If there is nothing on the registry you wish to buy, there is the option to send a gift card from the store where they are registered for the amount of your choosing. I'd do this if you are reluctant to just send a check.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get something they can keep and use forever... like a nice large wooden storage trunk. Then you can fill it with some other nice household items, like a blanket, new kitchen mugs, new linens, new towels, kitchen untensils, and maybe even a nice $200 restaurant gift card!

+1

As a person who got married less than 2 years ago, let me reiterate and summarize some very wise advice from PPs:

1. Do not go off registry, especially with anything large. Most newlyweds are crunched for space. Even if they have 3000+ sq ft, they still do not want a large trunk, large painting, etc. unless they picked it out themselves.

2. Do not go off registry with anything personalized. You may think you have great taste and they may have even told you in the past that they liked personalized things you've done in the past. They were being gracious and polite, but perhaps not being honest.

3. If you do experience gifts, make it convenient, affordable and without an expiration date. Do not give someone a $50 gift card for a restaurant that is $200 per person like Inn at Little Washington. Do not buy me a Groupon or Living Social thing that will be impossible to schedule. Recognize that the wedding year was crazy busy and we might not be able to sign up for those kayaking lessons until the following summer.

Anonymous wrote:Why not get something they can keep and use forever... like a nice large wooden storage trunk. Then you can fill it with some other nice household items, like a blanket, new kitchen mugs, new linens, new towels, kitchen untensils, and maybe even a nice $200 restaurant gift card!

+1

Anonymous wrote:Having received many heartfelt but unwanted personalized (and off-registry) gifts for our wedding, I vote against doing that kind of thing unless you know for sure she would like it. (Maybe I'm a jerk, but knick knacks and frilly stuff is just not our taste.) If you want to do a memento, I'd say either find out what kind she would really like or else give her a gift card to a site where she would have a range of choices, like Snapfish where she could choose her own.

FWIW, my DH & I so appreciated the cash we received for our wedding - it contributed toward the down payment on our home! While cash can feel impersonal to the givers, the receivers might have some wonderful plans for it!

PP here - to clarify, in our case this included framed invitations, prints of our names & wedding date, etc. A lot of folks like to have everything out on display, but we prefer to keep it in an album.

Having received many heartfelt but unwanted personalized (and off-registry) gifts for our wedding, I vote against doing that kind of thing unless you know for sure she would like it. (Maybe I'm a jerk, but knick knacks and frilly stuff is just not our taste.) If you want to do a memento, I'd say either find out what kind she would really like or else give her a gift card to a site where she would have a range of choices, like Snapfish where she could choose her own.

FWIW, my DH & I so appreciated the cash we received for our wedding - it contributed toward the down payment on our home! While cash can feel impersonal to the givers, the receivers might have some wonderful plans for it!

OP, what are your SIL's interests and tastes? Where did she and her spouse-to-be meet? Do they have shared interests?

If she likes movies, maybe 12 pairs of tickets plus gift cert for movie snacks, and the couple could do a monthly movie date for the first year of their marriage. Le Creuset is awesome stuff and pricy so most people may not by it for themselves, but picking out the color for someone else is tricky, so maybe a gift card for it? Dinner gift card to a nice restaurant? A set of super-luxurious bed linens?

My favorite wedding gift was a beautiful Moroccan platter the giver brought back from a trip there.

What's your budget, OP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not get something they can keep and use forever... like a nice large wooden storage trunk. Then you can fill it with some other nice household items, like a blanket, new kitchen mugs, new linens, new towels, kitchen untensils, and maybe even a nice $200 restaurant gift card!

Good god, do not get this. You have no idea if they'd like it and it would just take up space in their house.

OP, the best gift we got was an annual pass to national parks and a guide book to go with it. We unfortunately couldn't use it much that first year because DH was finishing school and we were too poor to travel, but it was still the most thoughtful and creative gift we got. Cash was great too though.

What a cool idea, I love it!

Anonymous wrote:Why not get something they can keep and use forever... like a nice large wooden storage trunk. Then you can fill it with some other nice household items, like a blanket, new kitchen mugs, new linens, new towels, kitchen untensils, and maybe even a nice $200 restaurant gift card!

Good god, do not get this. You have no idea if they'd like it and it would just take up space in their house.

OP, the best gift we got was an annual pass to national parks and a guide book to go with it. We unfortunately couldn't use it much that first year because DH was finishing school and we were too poor to travel, but it was still the most thoughtful and creative gift we got. Cash was great too though.

Exale should have been example.

The gifts that are the most meaningful are the ones that are personal. For exale if you know she's always wsnted to ride a hot air balloon, give her that as a gift. Monetarily, the gift can also be small. Two of my favorite wedding gifts were an uncle who put up a tent on location and a grand uncle who drove us to our wedding in his antique car.

Experience presents. I had one friend who gave us surfing lessons (we were living in LA) and another friend a hot air balloon ride.

If they like wine - a bottle of wine to enjoy and a check. Otherwise, just a check. While the physical things PP suggest may be nice, they may not be appreciated.

Why not get something they can keep and use forever... like a nice large wooden storage trunk. Then you can fill it with some other nice household items, like a blanket, new kitchen mugs, new linens, new towels, kitchen untensils, and maybe even a nice $200 restaurant gift card!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is a website called Gift Rocket that lets you make a gift card for places that don't have gift cards. Basically it says what you suggest they use the money for and they can choose to get a check or have it deposited to their bank account. We used it to give my SIL a "gift card" to her boot camp fitness classes in San Fran.

Cool. Does it cost money to use that service?

Yes, but not much. If you use your routing number instead of a credit card, I think it is only $1-3?
It doesn't make a real plastic card - but a nice thing you print out with a code that the user can turn into money to do whatever they want with - hopefully your suggested activity / purchase.

Oh good grief - cash and a heartfelt note and/or a nice card is all that is needed. A gift from the registry is also very appropriate and much appreciated.