Wedding Blog

Mr. Penguin and I had been thinking about gifts to get our wedding party for a very long time, but for some reason, we were all-talk and no action. So two weeks before the wedding we made quite the mad-dash to check off all our gift lists. We planned on presenting all the gifts at the rehearsal dinner. We then proceeded to make the mistake of forgetting to hand out our parents’ gifts at the rehearsal! One of the waiters at the end of the night handed the untended bags of gifts to Mr. Penguin’s parents, once Mr. Penguin and I were already long gone and they were closing up the tab. We’re a bunch o’ jerks.

For Mr. Penguin’s Dad and Stepmother - The eStarling Photo frame

image from estarling.com

I was very excited about this gift, and wish we could have given it to all our parents, but unfortunately you need wireless internet in your home or office to be able to use it, so we were only able to give one to Mr. Penguin’s Dad and Stepmother. Basically, you can upload photos to this frame from anywhere in the world, wirelessly! So now that Mr. Penguin’s parents have it set up in their home, we are able to send them pictures through an email address unique to the picture frame, and they instantly see the pictures that we send to the frame. Mr. Penguin and I can now send new pictures to their frame, as often as we like, and they can enjoy them 3000 miles away in their living room. The best part about the frame is that it is NOT subscription based, like other versions of WiFi photo frames are, so there is no monthly fee.

For Mr. Penguin’s Mom, we also gave her a digital photo frame, but because she doesn’t have wireless internet, we’ll email her pictures to manually load up to her own frame.

For my parents - Gift certificates for a round of golf for four, and a sushi dinner. I come from a very “gift-cardy” home. My dad’s idea of a great Christmas present is cash, and I definitely don’t have any complaints about that. So shopping for my parents is hard, because they don’t actually like physical gifts, but the trusty old “round of golf and dinner” gift still gets them pretty excited. My mom is raring to hit the links, despite the fact that it’s 100 degrees outside right now in the thick of July. You crazy, lady.

For my bridesmaids - Flight 001 “F1 To Go Bottles” and the “F1 Seat Pak,” and Manicure/Pedicures.

images from flight001.com

Flight 001 is one of my favorite stores of all-time. They carry everything for the chic traveler! I noticed that while we were all in Vegas for my bachelorette party, we were all scrambling for toiletries, as we had all flown with only carry-on luggage to Vegas, and lots of girls relied on the fact that others would carry toiletries like shampoo and lotion with them. Plus their own toiletries were not 3 oz or less, they couldn’t bring their own large toiletries onto the plane, and they didn’t want to waste time checking luggage. This pack of 7 various bottles, all regulation carry-on size, means that none of my bridesmaids will go toiletry-free on their next trip! Also, the F1 Seat Pak is great to hang on the tray table knob in front of you, so that you don’t shove important documents and items in the seat pocket in front of you on your long trips, only to forget them once you’ve deplaned. I love the Seat Pak because it keeps your personal items and documents super organized on long flights! Also, because, quite frankly, sticking your hands in the seat pocket in front of you is kind of a disgusting gamble.

For Mr. Penguin’s Groomsmen - Liquor. Mr. Penguin gifted his party various forms of Whiskey and Scotch. They all smelled bad and probably tasted worse. But I hear that they enjoyed them, as Mr. Penguin and friends killed a couple bottles at the hotel the night before the wedding and had a jolly time! One thing Mr. Penguin wishes he had done for his groomsmen was shopped during the holidays. There were some great gifts and samplers available during the holiday season that weren’t available come wedding time. Mr. Penguin had his eye on this great high-end Bourbon sampler, only to discover that it was only available around Christmas.

Do you plan to give useful or sentimental gifts to your bridal party and parents?