Advice and ideas to help you with your wedding gift list

We are encouraged more and more to be eco friendly and to take care of our environment, whether it is paying to off set our carbon emissions or the question of the necessity to print emails.  When planning a wedding, being eco friendly not only considers the environment but could help you save money too.

Making use of technology is invaluable when planning your wedding, whether creating an on line guest list, so you can keep track of invitation acceptances, or making use of an online wedding gift list.  Online listing allows access worldwide, giving rise to the paperless environment we are encouraged to adopt more and more.

E-weddinglist.co.uk, is a flexible wedding gift list.  It is not linked to a specific store, giving your guests the flexibility to shop around for the best deal.  Guests simply mark the gift online ‘promising’ to buy it, they purchase it from wherever they choose.    This gives the security that the only people that you are relying on are your guests to carry out their ‘promise’, rather than be reliant on companies who ‘do the shopping for you’.

Using an Online wedding gift list is invaluable when planning a wedding whether it is at home or abroad.  Many couples have extended families and friends that can stretch all over the world, a nightmare pre internet, with communicating wedding plans, gift lists and invitations.  Online gift lists can be accessed by your Aunty in America and well as your best friend in the next village.  No duplicate gifts, difficult to spend vouchers and an independant wedding gift listing service means that you are free to list anything you choose (as long as it isnt unlawful!!).  From an eco friendly angle, its paperless as no one has to print out the list and if you are a clever internet shopper, it could be delivered to your home, free of charge by courier - so only one van zipping round.
If you are really concerned about the environment, this could be taken a step further, by emailing your invitations, giving a link to the website for the wedding venue and your wedding gift list - of course!  Again the gift list could also include eco friendly gifts or a link from your gift list to your favourite eco store.

E-weddinglist.co.uk is flexible for you to have a traditional list of your wedding gift wishes and/or link to a store gift list if you want to take advantage of any special promotions they may be offering.  Should you decide to have donations made to your favourite charity, as part of your wedding list, you could provide a link to their website, so your guests can mark it as promised to buy, then link through and make their donation.
Using online tools also means that at such a busy time pre wedding, you can access your wedding list anywhere and at anytime of the day.  Making the preparations easier for the happiest day of your life can only be a good thing.

Libby

Dualit 2 Slice Vario Toaster

In between preparing for Christmas, our team still find time to seek out fantastic deals for our soon to be Bride and Grooms, and their wedding party guests!

www.pots-and-pans.co.uk, are an online household and cookware store, featuring all the well known makes and ranges. They are definately worth a look at when preparing your wedding gift list, and if you use e-weddinglist.co.uk for your wedding list, then you can link to their website too!

They currently have Dualit toasters with 20% off across the range, giving a potential saving of £28 on a two slice vario polished toaster, up to a whopping £37 off the three slice version  Click here to view the link page!

Its great to see savings still on offer so close to Christmas, an absolute bonus for those having a winter wedding.

Good luck with all your preparations.

Libby

Hi - is been a few months since I last wrote, but I am still here!!  Its been a year of weddings both near and far, but all with the same result a very happy and a couple much in love celebrating their love for each other.

Its been a hard year for businesses and unsettling for those who are employed.  With the failure of WrapIt just over 12 months ago, leaving many bride and grooms unsure if they would ever receive their wedding gifts, it is all the more important to ensure you use a reliable company for your wedding gift list.  The old saying ‘dont put all your eggs in one basket’ couldnt be more true in such cases!

E-weddinglist.co.uk offer a traditional gift listing service.  An easy to access site, where you create a list of wedding gift you would like to receive to make your new house a home.  It can be from any store, website or even a donation towards a honeymoon trip, garden makeover or even a new driveway! E-weddinglist are not allied to any stores and do not supply the gifts.  Guests access the site and ‘promise’ to buy a gift from the list.  Guests then are free to shop wherever they choose, to get the best deal.  There are some great deals about at the moment and who honestly cannot say they dont love to find a bargain?

An online wedding gift list also has the benefit of being accessible 24 hours a day and can be updated at any time - whether you work shifts, perhaps can only access it late evening or simply cannot sleep due to the excitment of getting married!

The added benefit of e-weddinglist.co.uk is there are no limits to how many suppliers/stores that you choose to use.  It is completely flexible  -if you and your h2b have already been together for a number of years, you can use the wedding gift list for guests to contribute towards a major project.

I am looking for great deals at the moment to pass onto you,  If you do see any bargains or great ideas that you want to share, or have a question that needs answering, please contact the team here at e-wedding.

Hope all your wedding preparations are going according to plan.

Libby x

Whether you already have a house set up or if you are starting from scratch, your wedding list should be compiled to reflect you and your lifestyle.  Don’t include a teapot on your wedding gift list, if you only drink coffee!

As we have discussed before, sometimes it is easier to mentally go through the house, into the garden and not forgetting the garage, to help you list items that you want or need (there is a difference!!).

Give yourself time to window shop to see what products are on the market.  You have a wonderful opportunity to collect things for your new home, so dont miss it!  If you are short of time to list each item individually or simply cannot think what you really need, why not describe to your guests what you are planning to do and let them choose something within that theme.

It is an opportunity to get those items that you cannot usually afford, or are reluctant to buy.  I know I always feel deprived if I have had to buy a new iron or hoover - all that money spent and you can hardly parade them around the pub!   Nevertheless, they are home essentials, so why not include them on your wedding gift list, rather than the teapot?

Travel - whether you travel for business or pleasure, if its a regular occurance, why not list items that could make life a little more comfortable for you.  Perhaps a webcam for your laptop, so you can keep in touch. 

Long working hours - a complaint we all suffer from.  Do you get home from work, tired and hungry but its too late to start cooking?  So you reach for the takeaway menu or the cereal bowl….
It may involve a little organisation on your behalf, but a slow cooker is a fantastic invention.  They are not just for casseroles!  Chuck a few ingredients in and turn it on, and over the course of the day, it evolves into your evening meal.  Whats more its home cooked and no hidden fats, sugars, so its good for you! Become a domestic god or goddess without really trying…

Home essentials - whether its a kettle or a lawn mower, it will save you buying them later!

Give your guests an idea theme - perhaps your garden is a blank canvas, give your guests a free reign to choose wedding gifts to furnish and plant it.

Beware when listing not to get too carried away with gadgets -  juicers and smoothie makers are fantastic if you have the time to go and buy the ingredients in the first place. 
You can never judge how much your guests are willing to spend or your wedding gift, and as I have said before, you should include items on your list to suit all pockets. 
Again give yourself plenty of time to put your wedding gift list together and enjoy the window shopping.

Make your list long and varied

Libby

The team at e-weddinglist have been focusing on the more unusual gifts lately to include on your wedding gift list.

E-wedding is designed to use traditional wedding gift list methods, where your guests choose a gift idea from your list, but then buy it and wrap it themselves, and proudly present it to you at the wedding reception, hence e-wedding was borne.

Using technology to bring a centuries old tradition into the 21st century. This blog goes back and looks at the more traditional wedding gift ideas for your list.

More and more couples are asking for donations towards their honeymoon or for cash towards a major project, or simply vouchers for their favourite store. Sometimes it is because they have already set up home, or do not have the time to create a detailed wedding gift list. It doesn’t be time consuming, but it can be time well spent.

We have blogged in the past that it is never too soon to start your wedding gift list. The best time is probebly after the main elements of the wedding are chosen and booked, when there is ‘the calm before the storm’ period. Use this time to shop around and research into the different products that you may choose to have in your new home together, then put them on your wedding gift list!

Pots and Pans - see our blog on the cookware buying guide. This will give you a good start to which products to look for, when choosing cookware as it details which cookware is suitable to which cooker hobs.  Also consider the type of cooking you will be doing, and whether you would like to ask for specialist equipment such as a wok, or would a frying pan suffice? 

stove to table frying pan

Crockery - what do you want to eat your culinary delights from? Do you have a specific colour scheme in your kitchen or dining room? Do you want an everyday dinner service or are you thinking of collecting a dinner service for entertaining? Or do you want something that will service both? (excuse the pun). This buying guide is worth a read before you start to decide what range to go for.

Cutlery - again you need to decide whether to have one set or two. A good quality cutlery set will serve both everyday and formal dining. Consider how many place settings you will need? Eight is usually a good number to aim for, for formal dining. This will also cater for larger numbers when entertaining. Spoons - consider what you need, soup, desert, serving and teaspoons (don’t have your guests stirring their coffee with the handle of their dessert spoon)! Good quality sets will also offer the option to purchase additional items individually.

Knives -  do you live to cook or cook to live?  Depending on the depth of your cooking expertise will help decide what you need. This buying guide gives useful information on types of knives and blade construction available.  Decide how you want to store the knives - a good quality block will last for years.  You may prefer to choose specific knives which can be bought individually.  Don’t forget to include a sharpening steel.

Cookware - again have a look at this buying guide before deciding on which type of cookware to buy.  Consider how much you are likely to use it and what for.  Consider what is important to you, perhaps that it is dishwasher safe.  A few well chosen items that can be used for a variety of tasks.  Muffin tins can be used for individual yorkshire puddings not just cakes.  A good roasting tin, a roasting tray and muffin tin would be a good start.  They can all be used for a number of jobs and can be stored easily when not in use. 

Glassware - do you want two sets of glassware - everyday and for entertaining, or can you be trusted to have one good quality set, that can be used for both?  To be able to drink a glass of wine after a hard day at work from a quality glass is a little luxury we should all be able to enjoy, or are you the sort of couple who would start off with a set of 6,5,4,3…..  Remember also to check if they are dishwasher safe. 

Hopefully these points will help you on your way to creating your wedding gift list and by spending a little time reading this blog will save you some time when compiling it. 

Libby x