Wedding gift from brother

[Kennedy]

Looking for ideas for a wedding gift for the couple from the groom's brother. Have you seen any interesting/different ideas? The couple doesn't have any particular hobbies or interests that the two share.

Edited to add: My son is college age and his older brother is the one getting married. Obviously, the college age boy doesn't have much money, so his older brother would most likely feel weird with accepting cash from his younger brother.

So, I was thinking more about ideas for sweet, sentimental gifts he can give to his older brother and new wife.

[harrychan]

Hard cold cash
Gift card to any airline or major hotel chain
One year subscription to Netflix

[HomeStretch]

Contribute towards the honeymoon.

[Grt2bOutdoors]

Cold hard cash!

[fru-gal]

Unless they're well to do, money. There will be a lot of initial expenses.

[GMCZ71]

ideas for a wedding gift for the couple from the groom's brother.

So you mean somebody from the wedding party not the bride and groom?

[DesertDiva]

Looking for ideas for a wedding gift for the couple from the groom's brother. Have you seen any interesting/different ideas? The couple doesn't have any particular hobbies or interests that the two share.

Have they done a bridal registry?

[Watty]

It is not expensive but when we got married someone gave us a nicely matted and framed copy of our wedding invitation that also had some pressed flowers in it. 30+ years latter that is the only wedding gift that we still have and it is in a back bedroom.

We do not make a big deal about our wedding anniversary but my wife and I have both admitted to checking that to see which day of the month it was which for some reason neither of us can remember since it not a big deal for us.

[njuser]

Money.

And you could also include something small and sentimental as above.

[wilked]

The couple doesn't have any particular hobbies or interests that the two share.

They don't share any hobbies or interests? Tough way to start a marriage!

Some thoughtful things I've done in addition to a check:

-Good bottle of champagne, with a note "to be opened on the 1 year anniversary": gives them something to look forward to and celebrate
-Gift certificate to a local class such as wine/cheese pairings, or rock climbing, or something else. Doesn't work if they don't have any shared interests
-If your brother is into grilling / smoking (or thinking about it), a nice grill / smoker. Wedding registries tend to be at least sterotypically focused on kitchen / bride filling the list, good to balance that with a sterotypical male equivalent if that would make him happy. We did that a couple times for good friends and they were both thrilled

[Liberty1100]

+1 to money.

With my wedding just this past year, We think the most highly of the ones that either gave us a gift from the registry or wrote a check (large or small).

Don’t give him and his wife something you think they want. They might already have something in its place, try to live as minimalists, or will not like it. Then it becomes awkward if they want to return the gift but might not if he thinks you may get offended if you don’t see it when you visit.

[leeks]

For my wedding, my brother took two days off work, his child missed a day of school, they traveled to another city, and participated in rehearsal/setup/ceremony/cleanup. That was all the gift I needed or wanted.

[Raymond]

It is not expensive but when we got married someone gave us a nicely matted and framed copy of our wedding invitation that also had some pressed flowers in it. 30+ years latter that is the only wedding gift that we still have and it is in a back bedroom...

That is fantastic!

OP, there's an idea.

And money. Definitely money.

A combination of the sentimental and the practical.

re: wilked's comment above - I hope the couple are at least interested in each other

[Katietsu]

I agree to stick with cash or something from the registry over an idea from internet strangers. If you are going to go off on your own, it should be something very personally inspired.

I have given a few personal gifts that worked out well but I did it based on something I knew about their lives. For instance, one couple had just graduated college and was struggling to keep an old car going. I gave them a car care package that included things like an air compressor and easy jump start. Another couple had gotten engaged at a stadium during the last year of its operation. The stadium was being torn down and I purchased one of the bricks. After my sister in law got blacklisted for returns because of shower/wedding gifts, I learned my lesson about picking a gift that is not on the registry.

[Raymond]

...After my sister in law got blacklisted for returns because of shower/wedding gifts, I learned my lesson about picking a gift that is not on the registry.

This sounds interesting - who blacklisted her, the store or the relatives?

[Katietsu]

...After my sister in law got blacklisted for returns because of shower/wedding gifts, I learned my lesson about picking a gift that is not on the registry.

This sounds interesting - who blacklisted her, the store or the relatives?

A couple of stores including Walmart. By blacklisted, I mean that she was not allowed to return anything for 6 months to a year. This was a couple of decades ago, but my understanding is that they are even quicker now to put you on a no return list.

[Kennedy]

OP here. Perhaps I should clarify: My son is college age and his older brother is the one getting married. Obviously, the college age boy doesn't have much money, so his older brother would most likely feel weird with accepting cash from his younger brother.

So, I was thinking more about ideas for sweet, sentimental gifts he can give to his older brother and new wife.

I like the idea someone suggested about a bottle of champagne to drink on their first anniversary.

I will add this new detail to my original post.

[psteinx]

So, I was thinking more about ideas for sweet, sentimental gifts he can give to his older brother and new wife.

Sweet and sentimental are hard to pair with "anonymous couple lightly described on internet to strangers"

Brother should think of some moment he's shared with the couple that was pleasant/enjoyable, and aim for a gift that connects to that somehow.

If there's really no connection at all (maybe he lives far away from the couple and has barely met the fiance), then yeah, one of these sorta generic gift suggestions. But not likely to make a lasting impression.

Generic ideas, but can still be nice, especially if it shows some personal selection/craftmanship/etc - picture frames (maybe with appropriate picture inside), wooden things or other crafts made by the brother, or selected at a craft fair/store, that are generically useful. Not candlesticks, but bowls/containers/serving items. Maybe a shelf or the like.

[TSR]

Case of good wine that is good for aging. A good liquor store will help put this together (and give a case discount). They can open one bottle a year if they want. Or they can drink them all in one month. You can probably do all of this for $200 or so.

[bluebolt]

Does the brother have a bunch of nice pictures of the couple? A well put together photo album might be nice.

[nvambith]

We got this book as a wedding gift from a friend, and it was really cute and we still have it.
https://www.amazon.com/Advice-Happy-Mar ... 446911704/

[Jack FFR1846]

Case of good wine that is good for aging. A good liquor store will help put this together (and give a case discount). They can open one bottle a year if they want. Or they can drink them all in one month. You can probably do all of this for $200 or so.

Depends exactly how old the "college age" younger brother is. It's quite possible he can't legally buy alcohol.

[mak1277]

If there isn't a genuine connection between younger bro and the couple, I would just forget the concept of getting something for the couple. I would get my brother something that he and I could share...tickets to a ballgame or something like that. Keeping brotherly bonds intact isn't always easy once one gets married, so something just for the two of them makes sense to me.

[celia]

My younger college-aged brother made us a breadboard for our wedding. Our first apartment had a horizontal slot for one but the board was missing. When we moved to our next apartment, we took it with us and enjoyed it for many years until we bought a house. I still remember that board with rounded edges.

If the younger son has any woodworking, metal-crafting or skills that can be used to make a gift, have him go for it!

[toofache32]

...After my sister in law got blacklisted for returns because of shower/wedding gifts, I learned my lesson about picking a gift that is not on the registry.

This sounds interesting - who blacklisted her, the store or the relatives?

A couple of stores including Walmart. By blacklisted, I mean that she was not allowed to return anything for 6 months to a year. This was a couple of decades ago, but my understanding is that they are even quicker now to put you on a no return list.

Interesting. I also had a strange issue with returning wedding gifts after my wedding years ago. We were registered at this local place in Alabama called Brombergs which is a high end jewelry/wedding/dishes/giftware place. Sales tax was about 8%. Wedding guests buy a $100 item and pay $108 total with taxes. Because we are moving to Tennessee they ship it to Tennessee. I got a call from a Tennessee tax collector a year later saying we owe Tennessee sales taxes adding up to almost $1000. Turns out this place gave me credit for the full $108 and didn't pay the sales tax, creating an 8% margin for themselves (although my guests DID pay the extra sales tax). They must have gotten audited for this to show up on the tax collector's radar.
I called to complain that my wedding guests had already paid that 8% tax but the store kept it for themselves to generate an 8% additional profit. They didn't care one bit.

[TSR]

Case of good wine that is good for aging. A good liquor store will help put this together (and give a case discount). They can open one bottle a year if they want. Or they can drink them all in one month. You can probably do all of this for $200 or so.

Depends exactly how old the "college age" younger brother is. It's quite possible he can't legally buy alcohol.

Good point.

[Kennedy]

...After my sister in law got blacklisted for returns because of shower/wedding gifts, I learned my lesson about picking a gift that is not on the registry.

This sounds interesting - who blacklisted her, the store or the relatives?

A couple of stores including Walmart. By blacklisted, I mean that she was not allowed to return anything for 6 months to a year. This was a couple of decades ago, but my understanding is that they are even quicker now to put you on a no return list.

Interesting. I also had a strange issue with returning wedding gifts after my wedding years ago. We were registered at this local place in Alabama called Brombergs which is a high end jewelry/wedding/dishes/giftware place. Sales tax was about 8%. Wedding guests buy a $100 item and pay $108 total with taxes. Because we are moving to Tennessee they ship it to Tennessee. I got a call from a Tennessee tax collector a year later saying we owe Tennessee sales taxes adding up to almost $1000. Turns out this place gave me credit for the full $108 and didn't pay the sales tax, creating an 8% margin for themselves (although my guests DID pay the extra sales tax). They must have gotten audited for this to show up on the tax collector's radar.
I called to complain that my wedding guests had already paid that 8% tax but the store kept it for themselves to generate an 8% additional profit. They didn't care one bit.

I'm assuming this was because you didn't have the receipt when the items were returned or perhaps you returned the items more than 90 days after they were purchased?

[toofache32]

...After my sister in law got blacklisted for returns because of shower/wedding gifts, I learned my lesson about picking a gift that is not on the registry.

This sounds interesting - who blacklisted her, the store or the relatives?

A couple of stores including Walmart. By blacklisted, I mean that she was not allowed to return anything for 6 months to a year. This was a couple of decades ago, but my understanding is that they are even quicker now to put you on a no return list.

Interesting. I also had a strange issue with returning wedding gifts after my wedding years ago. We were registered at this local place in Alabama called Brombergs which is a high end jewelry/wedding/dishes/giftware place. Sales tax was about 8%. Wedding guests buy a $100 item and pay $108 total with taxes. Because we are moving to Tennessee they ship it to Tennessee. I got a call from a Tennessee tax collector a year later saying we owe Tennessee sales taxes adding up to almost $1000. Turns out this place gave me credit for the full $108 and didn't pay the sales tax, creating an 8% margin for themselves (although my guests DID pay the extra sales tax). They must have gotten audited for this to show up on the tax collector's radar.
I called to complain that my wedding guests had already paid that 8% tax but the store kept it for themselves to generate an 8% additional profit. They didn't care one bit.

I'm assuming this was because you didn't have the receipt when the items were returned or perhaps you returned the items more than 90 days after they were purchased?

No. We never even "had" the items until they were mailed out of state. Wedding guests purchased the items and they were held in our name until after the wedding. Instead of picking up all the items, we "exchanged" many of the items but we never had our hands on the original items. This was about 3 weeks after the wedding. It was essentially a giant gift card.

[Brianmcg321]

When I was in college and my brother got married, I bought him a bottle of single malt scotch.

He was impressed given that most of my knowledge of alcohol at the time was beer pong related.