Flipping the script today with an idea for you guests instead of the brides – here’s a great idea for a wedding gift that the happy couple is sure to love.
Weekends are for weddings!  If you’re like me, with 9 weddings each year, the weekends are, quite literally, for weddings (attending them, that is).  Also if you’re like me, the weekend is a time to think about planning your own wedding.  Lots of people carve out a certain time each week for to wedding planning (Wedding Wednesday seems to be very popular).  It ensures the wedding doesn’t take over their whole lives; however, I find that confining wedding planning to a specific time is too pressure-filled and bicker-prone.  I plan my wedding when inspiration strikes. Weekends, in particular, offer the time to let my mind roam and plan my own wedding in a stress-free environment.  In this series, I’ll take you through some of my major planning steps – hopefully this will help you plan your own wedding!
We received some amazing gifts for our wedding…but that came as no surprise since we basically picked them all out (yay registry!). We did receive one gift, however, that we didn’t register for, and it really stood out from the pack.
Our friend (and groomsman) Justin went online and had a wooden box custom made with three compartments, each with an engraved, sliding lid. (Similar found in this Etsy seller’s shop.) He then went to the wine store to purchase three bottles – one for each compartment – to be consumed on our one, five, and ten year anniversaries, respectively. He worked with the store’s staff, letting them know our wedding date, to choose bottles that would age at such a pace that they would be best on those anniversaries. He even went to the extra effort of choosing Italian wines since that was our honeymoon destination. Once the bottles were chosen, he sealed each compartment with a sticker that came with the box.
It was so exciting to have a little moment as we opened the box on our first anniversary. It was a lovely way to toast our marriage and made the evening that much more special. It will be nine more years before we finish off the other two wines, but when we do, the box itself will serve as a nice keepsake and can be used for storing remote controls and other knick knacks.
In general, I’d say that if a couple has a registry, stick to that. It means those are the items they actually want (or can return for store credit at a place they like); but if the registry has already been filled out, this is a wonderful, thoughtful option.
Peaches to Apples 