Gift Guide: 4 Unique Wedding Gifts You Didn’t Think Of
(This doubles as a holiday gift guide! Happy shopping.)
One thing I got to thinking about is how everything about weddings can have its traditional aspects reimagined. All the way down to the wedding gifts. A couple of weeks ago I gave you all some ideas for what nontraditional party favors couples can give to their guests, but this week I wanted to turn the tables around.
As wedding planners, it’s our job to help our clients express their desires and needs to their guests. From seating arrangements, dress attire, to all the nuts and bolts in between — there’s a lot a guest needs to know. While we should encourage our couples to make gifts not mandatory, they definitely can be influenced towards a client’s preference.
A big part of the need-to-know for guests can be gift ideas. To make everyone’s life that much easier, I’ve strung together 4 unique wedding gift ideas that not only come from brands that are masters at marketing but will truly stand out.
Use this list to:
- Inspire the gifts your client’s guests can bring
- Discover some unique brands nailing marketing techniques and client relations
1. A Whole Lot of Memories in One Candle
Low and behold the magical world of Homesick. Homesick is a candle company that has geniusly created scents that mimic things like your hometown, a nostalgic feeling, and overall has set the candle industry on fire by offering niche and oddly specific candle scents.
For instance, they have candles ranging from “Southern California” to any one of your favorite MLB teams. It’s really that random. It’s hard to imagine exactly what Southern California smells like — but somehow they try to pull that off. As far as weddings are concerned they also have scents including “Black Tux,” “Let’s Toast,” “Honeymoon,” and “Team Bride.”
What I love about this company — besides their amazing packaging and their large range of obscure specific scents — is what a great gift anyone of these wedding-themed candles could be. The Black Tux candle, for instance, would make a wonderful gift that when on display or being lit would remind them of their wedding.
Let’s face it, a couple feels absolutely special on their wedding day — at least that is the goal. It’s usually a one-day kind of occurrence but the memories last a lifetime. These oddly specific candle names not only look great but will remind your giftee of the memories shared on that special day and keep the party going.
Homesick has a large variety of candles about different topics and feelings and places and more! A good idea might be to buy the candle associated with the state the wedding is taking place in. Or perhaps one spouse is moving to their new spouse’s home state — they’d definitely want to remember the scent of home after the move. Or maybe they’re moving into a new home together — they have a candle for that believe it or not.
The options are endless. A good place to get started is in their sale section, which you can find here.
Marketing Spotlight: Photos With Name-related Imagery
As always I’m going to take a look at things from my PR lens. Doing a deep dive through Homesick’s social media I have to say they’ve done a great job. With over 110k followers on Instagram and cohesive font and color themes throughout all different social forms that they have, this candle company has marketed the same exact-looking candle with literally just different names printed on them incredibly.
They’ve been able to gain collaborations with major partners like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and various beer companies. Take a look through their social media to get a feel for what I mean by “name-related imagery”. This post here is about the “Tree Lighting” candle and the imagery pairs perfectly. They use imagery that relates to all of the specific scent names that they have and adds a visual recognition of what the scent elicits.
2. Something “Uncommon”
In doing my research for this post I came across Uncommon Goods. And I am absolutely in love. I love giving gifts, whether it be wedding-related or not, but often struggle to find one place to shop for everybody. Uncommon Goods sells just that — they give you a variety of unique, personalized, and funky gift options that a wide variety of people would appreciate.
There is a large variety of subsections you can shop for on their website such as holiday, home, kitchen, jewelry and more. Conveniently enough, under their “gifts” tab they have a wedding gifts section. If you navigate onto this tab you’ll find they have options like for the couple, personalized, bridesmaids gifts, or groomsmen gifts.
Some highlights from these options include a personalized four-across game that would spell out the couple’s last name on the board, to a personalized record cutting board that can say the new couple’s last name. There are tons and tons of unique gifts that all give the option to personalize with monograms or last names but also have really useful gifts like kitchen stuff and other home decor. All of which are funky, modern, yet absolutely adorable.
Personalized gifts stand out to couples as they acknowledge the reality of their new commitment but also serve as a fun reminder that you support them and all their endeavors.
Marketing Spotlight: Organized Chaos
Uncommon Goods has a lot of different kinds of gifts — and I mean a lot. From kitchen, to jewelry, to clothing, to sports, to holidays, to everything in between. This company offers so many options it’s hard to even know where to begin looking.
However, from a marketing standpoint, they have utilized their Instagram with over 201k followers to tailor each post to each specific person or scenario the gift could be for. For instance, on their Instagram I found this post about a crocheted octopus next to a birth month wildflower statue.
Brilliantly, each of these posts (and all of the oddball ones in between) highlight the uncommon goods themselves but have used hashtags and captions that would attract each varying individual. Specifications and tailoring for different customers make all of the chaos of everything they sell manageable.
3. Everyone Needs Soap.
Cuz nothing says “congrats on your new life together” more than a bar of soap.
As always I couldn’t resist putting in a sustainable option: meet The Earthling Co. This company specializes in sustainable bar soap practices with options ranging from hair, body, skincare, kitchen, and bathroom. They all come in fun colors, scents and packaging — and are affordable.
Not only is this a great sustainable option for someone looking to shop ethically (whether it be for weddings or the holidays), but this is also quite a great pampering option. One thing their website offers is bundles and value sets — which any one of those options would really make a great gift for newlyweds.
For $37.99 you can get the “kitchen essential bundle” which comes with three different kinds of sustainable bristle brushes and solid dish soap. All of their packaging and reusable products are modern and chic and will give the newlyweds that extra special something in the bathroom or kitchen that they can use daily or simply to treat themselves.
Marketing Spotlight: Visual Graphics
The Earthling Co. has done a great job keeping a consistent brand image. From consistent photography styles, fonts, coloring, and an easy-to-navigate website, the company keeps things simple for consumers to recognize and understand.
Where I really noticed some great marketing strategizing was on their Instagram. With 225k followers on Instagram, the company keeps their audience visually occupied with meaty and informative posts that stretch beyond pretty product photos.
This post linked above, or this one here about hidden plastic in our everyday products are two great examples of the many different kinds of informative visual graphic posts the brand has utilized to market their commitment to sustainability and put in a good word about their products.
They have also utilized TikTok-style videos through Instagram reels. I’ve talked before about how videos are becoming the new “now” for consuming information — and it looks like The Earthling Co. got the memo. These videos show the soaps being used but also relate them to certain events or holidays and overall glamorize the simplicity of soaps.
4. Home Decor They Actually Need
Last on the list has got to be the most practical gift option. I came across Open Spaces and immediately fell in love with their brand image. They really just stand out to me for being modern and not offering that many products, but marketing them all in a really unique way.
All of their products are tailored towards a more modern look, but, can be given to couples or people of all different kinds of aesthetics. Mostly they sell entryway racks, under-bed storage, and other types of storage bins — whether they be cage-like or traditional.
With Open Spaces, you have the option of buying chic, modern, yet useful storage-related containers that any couple would be thankful to have. I like to think of Open Spaces as an elevated IKEA and I think you will too once voyaging through their website.
If I had to pick one gift to get someone from Open Spaces I would go with this under-bed storage set. As simple as it sounds, this gift would be useful, yet because of the sophisticated style of Open Spaces designs, gives the couple something chicer than the options at the department stores. Fair warning, this is a pricer option but comes with an elevated look.
Marketing Spotlight: Sticking To One Cohesive Look
Not only does Open Spaces keep all of their products looking similar and cohesive, but they do the same in social media posts and website design. On both forums, Open Space sticks to the same font and coloring type that I am a huge fan of visually. As the business continues to grow, I can imagine this specific look helping their brand recognition.
With 109k followers on Instagram, Open Spaces has utilized showcasing their products being used and styled by consumers in a way that adheres to their overall aesthetic and make their products look that much more relatable.
I want to know what other wedding or holiday gift ideas you’re loving! I would love to know of some food-related gifts. Perhaps a chocolate set worth splurging on? Let me know in the chat box to your right.
XOXO,
Thalia
