5 Favorite Engagement Gift Ideas: From the Traditional to the Unique
Whether there’s an engagement party in your future or you want to celebrate a newly engaged couple with a thoughtful gesture, a good engagement gift is necessary. However, how do you pick the best engagement gift — that both halves of the happy couple will appreciate, something that’s not cliché, fits your budget, and shows you know the couple’s interests?
What You Will Learn
Five Favorite Engagement Gift Ideas
1. Something for the Home
In years past, there were many significant moments that friends and family members would come together to celebrate, often giving gifts. It wasn’t uncommon for newly married couples to, for example, host a housewarming party sometime after their wedding day as they settled into living together for the first time.
Now, engaged couples have lived together for a good amount of time before their wedding date. As such, there’s no need to wait to give them a thoughtful gift for their shared living space. An item like this can make the perfect gift that remains traditional while also trending more contemporary.
What to Choose?
When choosing an engagement gift for the couple’s home, consider possible upgrades that align with their lifestyle. The couple that always mixes up the best cocktails may appreciate a new set of coupe glasses. Coffee connoisseurs may love a set of luxury espresso cups. Celebratory crystal is a classic (like champagne flutes), and avid home cooks may prefer a spectacular serving dish or a high-end classic from brands such as Le Creuset.
Want something extra special (and yet affordable)? Hunt down a coffee table book that would be meaningful to them — like a book featuring photos of the destination where they met or a book featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the favorite franchise that brought them together.
In other words, if it’s something you might anticipate pulling from the gift registry for a wedding gift, surprise the couple with one of these gifts ahead of the big day.
2. A Practical Consideration
Good engagement gifts can also be practical. Think about what the couple needs as they’re wedding planning and how your gift can make those upcoming nuptials easier. For some, this may mean gifting the couple a service for the wedding or financial help.
Small budget? Some practical engagement gift ideas for couples are also incredibly budget-friendly. For example, what is one new thing they’ll both need after they become engaged and then married? A ring dish for their new rings!
3. A Customized Collectable
An absolute favorite among engagement gifts for couples? Customized keepsakes.
Go beyond monogrammed items that feature the couple’s initials.
You can add maps that show where the couple lived or first met and can add their initials to many items, from canvas prints to Christmas tree ornaments. You can also hire artists on platforms like Etsy to create illustrations of the couple, which you can then add to a range of items from prints to greeting cards to blankets to suncatchers. It’s even possible to find items that show off the exact position of the stars at the precise place and date the couple met.
4. A Sustainable Consumable
More and more sustainably focused consumers are considering how they gift and what they ask for as gifts. If the couple you’re buying for feels this way, consider engagement gift ideas in the “sustainable consumables” category. These engagement gift ideas are not only sustainably produced but won’t clutter the home because these items are used or consumed until they are gone (so they’re not taking up space in a landfill either).
Think of a beautiful bouquet. Go with a high-end snack for foodies, like champagne grapes, caviar, or charcuterie. For the couple who always looks their best, try luxury skincare or similar items.
5. An Experience
If none of these engagement gifts, ideas, or sentiments fit you or the couple, try gifting them an experience and make a memory. Why is this a great gift? As the couple finds themselves deep in the midst of wedding planning, it can be difficult to carve out quality time. A gifted experience can remind them to do so.
Maybe you give them a gift card to their favorite upscale restaurant or a posh spa, a pass for fun classes, like cooking or dancing, or a gift card to a cozy inn, B&B, or Airbnb for a quick romantic getaway.
Whatever you go with, it’s sure to be appreciated.
Should You Buy Traditional Engagement Gifts?
What about traditional engagement gifts — should you go the easy route and buy something that every couple needs?
The one thing to remember when shopping for a traditional engagement gift is not to just pick something that every other couple has received after their engagement date and call it a day. Go the extra mile and make one of these classic engagement presents more meaningful with a few easy touches.
For example, have the couple’s initials engraved or monogrammed on the item — spring for a gift box that can be kept and reused in a fun new way.
Engagement Gift for Couple FAQs
Do you have to buy engagement gifts for a couple if I know them?
If you’re invited to the couple’s engagement party, you must buy an engagement gift. Otherwise, it’s up to the individual to buy an engagement gift.
How much should you spend on an engagement gift?
While the choice of engagement gift is entirely up to the giver, it’s common to spend $50–$75.
What are traditional engagement gifts?
Traditional engagement gifts include money, gift cards, a bottle of wine or liquor, and household items for the couple to share.
What should you write in an engagement congratulations card?
Keep it simple and sincere, and write what’s in your heart. So long as the tone is congratulatory, you can’t go wrong, and there’s no need to wax poetic or write a novel.
When should you give an engagement gift to the couple?
It’s most common to present the gift at the engagement party. Still, if there’s no engagement party, you can do so whenever convenient. Don’t make it awkward by expecting the couple to open the gift in your presence unless you’re exceptionally close. You can also ship the gift to the couple.
Beyond These Best Engagement Gifts, Make Sure Your Favorite Couple Also Has This One Key Thing!
One thing that every engaged couple needs ASAP? Engagement ring insurance!
There are near-endless ways for engagement rings to become damaged, lost, or stolen, which can ruin an otherwise very happy engagement. BriteCo’s comprehensive jewelry coverage ensures that all jewelry, including engagement rings, is covered under an array of unfortunate circumstances from the moment of purchase.
Learn more and find out how to get a quick and easy quote.
Need more shopping tips? The BriteCo blog has lots of tips and advice for finding the right jewelry and gifts for yourself or your favorite person.
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