Son getting married (cost, free, the best, daughter)

[foursonsdad]

My oldest son is getting married soon and my question is what would be a great wedding gift to get them and are there any traditions about who gives the toast at the rehearsal dinner. What about gifts at the rehearsal. I know its tradition for the bride and groom to give a Little something for those in the wedding party. I'm so concerned I may miss something.

As you can tell by my screen name no daughters

Helpppppppppppp

[canibeyou]

I can only give suggestions on things I found helpful when I got married.

First off, it's the groom's parents who are suppossed to pay for the rehearsal dinner... that alone would be a rehearsal gift. I think a parental toast at the rehearsal dinner if nice. Seeing as how you're gonna be kinda kicked out of the picture the following day at the wedding and reception!

As far as a gift for the happy couple.... although I love getting actual physical items, gift cards are a dream too! They'll get all the blenders and toasters they need... but it's 3 months down the line, when the hoopla has died down and people have moved on in life that the "we really need______" comes into play. Now be it a Target gift card or a Home Depot kind of gift card, it'll come in handy and actually let them get something they need.

I assume, by your post, that this is the first marriage of any of your kids? You must be so excited and proud! Congratulations!!!

[thefer]

I've helped a coulpe of young people where I work with their weddings and I've found out if you google weddings you can get all the information you need with gifts,wedding etiquette and the parents role.
Hope this helps.

[foma]

My husband and I got married 3 years ago. We paid for everything ourselves. None of that "bride's side groom's side" etiquette. However, we did get monetary cash from our respective parents, which I thought was very generous. My parents gave us some, my FIL gave us some - add 'em together and that was about 1/3 of the wedding costs. My MIL did not give us any but she helped a lot with wedding plans, which I also really appreciated.

Lesee ... yes, typically the bride and groom should give gifts for the wedding party. Since I did 100% of the wedding planning (my husband lived 2K miles away at the time) I couldn't handle picking out individual gifts so I got everybody giftcards from different places. To make it more "special" I customized the gift bags with their names, decor etc. Our wedding wasn't very formal as you can prob tell but we all had a heck of a good time!

[Scholar]

I recommend giving something from your heart (of course, according to your budget) -- an embossed family Bible that they can be married with (if you are religious), a honeymoon or a portion of the honeymoon, money, a slideshow or photo album of their special moments (to be given privately or shown at rehearsal), an engraved photo album, anything that will be meaningful to you, your son and his bride.

My dad's childhood friend is a musician who wrote a song for his child's wedding day that my dad gave to me (It said what my dad couldn't verbalize on that day.), and my mother made us something that is special to this day. My point-- it doesn't matter the cost if it is a gift that shows your love!

The best gift is one that my parents continue to give to us every day; they treat my spouse like their child, too. They are parents-in-love not just in-law!

[christina0001]

I think the best wedding gift would be either money, or something sentimental, that can be treasured for a long time and passed down to the next generation.

Whoever is hosting the rehearsal dinner (usually but not always the groom's parents) should give a toast.

Yes, at the rehearsal dinner, it is a common practice for the bride and groom to give a gift to each attendant and sometimes also the parents, as a thank you.

[clawson26]

Originally Posted by christina0001

I think the best wedding gift would be either money, or something sentimental, that can be treasured for a long time and passed down to the next generation.

Mostly your DIL will just want to know that you WELCOME her into the family and think she is perfect for your son (whether you do or not) Aside from that, I think both money or a useful gift (if they need it), AND something sentimental. I would be a little hurt if I just got cash...like you didn't have time to think of something more meaningful. Also, as half of a fairly newly married couple, I'm not spitting on a cash gift either! So maybe both?

[Mooseketeer]

For a traditional present from Wales ( UK) try a carved Lovespoon with both names and date. It used to be carved by the man for his beloved as a token of undying love but now they are really popular presents for weddings, engagements, births etc.. you can even get Lovespoons wedding "favours" for the guests as a little souvenir of the wedding.
My favourite website is :
Lovespoons @ THE LOVESPOON GALLERY MUMBLES SWANSEA WALES.
or google lovespoons. ( They ship to the US)

[clawson26]

Originally Posted by Mooseketeer

For a traditional present from Wales ( UK) try a carved Lovespoon with both names and date. It used to be carved by the man for his beloved as a token of undying love but now they are really popular presents for weddings, engagements, births etc.. you can even get Lovespoons wedding "favours" for the guests as a little souvenir of the wedding.
My favourite website is :
Lovespoons @ THE LOVESPOON GALLERY MUMBLES SWANSEA WALES.
or google lovespoons. ( They ship to the US)

I looked at those and they would be a great unique sentimental gift. It says on the website

"A free storycard telling the history & meanings is included with each lovespoon"

I would think that was a pretty cool wedding gift from a FIL and MIL. Kind of a "stamp of approval" for both kids.