This Sunday Kinda Love: Wedding Gift Guide

There comes a period in every 20-30 something's life where every weekend feels like a wedding. This is the first summer in years where we have not had a wedding to attend! Any last minute invites? AJ and I can cut a rug, ensure you won't have too much leftover cake, and we'll wait patiently in a receiving line making small talk with your hairstylist or second cousin.

I was commenting to a friend the other day how much of our stuff is actually wedding gifts! I love using a kitchen utensil and remembering who got that for our wedding. Which coworkers gifted us with shower curtains, which cousins gave us coffee mugs, and which pals chose the perfect personalized gifts that we use all the time. It's such a great memory and we give thanks for our generous friends and family who helped us build our life together.

Choosing a wedding gift can be tricky. Do you go for the registry? Choose a few small items or one larger one? Go with an online company? Wrap it up or send it straight from the internet? Gift cards? To where? What amount? See something cute but it's not on the registry? Do I go with a themed gift? Do I go with practical or pretty? Functional or fun? Here are some basic tips I've discovered over the years:

1. Don't shy away from a gift card. We loved bringing our stack of gift cards to Target after our wedding and getting things we needed but didn't get from our wedding.
2. Themed gifts can be really fun. For our honeymoon we went on a road trip and a pal (hi, Alyssa!) gave us an adorable road trip pack with snacks and a gas gift card. Super cute and really thoughtful.
3. If it's an out of state wedding, let the internet do the work for you. You can purchase right off the registry online and have it sent right away so the only thing you have to think about on wedding day is staying hydrated and wearing your dancing shoes.
4. Personalization is so fun. Ya'll know I love a good monogram. Celebrate the new couple with their new monogram or something personalized.
5. Picture frames are timeless and a great gift. In just a few weeks, the happy couple will have all sorts of beautiful wedding pictures they'll want to display.
6. Don't underestimate a date night gift. A restaurant gift card could be just what the newlyweds need to keep dating even after the big day.

For our wedding, we registered at Macy's and Target. Macy's was for our dishes (love that Martha Stewart collection), nicer serving items, some linens, etc. We went with Target for decorative items, kitchen gadgets, and bathroom things. I've known couples who have done the traditional store routes like we did, honeymoon funds, amazon lists, and more and more I've been seeing sites that take registry items for across the internet and putting it in one place. Want a tray from Target, picture frame from Etsy, and cooking classes? Put it all on there!

This summer I learned about a website called Zola where you can make a registry from a variety of sources. I had SO much fun playing around on this website (I know, I know, I'm an old married woman now, but it's still fun looking at wedding stuff). My favorite section was called "Registries We Love" where you can look at actual couple's registries and browse. I may or may not have spent over an hour ooh'ing and ahhh'ing over these fun registries.
Check out these handy guides straight from Zola:

Okay so what if you're not a bride or a wedding guest? I love how Zola also has gift guides by price. Stumped on what you should get a pal or family member for Christmas or a birthday? There's lots of ideas and you can even search by brand (Kate Spade, anyone?).

Without further ado, here are some goodies I found on Zola that I'm loving: