Recently, one of my dear friends got engaged and I put together a little gift basket for her. I was lucky enough to know it was coming so I was able to order before she actually even got engaged.
I knew exactly what I wanted to get her because I have the advantage of having been engaged before (more about our wedding here!). But I realized, in putting her gift together, that not everyone has been there, or even if you have you might not remember what you would have wanted.
So today, I thought I’d share some actually useful engagement gift ideas that the bride and groom will love, and that will make them feel loved without you having to break the bank.
The best part? You can mix and match as many of these engagement gifts as you want to create a personalized little gift basket just for your friend.
Ready to give good gifts? Let’s do this!
Rules for Engagement Gifts
Before we jump into the gift ideas, I thought I’d share a few things to keep in mind when shopping for the newly engaged.
These guided my gift ideas for this post, but if you feel like breaking them, no worries! You know your friends best.
1. Try to remember that two people got engaged
I know it’s way easier to focus on the bride, but both people got engaged! Even if you’re closer to one person, including their future husband or wife if possible is a really sweet gesture.
That means two personalized champagne flutes or coffee mugs, not one. And try to include gifts that they can both enjoy.
2. The marriage lasts a lot longer than the wedding
Yes, it’s totally fun and perfectly appropriate to focus on the wedding aspect—which is why wedding planning tools make a great (and useful!) engagement gift (see below).
But, before buying out the “bride” section of the store, remember that your friend is only a bride (or groom) for one day, and they’re only planning a wedding for this season—the marriage is what’s important and lasting, not the wedding.
I prefer to give personalized gifts with their new last name or new monogram, if applicable. Not sure if your friend is changing their name? You can always put Mr. and Mrs. in front of their nickname, or use hubby and wifey instead of bride and groom.
3. You aren’t obligated to get an engagement gift
Yep, this is a post about engagement gifts, but if you’re not feeling it, don’t worry! I don’t think I got a single engagement gift when I got engaged, and it was no big deal.
That said, I was the first of my friends to get married, so now I like to do a little something to sort of welcome them to the club. But nobody wants your obligation gift, and you’ll likely end up getting them something sooner or later for a shower or the wedding, so skipping the engagement gift is just fine.
If they have an engagement party and you don’t want to show up empty handed, go ahead and write a nice card. That’s plenty, trust me!
Of course, if you do want to get them something, it will be much appreciated! So let’s dive into the gift idea portion of our event, okay?
Engagement Gift Ideas
Sources: Celebrate: Sugarfina Champagne Bears | Sugarfina Champagne Fruttinis | Veuve Clicquot Champagne | Voluspa Crisp Champagne Candle | Mr. and Mrs. Toasting Flutes Plan: The Knot Magazine| The Knot Little Book of Wedding Ideas Collection | Wedding Shit Notebook |I Do Notebook | The Little Book of Wedding Checklists Sparkle: Puppy Ring Holder | Botanical Ring Dish | Jewelry Cleaner Pen | Mr. and Mrs. Ring Tray | All That Glitters Ring Holder Grow: The Couple’s Activity Book | The 5 Love Languages | The New Newlywed Cookbook | How to Be Married | Quizzes for Couples Commemorate: Personalized Couple Frame| Wave Frame | Adventure Begins Frame | Photo Album (a gift card for a wedding album makes a great engagement gift!)
Bubbly and Toasting Flutes
It’s a celebration after all! And nothing says celebration quite like toasting with champagne! Obviously, a bottle of bubbly makes a great standalone gift that anyone would be happy to receive.
This is my favorite bubbly right now, and this one is excellent and you can have it shipped right to them. (Use this link to save $22!) For an extra special touch, you can send personalized, etched wine—which also makes a great wedding gift!
Even if they don’t drink, you can still toast with bubbly!
You can also bump it up a notch with a pair of toasting flutes. I love to order these ones and personalize them with my Cricut. There are also personalized options on Etsy if you aren’t as crafty. And, of course, you can always skip the personalization and get a beautiful set of toasting flutes (another option). Nobody will complain about that!
Sending a gift from afar and don’t want to ship booze and breakables? Just send a champagne scented candle or some champagne candies to achieve the celebratory effect.
Wedding Planning Tools (That Aren’t Gross)
With the engagement comes the start of planning what is, for most of us, the biggest event we will ever organize. Planning can be stressful and overwhelming, so anything you can do to help plan or just keep it calm will be so helpful and welcome.
That’s why wedding planning books and tools, while a very useful gift idea, should be chosen with care. Anything going over the top to emphasize how this is the MOST IMPORTANT DAY OF YOUR LIFE is out. (It’s just flowers, you’ll live.)
I loved this book when I was planning my wedding, because it was realistic, relaxed, and kept everything in perspective in a way that kept me sane.
This one seems a bit cheeky too. And this is the planning book version of the wedding blog I loved while I was planning. For LGBTQ+ weddings, here’s a helpful resource.
You also know your friend best—if their stress relief of choice is sour cream and onion chips and chocolate, a basket of those items would be a sweet (and sassy!) useful engagement gift.
Ring Accessories
Chances are, your friend has something new and sparkly hanging out on her left hand! So this is a great opportunity to celebrate that ring by getting gifts that celebrate and acknowledge its existence!
Personally, I love to give jewelry cleaner to newly engaged friends, because it’s a very useful engagement gift! But I know that’s a little utilitarian for some gift givers, so you might also consider a cute little ring tray or ring holder as well.
Of course, personalization is an option here and there are great options all over Etsy—here’s my favorite.
Marriage Advice
See above—the marriage is the whole point, not the wedding! Show your support not only in this season of celebration, but in their marriage as well by giving some marriage advice.
I love the idea of assembling advice from married loved ones of the bride and groom, but that can be a bit time-intensive. Instead, turn to a whole host of experts happy to share their opinions: authors!
This book on marriage practices from around the world is my personal pick. I read it on our first anniversary and loved it. But there are other options out there, too. We’ve learned a lot about each other by knowing our love languages. And this isn’t quite advice but might be a good option for friends who love to cook together (or want to learn!).
Frames and Photos
I firmly believe that people don’t print photos enough. So, if your friends post a photo or two of the moment they got engaged, what do you think the chances are that they actually had it printed?
Take the initiative for them and download their engagement photo to have printed and framed. Framebridge offers Instagram photo printing for only $39.
If they didn’t post photos, know that plenty are coming with engagement and wedding sessions, so even a pretty, empty frame still makes a very thoughtful—and useful—gift. You could even get them a gift card to Artifact Uprising to help preserve wedding memories in a photo album.
Thoughtful, Fun, and Useful Engagement Gifts
I hope I’ve helped you navigate the wide, wonderful world of engagement gifts. Let me know your favorites or other great ideas in the comments.
Congratulations to your friend and congratulations to you—you get to go to a fun party soon! Cheers!
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