Guest Post: Outside the Box Wedding Gift Ideas

You got to the registry too late and everything is out of your price range and picked over, or you just simply want to think out of the box and don’t feel inclined to buy silver platters or a new toaster oven.

When the newlywed’s wedding gift ideas and registry don’t cut it, what gifts can you give the bride and groom? An experience gift. Experience gifts for couples range from cooking classes to couples massages and romantic dinner for two to a whitewater rafting trip.

The couple can enjoy the gift during downtime after the wedding or can plan to use it during the honeymoon. Experience gifts can be bought from a site like Cloud 9 Living or from the resort that the couple is honeymooning at. Either way, you are giving them gift of a memory.

Some of the top experience gifts for the bride and groom are:

• Personal Chef Gifts: Personal chefs can take stress away by preparing a gourmet meal right in the couple’s home, or he can even cook for their first dinner party. Either way, who doesn’t want someone to do all the cooking and cleaning for a night?
• Dinner & Lunch Cruises: Gift them a romantic evening of cuisine, live music and dancing under a canopy of stars on the bay or harbor of their choice with a dinner or lunch cruise.
• Spa Packages: Either during the honeymoon or after the hustle and bustle is over, the bride and groom can enjoy a gifted couple’s massage to help solidify or energize their relationship.
• Hot Air Balloon Rides: The gift of flying high in the sky on a hot air balloon will allow them to share a new, passionate experience together while creating a memory they won’t forget.
• Guided City Tours: Whether exploring the city they are honeymooning in, learning about the new city they moved to or simply enjoying a day together discovering the city they love, a guided city tour is always a fun, learning experience. Try it by bike, segway, boat or foot!
• Gondola Rides: They may not have been able to make it to Venice, but you can still gift them the elegance and intimate setting of a gondola ride for two. Plus, they can divulge in chocolates and champagne along the water.

In the end, any experience will make them happier in the long run than a new vase for their house. A study at Cornell University by Thomas Gilovich stated, “Our results suggest that if people get more enduring happiness from their experiences than their possessions.”

For the next wedding with a less-than-stellar gift wish list, give the gift of experience and create a memory.

This post was written by Ashley McCredie, the online content coordinator for an experience gifts company that offers many unique experience gifts for couples. Residing in Denver, CO, she is also a freelance writer and photographer.