Gifts for Parents

A photo album from the wedding? Take them out to a nice dinner?

Some people give photo albums as gifts..but the photographer won't have those ready until a month after the wedding. Shop for them like it's their birthday or Christmas.

Parents gifts are typically sentimental, not material gifts that you would get them for Christmas or their birthday. That rule is great for the bridal party, but not so much your parents. You could do a wedding themed frame that’s either empty or has an engagement photo that you can replace with a wedding photo later.

We bought personalized passports with $100 delta gift cards.

Sorry. Passport covers.

We never expected gifts from our kids. Definitely not necessary. However our youngest daughter and son-in-law arranged an awesome lunch with us and her in-laws on a boat in Lake Michigan. We went about a month before the wedding and it was awesome to spend time with them and our SIL’s parents (who we’ve become good friends with). Quality time with them was the best gift ever!

My parents are together but don’t like the same things, so I got my mom a mug with a personalized message and a cartoon of us (dressed in similar outfits that we’re wearing on wedding day) and I got my dad a hankerchief embroidered with a message. My dad has always carried hankercheifs. My in laws also will love anything, but we decided to get them a nice wine decanter and glasses because they enjoy sharing wine together most nights. I also plan on getting my parents and my in-laws a wedding album once this is all said and done. We are having an initial small ceremony now and a later reception to include all of our guests. so we will have (hopefully) lots of pictures to chose from for a nice album! I’d say get your parents each something they’d like, even if that means getting them each something small. In my opinion, something sentimental means more than something with high monetary value. a best of luck and congrats!!

Am I crazy for not getting presents for either of our parents? We are paying for the wedding completely by ourselves, but maybe if they were contributing we would?
I would have to agree with PP that I would aim for the heartstrings. Is there any memory you two have shared that you could bring back?

I gave the dads limited edition versions of their favorite alcohols

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your suggestion, it’s just tough because my parents can’t stand each other. And his parents are separated (but civil). So quality time probably would be uncomfortable. Good thought though! ❤️

After the wedding was over and done with, my fiancee and I were gonna gift our parents a small wedding photo album we're gonna make on Snapfish and give it to our parents, in leu of gifts for the parents. I remember my future step mother in law was obsessed with the engagement photo album we had made, she really wanted her own

View Quoted Comment Honestly, I was thinking the same thing. We are paying for the wedding ourselves. His dad was the only one who contributed (which we are SO grateful for!). But I feel like if I get him something, I have to get the other parents something. Also keep in mind his parents are separated and mine despise each other so, I can’t get 1 gift for both sides of parents. 😭

View Quoted Comment The presents are supposed to be a thank you for contributions. If only his dad is contributing, I would say only get him a present, and keep it between the three of you. The others might not even be expecting anything, and it might hurt his dad if you do for everyone. The wedding industry is full of these kind of guilt expenses..

Daughter and SIL got each of us four parents small remembrance-type gifts (personalized cufflinks for the dads and handkerchiefs for us moms), but what REALLY mattered to me was that they each wrote each of the four of us personal thank-you notes. I will cherish my notes from them for the rest of my life. (Especially mine from my SIL -- he and daughter started dating as sophomores in HS. His parents divorced and there's a LOT of animosity between them, so his homelife wasn't always great. He spent a LOT of time in the eight years before they got married with us and our large, close extended family. His note thanking me for being a "real mom" to him made me sob like a baby and is something I will cherish forever.) Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Guilt expenses. That hit it on the head. You’re right though, we could just get him something and keep it hush hush. Thank you for your response it was super helpful!