Presents & Purchases | Wedding Thank Yous
I thought long and hard about wedding presents for our closest family, friends and suppliers. I knew I wanted to get them all something because they had all gone the extra mile to help us and support us and although I knew they’d be livid we spent cash on them, it was important to me to get them something personal to show our appreciation.
Our thank you gifts for our photographer, bar staff, catering staff, hairdresser and venue hosts was easy - we own a cider company so it was a no brainer to reward all their hard work on the night with some bottles of the good stuff and we got through a crate or two of Vale Cider. For Jos’ grandmothers, aunties and friends who had given us bits and bobs for the wedding I bought bunches of flowers in the shops the week before and arranged them and Mum wrapped them up in patterned cellophane for everyone to take home. My Mum, Jos’ Mum, both his grandparents and us ourselves kept one of the knitted blankets Jos’ Mum had made which has been a lovey keepsake to have. I wanted to get Sarah a little something special for being our florist and when you can’t buy flowers as nice as they’d do themselves, what can you get them? In the end I settled on a little desk calendar, storage pot and weight for her beautiful studio - all of which I got from Tiger. I also bought Jos and myself a little gift to have our first cuppa as a married couple after the wedding - shop our mr & mrs mugs here!
For each cottage I made up a welcome pack which included;
2 pints of milk (or oat milk for our veeeeg pals)
Spare loo roll
Roll of kitchen roll
Bunch of daffodils in a jam jar
Teabags
Coffee
Loaf of bread
Braces welshcakes
Dog treats for our 4 legged pals
We had 9 children and babies at the wedding party so I wanted to give them something to do to enjoy themselves so I bought a bunch of big kraft paper bags from Hobbycraft and filled them with toys, crafts and bits and bobs. Depending on the age and hobbies of the kids they were filled with things like;
Bubbles
Colouring pencils
Colouring cards which I printed myself to save dosh
Jigsaws
Puzzles
Dominos
Bouncy balls
Whoopy cushions
Toys
Stamps
Craft packs
Books
Soft toys
Finger puppets
I gave our 12 members of family their thank you gifts on the morning of our legal ceremony when we were all having brunch together afterward and I teamed them with personalised hand written thank you cards and got a fair few of them in tears which was cute.
Check out our thank you gifts below….
The bridesmaids:
My two bridesmaids were 4 years and 10 months old respectively on my wedding day so a pamper basket or some earrings to wear at the ceremony wasn’t really an option. Instead, I opted for two gifts for each of them - one to keep and one to enjoy there and then. For the baby I bought ‘Maisy Goes' to a Wedding’ reading book as she loves to be read to and for my bigger niece I bought a wedding themed colouring book and set of pencils which she loved. Would highly recommend if you have kids at your wedding because she loved colouring the brides to match my dress and it kept her occupied and happy for ages.
For their ‘for later’ presents I bought them each a bracelet from Etsy with their initials on and they are displayed in a personalised box each with their names on and a ‘thank you for being my bridesmaid’ card in them. I also wrote them a personalised card when I wrote the others and I have kept them both safe as a momento of that exact day which I will give to each of them when they are teenagers.
Finally, for my teenage cousin I bought a rose gold bracelet which I was actually given when I was a bridesmaid last year for my pal and thought was a lush gift. I always said my cousin would be my bridesmaid but circumstance forced my hand and she wasn’t at the ceremony so I gave her the bracelet as a thank you for being my honorary bridesmaid gift instead for being such an understanding legend.
The siblings:
Buying for the 3 siblings and our brothers and sisters in law was harder than anyone else because I wanted them to all be the same and Jos’ brother and sister in law had to fly back to the States the following week so they had to be reasonably plane friendly or good to be left here to use when they’re back.
I had no inspiration really until I saw these alphabet mugs in M&S and knew they’d be perfect. I wrapped them up in tissue and wrapped them up with string and a personalised label in a little kraft box. I then stocked up on mini chocolates and biscuits in January after the Christmas rush and I packed the mugs and boxes full of snacks for our siblings that I knew they’d love.
The parents:
Undoubtedly my favourite presents was for our Mum’s and Dad’s. I had a moment of divine inspiration at work one evening before Christmas and found myself on Etsy, my fav place for independent sellers and personalised gifts.
I wanted our parents to have a little keepsake of the day so I got them all personalised gifts. For my Mum, a personalised quote which she hasn’t yet found the perfect home to hang it but a message I meant with my whole heart. Cufflinks for Dad’s are a fab gift, especially if they’re all in matching suits with the grooms party so I got my Dad some which came in a display box with our wedding date on one and Father of the Bride on the other. My mother in law has a wicked sense of humour so I wanted to get her something to suit but something to keep and I couldn’t believe my luck when I stumbled across the cheeky handkerchiefs - it could not have suited her better and we all had a good laugh that it was too little too late when she’d been balling at the ceremony. And finally, Jos owns the cider business with his Dad so buying a pint glass with Father of the Groom and the wedding date was a no brainer.
All of our wedding thank you gifts and little extras for guests were fab quality and loved by all so I whole heartedly recommend them if you’re looking for a final touch for your own day.