Wedding gift ideas?

[Ryan Sparreboom]

Hey all. My sister will be getting married later this summer (August). I spoke to her and her fiance about building something for them for their wedding gift. I wanted to make sure it was OK with them.
They are more than happy to receive something hand made by me, but had no real ideas for me on what they want or need.
SO.... I appeal to my fellow woodworkers.
Any wedding gift ideas for me? They are a young couple so something modern. Not anything too complex or ornate. My skills are moderate I'd say. I don't mind spending a bit for materials and have some time to complete.
Maybe you have built a similar gift? Maybe you've seen something, or maybe you've been wanteing to build something that you don't mind sharing the ideaa?
I'm open to all ideas at this point. TIA.

Ryan

[Ben Fleis]

I can't find any images of the one I have in mind, but you could do a kitchen spicebox with small pull out drawers, etc. But it would be a lot of work... if I find the one I'm thinking of I will post a link to it.

-b

[Ed Barnes]

I recently made this for a wedding gift. :)

Ed

[Dell Littlefield]

Clocks are always a nice gift.

[Chris Ricker]

I made a "memory box" for a gift recently, just a small box for wedding mementos, pics ect. maybe 8 X 11 or so. I had a brass name plate with the couple's name and wedding date engraved and put on the top. it was well received:)

[Pat Germain]

How 'bout a very nice hand made frame of exotic woods surrounding one of their wedding invitations? That's not too difficult, it would look great and likely have sentimental value for your sister and her beau. :)

[Rob Diz]

I had a close cousin get married last june. I had been wanting to make a demilune (half round) table using bent wood laminations, so that's what I made. Actually, I made four to get some economy to the scale of my project. I gave her one, kept two for myself, and one is with my in laws.

I essentially followed David Marks' plan - a very nice intro to bent wood laminations and to using plastic resin glues. And with a nice resawn curly cherry top, the tables look great as well.

It was a fun project, and something new for me

[Jamie Buxton]

A couple of times I've given couples a gift certificate for one piece of furniture. I make the certificate from wood, so it looks like I'm serious. My idea is that right now they're too focussed on getting married to think about furniture. That's why they can't give you any ideas of what they'd like. But later on, they may get to decorating their nest, and come up with an idea for you.

[Ryan Sparreboom]

Thanks for the ideas so far guys.
I really like the idea of a small table of some sort, maybe a hall table.
Jamie, I also REALLY like your idea of a "gift card" for a future project of their choice. Excellent idea.
Keep 'em coming!

Ryan

[Chris Kennedy]

If they have a house (more importantly, a yard), you could make them a bench. I made one for my wife's grandmother for her 85th. I adapted a design from Popular Woodworking for a Shaker bench. The sides were originally solid panels with an elliptical cutout. I replaced the elliptical cutout with the shape of a swan (her maiden name was Swan and she likes swans as a consequence). If you are clever, you can think of something to replace the cutout with that is more appropriate for the couple.

Cheers,

Chris

[Kevin Godshall]

We have a lot of quilters in our background, so I have been fortunate enough to have been able to build quilt racks for wedding gifts. Depending on the situation, either a free standing one (traditional) or a wall hanging unit.

[Scott Mark]

Long story short. This is just a frame again, here's the long part. My wife and I put up a 8x10 picture of ourselves and then surrounded it with a much larger piece of that foam core material they use as backing in the framing business. We put it up in just inside the church on an easel and at our reception with a pen and invited people to leave a little message or just sign it. Note: Make sure the ink from the pen does not run. We used a pen on a string so we wouldn't have multiple blacks and blues. I'd give you the name/type of the pen but my wife is the sketching artist and knew what to get. I can't draw a straight line to save my life so artistic pens are not something I worry about.

We ended up with a really nice keepsake that will forever remind us of the people there that day. We switch out the center picture every so often. We're still waiting for me to get around to putting a frame on it. None-the-less, if you could do just the framing and provide the idea that might be a good start to a follow up project.

C. Scott Mark

[scott spencer]

Find out what style they prefer. I've made clocks (http://woodwerks.com/gallery.php?gid=20071027113428362), hall table (http://woodwerks.com/gallery.php?gid=20080731230712082#), and a hall bench (http://woodwerks.com/gallery.php?gid=20080521230227148) as wedding gifts, but you could also make some nice lamps, night stands/end tables (http://woodwerks.com/gallery.php?gid=20071027104955108), blanket chest (http://woodwerks.com/gallery.php?gid=20071027102107664), or a coffee table (http://woodwerks.com/gallery.php?gid=20071027175358014).

Good luck!

[Ralph Barhorst]

I made one of these for my nephew and his wife. The plans are from Norm. http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct.php?0104

Here is a picture of the one I made.

[Brian Kent]

This is a nice symbolic gift from a very simple pattern in the bandsaw box book:

[Greg Cuetara]

I might suggest a blanket chest or a memory box. Two ideas already given above. If you do go with a card for a future project you may want to put a few ideas on there. Dining room table hall table etc....give them a few ideas. Another idea is to make a small memory box for them with a card inside to build a bigger piece of furniture in the future. It all depends on how much you want to do. Do you want to make a big piece or something smaller or a few something smaller. A box and a few picture frames.

I did the same thing as someone mentioned above with the picture and border for people to sign. I still don't have a frame for it.

Good luck and keep us updated.
Greg

[Russell Tribby]

I made this as a wedding gift for a young couple this past January. Since it was painted I used scrap that I had laying around so material cost was next to nothing.

[Ryan Sparreboom]

I think I've decided to build them a nice hall table.
I'd like to solicit some ideas for wood types to use and design ideas/
I'd like something with some figure for the top, maybe some nice waterfall bubinga? But then what to use for the base.

I know the possibilities are endless, but lets see some that you guys have made!

Ryan

[Dan West02]

I give end grain cutting boards for wedding presents. Up to 34 or 35 right now.

[Jim Rimmer]

I made this chest for my daughter

[Karl Brogger]

I'm open to all ideas at this point. TIA.


What is TIA?

How old is your sister? Young couples need cash more than anything. When all of my friends got married, cash was what I gave them.

[Ryan Sparreboom]

TIA = Thanks In Advance

She's 28. They have enough cash.

Ryan

[Mark W Pugh]

I made a "memory box" for a gift recently, just a small box for wedding mementos, pics ect. maybe 8 X 11 or so. I had a brass name plate with the couple's name and wedding date engraved and put on the top. it was well received:)

I would say anything, with "wedding stuff" involved, will shortly be in the closet, after the honeymoon is over.

Making something that they will REALLY use, is the problem. What do they really like, and how do they live their lives everyday? If you can fit something in, great, if not, it's like all the things we have in OUR closets.

[Brad Shipton]

You need to look at the type of furniture she buys and get an idea of a style that she likes. If it does not fit the decor, it will end up somewhere nobody sees it. She is likely registered at various stores, and if she picked out any woodwork items that can be telling as well.

The most practical might be a gift card for one free piece of furniture. Maybe carve the gift card?

[Mel Fulks]

Look at pics of dumb waiters, including the ones T. Jefferson had. His are lean and simple,even modern. The concept of them is still valid. If not used in original manner they are also good for light easy to move night stand or snack and drink table.

[al heitz]

In my early days, I made a pair of modern style candle holders for a co-worker as a wedding present. Walnut stock; approximately 4" square base, tapered to a 3" top; about 4" high (hard to remember actual dimensions from 25 years ago). Basically just a truncated pyramid. Bored a hole in top to fit short glass oil/wick candles in the cups. Could easily change to wax candles. Simple design, beautiful wood, easy to work and easy to finish "natural." Design easy to adjust to your own eye-pleasing proportions. Found out later Rockler and others have brass inserts cheap for a nice touch. Something that can be used year round for almost any occasion. No photos available.

Another idea I have seen is to take the wedding announcement, or the actual signed wedding contract (you technically have one year to offer your gift) laser etched on a wooden plaque. I get my laser etched things for about $15 as long as I provide the text/art in either camera-ready black and white print, or as ajpeg file for the shop. Best if the wood is light enough to contrast to the burnt etch. Finish blank plaque first (shellac works) before etching.Sometimes a second burn is best as it will darken the etch. I do have a sample file if I can insert it here.

Good luck. It will be special because it came it took special effort for two people you thought were special.

342950



Download doesn't seem to work. What happens when you click on it? Does a file reference show up at the bottom of your screen and open when you click on it? PM me an email address and I can send a Word doc file.

[Robert Parent]

+1 on the clock idea in a conservative style...... I have found that most things just get stuck in a closet after a short time, clocks almost always get used someplace. Remember that most newly married folks will be moving several times so what works in their current house may not in the next.

Robert

[Rick Moyer]

Guys, this thread was started NINE years ago. I know your thoughts are well intended, and possibly will be used by others, but directly answering the OP is kind of moot at this point.

[Frederick Skelly]

Guys, this thread was started NINE years ago. I know your thoughts are well intended, and possibly will be used by others, but directly answering the OP is kind of moot at this point.

+1.
But Bad didnt revive this, just so you know. Somebody advertizing wedding services did and their post was later deleted by the mods.