Ok all you smart people, I'm in need of some clever insightful help, so I have come here to pick from the collective brain trust.

I need some suggestions for a wedding gift.

Here is the situation- a very close friend of mine has returned home to Taiwan to get married. His wife to be is someone he has known for years, and they have spent a lot of time together here in the states, in fact 2-years ago she came over and spent the entire summer here with him. The wedding is being held in Taiwan so I'm clearly not going to be there, but this is a close friend and even though I was not invited to the wedding, getting a gift for the two of them just seems like the right thing to do.

In addition, I'm not into giving wedding gifts that will rarely be used, they do not have a register, I want them to get something they will use and use and maybe even wear out dsome day from such use, and I would like to keep the cost below say $65.

Come on all you smart people, give it up...

 

Ever take any nice pics of the two of them together? If so, do something with that, and have it framed.

 

That would be a great idea, but, John is a photographer, and he has taken pics of the two of them lots, in fact everyplace they travel together he gets pics of them there in location. The things you can do when you always carry a tripod...

 

Arrange for a gift certificate to be sent to them in your name from a local restaurant. Something they both will enjoy and you don't have to worry about shipping, etc.

 

For our 1st anniversary, I bought my wife a music box with the music she walked down the aisle with. Always thought that would be a great wedding gift.

Might be tough finding the music John will have. I suspect it may be something traditional.

It is not something that gets used everyday, but it is very special to us.

 

Yes Mark, it is going to be a very, very traditional wedding, in fact, it's safe to say, most f it will not even be in English

Dave, I know I love gift certificates, giving and getting, but does anybody think it is a bad idea? The reason I ask is because i have a relative who has this perception that gift cards as a gift is insluting. Mind you I'm always asking for Home Depot or Lowes gift cards...

 

Insult me! Insult me! We love eating a fancy dinner on someone else's dime.

 

^ Okay, I hear ya, and I'm the same way. If gift certificates are indeed an acceptable form of gifting, the possabilities are endless.

 

We do too!

If they garden, a gift certificate to a plant nursery is a good idea too.

We had one given to us last year, and are still using it this year to buy plants/flowers for the yard.

 

I'm not a big fan of gift certificates for everyday shopping as a wedding gift. But a certificate to a restaurant is different. It will allow them to get out and celebrate as a newly married couple, hopefully to a favorite place or some place new they may not have experienced.

I got a Sears certificate for my wedding. Ended up buying a torque wrench with it. Not a memorable gift, especially for my wife. It was something I had planned to buy anyway and it was a way to use up the certificate.