Gifts for parents when you're paying?

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LOL!!! We got an invitation with the cost for our menu option!!! Seriously.

more by FutureMrsMorgan

Gifts for parents when you're paying?

posted 3 years ago in Gifts and Registries

638 posts

Busy bee

FutureMrsMorgan May 9, 2009 Los Angeles, CA

We are paying for our wedding ourselves. My FMIL is paying for the rehearsal dinner so we'll probably get her a parents photo album or something. Do we have to get gifts for the parents that are not helping us? I know its a nice gesture, but can it be a smaller, token gift? Like a framed picture or something and not a whole photo album?

Thanks

3 years ago

Member

112 posts

Blushing bee

ali925 May 23, 2009 Chicago

I think any gift, small or large, will be nice. Maybe you can make an album for your parents using shutterfly or any other picture website.

3 years ago

Hostess

2,606 posts

Sugar bee

rosychicklet September 27, 2008 Boston, MA

My parents and my ILs were paying and I got them sentimental but reasonably priced photo gifts.

I think going for someting sentimental (but not expensive) is the way to go. Like an embroidered hankie, a bottle of wine, photo/frame, etc.

3 years ago

Member

414 posts

Helper bee

nurseheather30 10/03/2009 Baltimore MD

I think we will do pictures or something sentimental for them, we are paying for the entire wedding with no contributions from anyone, but I think gifts are a nice gesture.

3 years ago

Member

2,526 posts

Sugar bee

GaBGal September 25, 2010

For me, if we get gifts for our parents it will be more like... "thank you for supporting us, loving us and raising us to be ready for this day" not "thank you for paying/hosting/planning my wedding".

Do what you think is appropriate for your relationship with your parents

3 years ago

Hostess

751 posts

Busy bee

Niki 05/31/2008

We paid for our own wedding too and we gave my parents a Blurb.com album of our engagement and wedding photos and they LOVED it! Granted, it was many months later, but I told them their gift was going to be a while.

3 years ago

Member

233 posts

Helper bee

djmaddiebluedog 06/06/09 Connecticut

i agree with gabBgal - the gift is more of a thank you for all they have done before the wedding, not for paying for the wedding. if you are tight on money, get them something meaningful. what if you wrote a heart-felt thank you for all they have done, and got a calligrapher to write it out for you? then you could frame it and give that to them.

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3 years ago

Hostess

2,188 posts

Buzzing bee

Erindesmar October 17, 2009 Boston, MA

I agree with gab8gal and others that the gift is not necessarily a "thank you" for the wedding, but for everything else in life. I think a nice card and perhaps a framed family photo or something along those lines would be appropriate.

3 years ago

Member

77 posts

Worker bee

miss sweets 8/7/2010

I plan on giving my parents sentimental gifts, even though they are not paying for the wedding. They are contributing towards it, but it is way more about how they have raised me and a gift from me to my ILs will be about thanking them for raising such a gentleman to be my husband for life! I am not sure what to get my ILs yet but I will get my dad a pure silver coin engraved with something special between us to carry in his pocket the day of the wedding since he collects coins for fun and my mom will probably need an embroidered hankie since she will be crying throughout the ceremony!

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DSCN4795.JPG (1090.9 KB, 24 downloads) 1 year old

3 years ago

10.

14,581 posts

Honey
Beekeeper

ejs4y8 June 20, 2009

My parents aren't paying for our wedding either, but they did gift us our honeymoon as our wedding present. I'd like to give them a photo album, too, although I'm afraid they'll find it an unecessary expenditure. But other than that, I have no ideas what to get my parents and my FI's mother.

Where does it stop? Mother? Father? Grandparents? Eek. I'm kind of thinking mini photo albums that I can put together myself on Shutterfly after I get the high-res DVD back from my photog. Yay!