 2: Paste the code or add the link to your website’s Gift Registry page or section.
Here's our sample WedShare website with the embedded Wishpot widget.
That’s it! It’s really very easy to build your own consolidated wedding gift registry and add it to your wedding website. Having everything together in one place also makes it convenient and quick for your guests, which they’re sure to appreciate. And today’s online registry services provide options and flexibility to build and manage your lists like never before…I sure wish this stuff had been around back in the days of yore for my own wedding, I’ll tell you. Too bad that was circa the Triassic.
Friday I’ll delve into some great tools to help you track your gifts, and I’ll also share with you the art of the Thank-You letter.
Here are some really cute cupcake wrappers or liners that would be the perfect addition to cupcakes for your fall inspired wedding. These cupcake wrappers can be used to wrap a simple cupcake as a wedding favor or used in a dessert station at your wedding. They are so pretty and fairly inexpensive–about a dollar apiece–for the fabulous look they provide to any cupcake. It can be a great DIY project if you or someone you know is willing to bake the cupcakes for your event. Or, you can store-buy your favorites and add these wrappers for the cutest looking autumn wedding cupcakes ever!
This is the first installment of a three-post series on wedding gifts. I’ll start off today discussing alternative gift ideas. The second installment, to be posted Wednesday, will cover some of the more popular online registry services available and how to integrate them with your wedding website. My wrap-up post on Friday will guide you through gift tracking and writing thank-you notes.
Weddings and gifts traditionally go hand-in-hand. There are gifts for your bridal party and each other, possibly special gifts for your parents and others who you’d like to thank, and gifts for your guests (i.e. wedding favors). Likewise, your guests will generally be expecting to provide you with a gift unless you let them know otherwise.
There are a number of reasons why some couples prefer not to receive wedding gifts. Some want to give their guests a break in this economy. Others feel like obligatory gifts are tacky. Still others are combining households, already have a double dose of kitchen gadgets and linens, and don’t particularly relish the idea of adding more items to their storage shelves.
First, keep in mind that a registry doesn’t have to cover traditional items at all. Maybe you’ve got your eye on the latest video game console, or landscaping items for your new backyard. I’ll cover more on gift registries, including “shop-anywhere” and nontraditional registries, in Wednesday’s follow-up post. But beyond that, here are some great alternative wedding gift options:
Sponsor a Charity
If you’d prefer not to receive wedding gifts, one way to let friends and loved ones contribute to your happiness is to ask that donations be made in the name of your favorite charity, or to a cause that is important to you. Post the information on how to donate at your wedding website’s registry page, or add a link to one or more online charity registries. With a charity registry service, you can select a charity or nonprofit organization of your choice to which your guests’ donations will go. Websites like JustGive (justgive.org), I Do Foundation (idofoundation.org) and GlobalGiving (globalgiving.com) are great places to start.
Create a charity wedding registry with JustGive.org
Create a charity wedding registry with GlobalGiving.com
Cash Registries
Honeymoon expenses. Home improvement costs. School tuition. Downpayment on a new home. New vehicle expenses. Do I need to go on? Look, the love of it may be the root of all evil, and it may not be the key to happiness, but cold hard cash sure can help a newly married couple fulfill needs and solve problems. The cool thing about cash registries is that you get to create your own gifts. A honeymoon registry might have gifts like a day’s car rental, for example, or a champagne luncheon. Your guests “purchase” your gifts for you, their purchases are tallied, and the proceeds go right to your bank account. Because your guests are actually choosing specific items for you, it makes writing those thank-you notes far more personalized (come back for Friday’s post to read more on this): instead of thanking someone for fifty bucks, you thank them for that great guided tour they sponsored for you on your honeymoon to the Greek island of Santorini. An example of a cash registry is available at GoGift (gogift.com). Like all other gift registries, you can add the link for your cash registry to your wedding website’s Gift Registries page for your guests to find easily.
Let guests contribute cash as their wedding gift to you
Honeymoon registries are a specialized cash registry focused on your honeymoon expenses. Examples include HoneyLuna (honeyluna.com), The Big Day Travel (thebigdaytravel.com), and The Honeymoon (thehoneymoon.com); all will let you create a dream honeymoon itinerary, and allow guests to purchase individual items on your itinerary.
Part of a HoneyLuna.com honeymoon registry
The one catch you need to be aware of when working with cash registry services, including honeymoon registries, is that these services will generally charge you a fee in the way of a percentage of your guests’ contributions. The fees range from service to service, but they can be as high as 10% or more.
If you have a website with WedShare, you have a cash registry service built right into your wedding website, with no fees at all, and which will allow you to set up honeymoon registries or any other cash-based gift list just like these third-party services. Just set up your lists, add imagery to spice it up, and enter in your PayPal details for easy online handling of guest contributions. It’s already built into your Gift Registries page, so everything is conveniently located in one spot, and all the PayPal integration is set up for you.
An example WedShare cash registry set up as a honeymoon registry
With the flexibility of online charity and cash gift registry services, there are a lot of options for your wedding gifts, including for those couples that don’t want to go the traditional route. Come back to read my Wednesday post for even more on online registries and how to link them to your wedding website.
When it comes to wedding favors, I personally prefer the edible variety. There are so many possibilities, and guests love nothing more than something yummy that they can munch or imbibe. What better thank-you gift to present them with? Edible favors can be very inexpensive, especially if they are homemade by you or someone you know, which personalizes them even more. You can get quite creative in the packaging and labeling of your homemade or store-bought edible goodies. Some examples of edible favors for your fall wedding are homemade cookies, cupcakes, breads, or mini pies. Check out the great Cookie of the Day section on Martha Stewart’s website for great ideas, recipes and how-to’s.
If you or someone you know does their own homemade craft beer, wine, cider, or other drink that you can bottle and seal with a customized label for your wedding day, they make great personalized wedding favors. You can also put a custom label on canned jams, honey jars, syrup bottles, hot sauces, fresh fruit, or any other of your favorite homegrown/homemade–or even store-bought–items. Be creative and give them a personal touch.
Here are some of my favorite autumn edible favors for your fall wedding. Enjoy!
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