Gifting Guide: 6 Practical Wedding Present Ideas for 2023

Even if you have a registry to guide your choice, it can be hard to settle on a wedding gift that reflects your personality, your relationship with the couple, and your budget. Then there are those uber-practical friends who refuse to create a registry and insist that gifts are optional. 

Whatever the case, if you’re having a hard time picking the right gift, we’re here to help. From the best cookware sets in Australia to the simple pragmatism of cash, here are six perfect wedding presents for your more practical loved ones. 

1. Cookware and kitchenware

If you know the couple well enough to have spent plenty of time in their kitchen, then you’re well-placed to pick out something you know they’ll love. This could mean replacing their old, battered Teflon cookware with a sparkling new stainless steel set or perhaps buying them the Vitamix they’ve been coveting for years. 

If you’re not that close to the couple, and they don’t have a registry, steer clear of this gift idea as you may just end up getting them something they already have or don’t need. 

2. Tastefully presented cash

Many people mistakenly think of cash as being too cold and impersonal for a wedding gift. However, cash comes with ultimate freedom, which is a gift in and of itself. They can direct the funds to their honeymoon, covering wedding costs, investing in a mutual fund, or decorating a nursery. You’ll have played a part in helping them realize their first dreams as a married couple, which is a beautiful (and marvellously practical) thing. 

3. An experience you know they’ll love

The key here is to get the couple something you know they want but that they wouldn’t be able to justify buying for themselves. It could be anything from an indulgent spa day to an early morning hot-air ballooning adventure. Treat them to something they’re too practical to treat themselves to, and they’ll love you for it. 

4. Enriching experiences

Some experiences are just for fun; others will help the couple get off on the right foot as they plan their future together. These enriching experiences can make for excellent wedding gifts. For example, if you know they want to start a business together, you could pay for the business course they want to take. If they love learning languages and plan to travel extensively together, you could purchase a subscription to a highly-rated language-learning platform. 

These gifts will be entirely dependent on the couple and your relationship with them. However, if you get it right, it will be a wedding gift that stays in their mind long after the big day has been and gone. 

5. Gifts that facilitate fun

Couples who have fun together and enjoy shared passions are far more likely to stand the test of time. So, any gift that facilitates this will do a world of good for their marriage. Once again, the specifics depend entirely on the couple. However, some examples include camping gear for your outdoorsy friends, instruments for your music-loving friends, and art supplies for your creative loved ones. 

6. A shared gift

Some of the more costly items on a wedding registry may be out of reach for you and other individual guests. However, if you team up with a few friends, you could get the couple a big-ticket item that will make a genuine difference in their lives.  

Though these wedding gifts usually inspire a positive reaction, remember that you know your circumstances best. So, use our suggestions as a general guide, and go for a gift that feels right to you.