This week’s WOMMW “What’s on my mind Wednesday” is dedicated to Weddings!  Specifically unique wedding gift ideas, and for good reason too! Wedding gifts have seriously been on my mind since March when our wedding season started. It kicked off with one of my best friend’s bridal showers, quickly followed by her wedding. For her shower I went by the book and selected from her gift registry. Typically, I enjoy going rogue and giving creative and unique gifts for the shower, and then giving expected gift items for the actual wedding. However,  I was planning on going reverse in her case, BUT time got away from me and I didn’t have her wedding gift for the wedding. Which was actually okay because etiquette says not to bring gifts to the wedding unless it is in the form of a card.

DID YOU KNOW?

Wedding etiquette graces wedding guests with a year’s time period to send the bride and groom their gift. Although, recent wedding etiquette suggests to wait no longer than two months to follow through with your gift giving.

And if I were following that advice I would be in big trouble! It has been four months since my best friends wedding…eeek! I had a few month break between her wedding and my next friends bridal shower which was in July, and here again I went standard and ordered off her gift registry. Which brings me to August. My friend Amanda, owner of Boutique 44 {little plug there – I just love her shop!} just got married on Saturday, and I have a bridal shower in St. Louis next weekend for another girlfriend. With my crazy schedule I needed a one stop shop for some AMAZING wedding/bridal shower presents and thankfully I knew just where to go!

SMYTH JEWELERS!

I love so many things about Smyth Jewelers… their jewelry selection, for one, is truly impressive. They serve warm chocolate chip cookies and fresh popped popcorn to their guests, they offer free jewelry cleaning, they support a variety of small businesses and local artisans, and have excellent customer service! Thinking you too may have some wedding or gift giving events coming up, and may find some of their unique wedding gift ideas helpful too. So, I partnered with Smyth to share some of my thoughts on unique gift giving.

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ALL ABOUT THAT NEW LAST NAME

The most important thing about giving unique gifts is knowing the gift recipient’s style and taste. Gifts highlighting a couple’s married last name have always been in style, but not every last name gift is a for sure winner with the bride and groom. My bride friend whose shower I will be attending next weekend loves outdoor, woodland, rustic decor and when I spotted these rustic scrabble-like block letters, I thought of her right away! Smyth has every letter available as well as a few designs like an engagement ring, anchor, crab, etc. Letters such as these could be used to decorate the wedded couple’s mantle, foyer table, kitchen cabinets, bathroom, office or several other places in their home.

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HOME DECOR

If you know the bride and groom well enough to frequent their home and have a good understanding of their home decor style then I would recommend considering home decor pieces that suit their style. Besides jewelry, Smyth Jewelers carries a variety of home decor from nautical to rustic. I love the nautical knot ball which doubles as home decor or a door stop. Add to that a handmade wine bottle wax candle and a rustic/nautical lantern and you have the perfect gift!. Both the candle and lantern are handmade by local businesses in MD and SC.

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CITY PRIDE

If your bride and groom love their city and hometown sports teams (like most Baltimoreans do), or unique local flare, then feed right into it! In Baltimore we love the Ravens and Orioles, and trust me, Smyth has plenty of licensed gifts for our sports teams to offer even the more die-hard fans! But, what most Baltimoreans love just a tinge more than our teams is our CRABS! I love giving baskets, milk crates, or cool boxes full of stylish and unique gifts that I picked out specifically for the recipients. During my visit to Smyth, I pulled together this adorable gift crate with a red, white and blue theme focused around Baltimore and Crabs. Inside is a pillow, two dish towels, picture frame, and crab wall art decor that can be customized with the couples married last name.

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POP THE BUBBLY or POUR THE WINE

Traditional items couples tend to register for include drinkware, cutting boards and cheese serving boards. Giving a gift from your couple’s registry is never a bad thing. They registered for that item for a reason and would love to have it. A few ideas to surprise them with some extra thoughtful would be to gift them wine glasses accompanied by a wine of the month club membership.  Each month, or every other month, they will have something to look forward to and be reminded of you! Another thought is to gift cheese serving boards with a variety of meats and cheeses to create a tasteful charcuterie board.

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C R A B S

Yup! I’m saying it… give your bride and groom CRABS!

I loved this rustic double can crab picking tool holder. It is not only great for storage, but serves as decor for any crab eating occasion! Along the lines of the gift ideas I previously mentioned, an extremely thoughtful gift idea to give your couple would be crab picking tools and a gift card for a dozen or two of steamed crabs!

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SIPS AHOY

Here is another great example of my favorite type of gift to give… goodies in a a cool container. I put this together in Smyth, combining a bunch of their giftables to make the perfect bridal shower or wedding gift!  Heck, this would be an adorable gift for birthdays, anniversaries, retirement; really anything! A container shaped as a ship but says “Sip AHOY” is screaming to be filled with booze! The ship itself can be used as home decor, party decor or even filled with ice and drinks! Here I filled it with two matching Corkcicle wine cups, a bottle of wine and two beach towels.  Perfect for a romantic evening sitting on the beach, gazing at the stars, enjoying some wine all snuggled up together.

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OLD BAY

NO WAY did I forget about our OLD BAY!

OLD BAY and crabs go hand in hand. Smyth has a great selection of both OLD BAY and crab themed gifts. I thought this combination was super cute, and budget friendly, especially for a bridal shower gift. I love this hanging crab wall decor piece. It is actually the same as the red one above, just blue and without the couple’s last name {which Smyth could certainly add}. You could gift the crab art and two mugs or the two mugs and mallets. Oh, and check out these mallets… they can be engraved too!

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WEDDING THEMED GIFTS

The last idea I am going to share with you is considering a bridal shower or wedding gift with the wedding in mind.  Maybe you know the bride and groom are still looking for their toasting flutes or something blue. Maybe your bride friend would love to countdown the days till she say “I do”.  Or giving a photo frame/album where they can display photos from their special day. Smyth honestly has so many amazing gifts to offer, from traditional to unique, and so many monogram/customized option too!

Hopefully you enjoyed some of these gift giving ideas and have some thoughts going about the next time you will be giving a gift!  Leave a comment below and let me know your favorite wedding related gift that you have given or received!