Give a Wedding Gift That Doesn't Go to the Recycle Pile! A Complete Guide to Indian Wedding Gifts and 12 Things to Give to a Girl on Her Marriage (2019)

Getting married is one of the biggest, most important occasions in a person's life; here in India it is hands down the single biggest celebration for a girl. Weddings are grand affairs complete with pomp, show, splendor and drama. With good reason too as a wedding marks the start of a new life and must be celebrated accordingly.

The festivities and celebrations aside, it is a solemn occasion where two people are united to begin a life together. The girl getting married invites those near and dear to see her off on this journey and it is only fitting that those attending give her gifts to assist her journey henceforth. Across traditions and cultures the bridal couple is showered with gifts that will help them in setting up a new home. Keeping all this in mind, careful thought must be put into gifts to give to a girl on her wedding.

Traditionally, wedding gifts have been exchanged between families to show the level of care, concern and even to reflect the social status of the gift giver. We are here to help you with all the above in a modern setting, and to guide you to a memorable gift that girls will cherish.

A wedding is a momentous occasion and demands an expensive, or at least an elaborate gift. Set aside a suitable budget for it. We suggest you spend at least Rs.1000 on it. Do not get anything which looks cheap, no matter what the intention. It is one of the most important days in her life, respect the occasion and spend appropriately. If money is a concern try making something yourself to supplement a basic gift, or customize a beautiful and creative present to turn it into something she will cherish. Friends and acquaintances can opt to pool in money to buy a gift; that way each person spends a limited amount but you can buy a suitable, even expensive gift.

After all the hullabaloo has died down, the honeymoon over, the euphoria settled down, even if you look through the warm happy glow emanating from the newly married couple, a marriage is all about, well, getting on with daily life. Give her something to make daily chores easier to deal with so she and her partner can spend more time with each other. Nifty household gadgets make for great gifts because everyone loves cool technology that also helps them save time and energy. Think robo cleaners, fancy coffee machines, air fryers (she does want to continue eating healthy, right?), cool food processors, etc.

Or you could pick up an instant pot too. Haven’t heard of one of these? Consider them the new age digital cousin of the humble pressure, one so awesome that it does all your regular pressure cooking and also serves as a rice cooker, it bakes, steams, boils and braises! The NutriChef multi-function smart cooker has an impressive 4.2 star rating on Amazon and comes with a price tag of Rs.9,772. It has a non-stick, Teflon coated, removable interior cooking pot, preset cooking modes and even settings to reheat and keep food warm. She will love you for this, trust us. Buy it here.

There are so many things you can personalise for her - coffee mugs, coasters, even cushions and lampshades. But since it's a wedding giving her any one of those things may seem inadequate. In that case you can mix things up and customise a whole bunch of things to make a gift basket for her. Include wedding themed items for daily use, such as Mr and Mrs coffee mugs, matching aprons, cushions, a wine case, key tags, photo album with a picture of the couple. Many stores and websites allow you to add a personal message or customise products with the recipient's name and even image.

Every new couple should have at least one set of matching watches they can wear when they go out together. Watches are popular wedding gifts but sadly enough they also often end up among the heap of gifts that are never used. The trick is to not go out and buy the first set of budget couple's watches you find in the neighbourhood gift shop. Be assured these will rarely be worn, if ever. Buy this gift only if you are prepared to spend some time looking for good looking watches and spend a decent amount of money. They don't have to very expensive, but should be the kind that someone may actually wear.

This set of matching watches by Titan is smart for daily wear. The analogue watches have a round case and stainless steel back and a textured dial in silver and have been paired with gold and steel toned bracelet style straps. They are water resistant to 30 meters and have a date feature. At Rs.5,001 on Myntra, they will not break the bank. They aren’t flashy dress watches but their simple yet classic design makes them suitable for wearing with a wide variety of ensembles. Buy the set here.

Everyone needs cutlery at home but we are not talking about your daily use variety; find the finest set you can lay your hands on, or can afford, for a gift she will value for years. You don't need to buy a set with a large variety. Think in terms of quality, not quantity and you won't go wrong.

These rose, titanium coated set of copper cutlery by Shapes has everything she needs to entertain a group of six. The 24 piece set has six sets of dinner spoons, dinner forks, knives and tea spoons. Made from a very good quality steel, they are so durable that they won’t break, crack, or even melt after years of heavy use. Resistant to bacteria, easy to clean due to the high gloss finish, and non-reactive to food, they are everything she could want in a set of fancy cutlery she will be dying to whip out and use when guests come over. Priced at Rs.5,846 on Amazon, they come in an elegant slotted wooden.

A portable travel vanity set is an essential for every woman, more so when she is a new bride about to set off on her honeymoon. She will be putting together essentials things to take with her. Give her a helping hand and give her travel sized toiletries to add to her collection. We like the Elizabeth Arden Fifth Avenue gift set for the signature in its products. It is a well-known name for luxury beauty products for women and the pack contains one 100ml bottle of moisturizing body lotion, a 75ml bottle of eau de perfume, 100ml hydrating cream body cleanser and a tiny bottle of perfume extract. It is available on Flipkart for Rs.6,775.

Going beyond the obvious when picking things for her new home is one way to buy a unique gift that is also useful, and probably not something she would have bought on her own. A cookbook stand that can be used to mount a tablet as well is a nice thing to have in the kitchen. This stand is handmade in India using salvaged mango wood and trimmed with antiqued brass accents. It can be adjusted to different angles, has a space for charging cords if you use it with a tablet, and neatly collapses to a compact and flat shape for storage after use. Priced at Rs.3,859 on Uncommon Goods, it will be an elegant addition to her new kitchen.

Think of out-of-the-box gift ideas that will make her new life interesting. Gone are the days of boring married lives; more and more couples now make an effort to keeps things interesting after marriage. The concept of date-night is fairly old but what stumps people is finding new things to do on their dates. The same old movie-dinner routine is just that – a routine.

Give her this bucket list with suggestions for new ideas for date nights with her husband. The ‘bucket’ is a can filled with 25 birch wood sticks with ideas such as ‘attend a lecture at a local museum or university’, ‘pack blankets and pillows and go stargazing someplace secluded’, and other such romantic prompts. The box includes a pencil so she can note the date on which they tried out each experience. The box is available for Rs.1,158 on uncommongoods.com.

For the friend who always makes her laugh, the brother who has pulled pranks on her since childhood, or the cheeky married girlfriend who wants to throw in an extra gift to remind her of the mundane aspects of marriage, a beard catcher is sure to get her cracking! Buy this only for the girl who will appreciate the humour else she may never take your calls again.

An adult sized bib with suction cups attached to the bottom ends to attach it to the mirror. It is made with sturdy synthetic nylon, and is easy to use, clean and store. She can make her husband wear this when trimming or shaving to catch stray hairs from clogging up the sink or creating a mess in the bathroom. Women are often the sticklers for cleanliness and beard hair in the bathroom has been known to drive many-a-woman up the wall. Buy it for Rs.499 from bigsmall.in.

When in doubt give money. A marriage involves numerous expenses and even afterward when she is setting up a home, there are so many things to buy. Rather than give an unsuitable gift which will be useless to the bride, many people opt to give her money instead. This is perfectly acceptable and quite a common practice. She can use it for anything she needs or put it away for a rainy day too.

Depending on the kind of relationship you have with the girl, gifts pf cash are normally based on how much you would have spent on a wedding gift. Rs.1000 is the bare minimum; an amount smaller than this is not appropriate to give on a wedding. On an average, Rs.5,000 to Rs.10,000 are suitable for all relations and these are the amounts usually given at weddings.

Since a wedding is an important celebration it is appropriate to give much larger amounts as well; it comes down to the capacity of the giver and their standing with the girl and her family. Weddings are attended not just but friends and family of the girl but by the social and work circle of her family as well; the amount to be gifted is determined by these factors.

Gifts of cash are very popular not just for marriages but other occasions as well, hence you will find a wide variety of gifting envelopes available. Do not use a plain white or brown envelope, or any kind used for regular purposes. Buy a suitably ornate envelope in keeping with the nature of the occasion. Inscribe a congratulatory note on it along with your name so she knows who gave it to her. You can opt to have customised envelopes printed with your name to use on such occasions.

It’s not uncommon to be at a loss for what to buy for a marriage. The thing is a bride needs so many things, only she will be able to tell what she has bought or received and what things she still needs. So why not ask her? It’s the perfect way to eliminate useless gifts and give her exactly what she wants. If the idea of buying her something from a list doesn’t appeal to you, ask her for broad guidelines for things she needs and offer to buy them for her as wedding presents. This works especially well for friends and family. For example she may tell you she would like bath products; then you can shop for bath products according to your budget.

What does it take to start and make a home? A very long list of things! Which is why the Western world has long since adopted the concept of a wedding register where a new couple lists the things they need to start a home and invites wedding guests to buy them something from it. Although the concept is not entirely alien here, it’s got a long way to go. If the bride-to-be has such a register, then great, all your worries are taken care of; if not, you can put on your thinking cap and consider all the useful things around the house which help with daily chores. Practical gifts will always be appreciated over expensive but not so useful gifts.

Personalising a gift makes it so much more special for the receiver and a wedding is as special an occasion as it gets. Glasses, mugs, cutlery, lamps, champagne flutes and monogrammed linen are all popular gift items that can be personalised for wedding gifts. Everyday, practical household items are favored as wedding gifts but personalising them adds a special touch.

Indian weddings and jewellery are almost synonymous with each other. Many people opt to give gold jewellery in lieu of cash as there is a timelessness to jewellery, and a life-long memento for the receiver. Gold rings, chain necklaces and bracelets are popular gold gift items although bigger pieces with diamonds are also often given.

A marriage is one celebration where every effort counts. Wrapping the gift is one of them and is fairly easy to do. Most stores offer to wrap the things you buy, or you can pay a small amount of money to have them do so. You can do it yourself but attempt it only if you can turn it into a beautiful package; as great as some DIY ideas are, this is not the time to try that idea you read about using old newspaper or brown paper!

Indian weddings run into multiple days so it is better to present gifts to the bride at one of the smaller ceremonies at the beginning of the celebrations, like at the haldi, mehendi, sangeet or even the bachelorette party. These are smaller, intimate events that she and her family enjoy together and are a good time to give her your gift. Giving it even before her functions have started is another good time. That way she can add the gift item to her trousseau. Close family members often prefer to give their gifts beforehand for precisely these reasons.

Since the bride moves to her husband's house, or may be moving into a new home, it will be easier for her to manage her belongings if she can pack or arrange for their transfer in advance. If she is unable to take everything along, she can leave them behind at her parent's home and sort them at a later date. This idea is especially great if you have bought her something she could use during the wedding, her honeymoon, or soon after starting her new life in a different home.

The wedding day is usually a chaotic, stressful day for the bride and her family, so while managing smaller gifts presented at the function may be manageable, bigger gifts can create problems. Make it easier on her family to manage her wedding. In the worst case scenario your gift could get misplaced at a big wedding so avoid giving expensive gifts at the wedding; entrust them to her at an earlier date.

There is nothing wrong with giving gifts at the wedding or reception, especially if they are meant for the couple together. Small gifts, cash presents, floral arrangements and beautifully wrapped presents are all great to present to the bride as she greets guests next to her brand new husband on the wedding stage. Even a large present, presented with flair and perhaps a hint of drama can provide wonderful moments for the photographic lens.

Pre-wedding ceremonies for the bride are usually smaller events when compared to the wedding, attended by her inner circles. If you do not happen to be attending those and go only for the wedding, presenting your gift then is perfectly fine. This applies even to close friends and colleagues who are male and may not be invited to the mehendi or sangeet which is predominatly a women-only gathering.

The pressure to buy a good gift and time spent in trying to decide what a good gift is often results in, ironically, 'standard wedding gifts' that are not really useful to anyone and will enter the vicious cycle of gift recycling. That's a real thing, we have all seen it. Thinking and overthing means you do not buy anything until it is too late and you wind up at a gift store a day before the wedding. Uninspiring wall clocks, china and glassware clearly unsuited to the bride's tastes, flashy fabric for clothes she will never make, saris she will never wear, you know the rest. All of these will go in the pile of gifts she will then pass on to others for special occasions.

End the cycle of useless gifts no one needs, wants or knows what to do with. Either use one of the above mentioned suggestions like simply giving cash or asking her (or her family) what she needs, or be kind to everyone and not waste money on a useless gift. Donating that money to a charity on their behalf will be a much better use for it.