Father of the bride gift, for a strained relationship

I don't have the best relationship with my Dad either. He wasn't around when I was a child, and we only started building our relationship over these past several years. He's made an effort to be in my life now, so he will be walking me down the aisle, etc. BUT I also have to avoid the overly sentimental appreciation gifts. For us, we plan to make the gifts to the parents be from each other. For instance, I will give his mom and dad a gift, and he will give my mom and dad a gift. It's not like his gift to my dad can say something like "thank's for raising the woman of my dreams" though, because he had no part in raising me, lol.

For your Dad, maybe you could gift him a really nice glass whisky decanter (if he is a drinker) with a note that says something like "thank you for helping us have the wedding of our dreams, we couldn't of had this special day with out you." It would acknowledge his efforts without getting too sentimental.

What are some of his interests? If you go with something that’s very reflective of him, rather than dads in general, that shows you’re grateful for his contributions and for him, no matter what the past has held. I’d be happy to help spitball some ideas if you can share a bit about him!

A nice shaving set with his initials. Maybe a handkerchief with initials as well.

What does he like? Some things I can think of are a pocket knife, personalized decanter, nice bottle of liquor, small humidor, nice pack of cigars? Maybe just include a thank you letter?

Thanks everyone! Danielle, thank you for the message suggestion, that is super helpful.

He loves cooking, but already has a ton of kitchen toys and gadgets so I'm trying to figure out what might work best there. Suggestions that are nice or that can be personalized are welcome! I'm trying to stay away from alcohol-themed gifts considering that was part of the problem growing up. He's always been into sailing, but he doesn't really do anything with his model ships anymore so I'm not sure where else to go with that.

How about a cutting board that is engraved?? They make some really beautiful ones these days. Maybe engrave his name on it, or your wedding date with a thank you message?

Other nice kitchen items would be a Bluetooth thermometer or sou vide if you want to go more tech-y.

Eek. Yeah. I'm not close with my dad at all. And I really regret him being at the wedding. 😑 I just gave him a tie clip that said father of the bride. I didn't even write him a card. My husband did. But you know what. I don't really regret it. He's part of the reason why our relationship is the way it is. Why do I have to go out my way to make him feel better and feel important when he hasn't called me once since the wedding. So again, no regrets. Do what makes you feel good and what seems the bear decision for you.

Hi All! So I reached out to his current wife, who says that he's super into golf (despite the fact that he refuses to golf with my brother, so yay my family is awesome haha). I might try looking for something we can customize, maybe golfing gloves with a message about thanks for lending a helping hand? Does that work?