What is a Practical Wedding Gift?

I’ve attended and helped manage several events this year, including weddings. I often stay for feedback of the catering service, the food, the band, the venue and other wedding quirks.

Rarely does the couple complain, if the service is fair, and the guests are fed right; but the relatives do. There is one instance though that the couple directly ‘complains’ about something. As a meddling party planner who has to stay and wait for the check that will complete the whole transaction, I inadvertently witness the opening of gifts. Here’s a sample of what I hear from the couple:

“How nice! A rice cooker!”

“Oh my, another rice cooker. We have a spare just in case the first one breaks down!”

“Oh no. Yet another rice cooker!”

Do you see a pattern here? That people do not hear the couple complain doesn’t mean they don’t. It’s just tacky to say it in front of the guests, of course, but sometimes couples receive gifts that they don’t need, or they have too much of. A bridal registry could be a solution, but not everyone knows about bridal registries. More often than not, couples do avail of bridal registry services, but the guests are barely informed about it and/or are too lazy to learn how to use it.

For this post’s gift tip, I’m going Tempur-pedic! That, of course, needs explaining. Tempurpedic is a term to describe mattresses that are temperature sensitive; which indicates that the foam is softer in warmer conditions and firmer in cold conditions.

This is a practical gift for a newly wed couple because they can use this for a long time, maybe even forever. If more than one guest gives them a Tempurpedic Mattress, they will surely find another room in their new home to put that extra one in, and it won’t be a waste of space because a comfortable guest bed (or kids’ bed) is always welcome in a new home.

Go practical. The couple will remember you and your lasting gift. And please… not another rice cooker.