wondering about gifts for parents (etiquette)

[~*Lisa*~]

I'm not too sure what to do in my situation. Any help would be great!

 

My parents are paying for our DW so obviously I want to get them something REALLY, REALLY special. His mom is his only parent invited to the wedding and we are paying for her to come. Are we still required to give her a gift? I'm not really sure what to do in this situation. Do you only give gifts to parents who help pay for the wedding? Is that the etiquette? Or do you get them something for being your parent (as silly as that may sound)? I am really not too sure what to do.

[Ginalyn]

FI and I are paying for my parents to come to the destination wedding. This is our "gift" to them and they are greatful for it. We plan on just giving them a card at the rehearsal dinner.

[~*Lisa*~]

I suppose that would be great for his Mom but not my parents seeing as they are paying for our wedding. Thanks for the info!

[finleys7]

I agree, I think that works for the parents not paying as well, paying for them is a GREAT gift.

 

As for your parents helping that's a tricky situation, but whatever you do decide I would do it privately so his mom won't feel slighted even though her trip is paid for.

 

Or if it's a known thing and "okay", you can annouce at the rehersal dinner what you gave each of them and how your wedding wouldn't have been possible without their support.

 

Traditional ways of the brides family paying are very uncommon now a days, so I think it's necessary to thank all who contributed.

 

Hope that helps. In terms of the gift...I'm at a loss

[clfaidl2]

My parents contributed a good bit of money toward my wedding. I was thinking, since it's in Jamaica....paying for their day trip to dunn's river falls and dolphin cove and I was going to give them a parents photo album. I'm still trying to think of other ideas. Maybe you could pay for their way to the activities that may cost more. Or sometimes they even have different packages like for engagement, or renewal of vows where you can arrange a really private dinner, etc. Maybe they also just arrange very private dinners. You may be able to contact the wedding coordinator and ask if there is any such service at the hotel. Good luck! I'm sure your parents will love whatever you give them.

[~*Lisa*~]

Christina - those are some great ideas! The FI was also thinking of paying for some kind of spa package for them.

[PaddleAddict]

My parents paid for a good portion of the wedding, so my husband and I are giving them a nice card and a romantic weekend at a local resort with a fancy dinner and golf day. I really hope it conveys how much appreciate all they did. My husband's mom also contributed to the wedding (on a much smaller scale), so we are planning on giving her something similar (for her and her boyfriend), but not as expensive as what we are giving my parents. We did not make any public announcements about the gifts, but did thank my parents at the reception.

 

Also, at the wedding, we had visors made for the two dads that said "Father of the Bride/Groom" for the men's golf outing before the wedding, and had personalized handkerchiefs made for the moms (they loved these!). We're also going to be making photo books for all the parents (these will probably be a Christmas gift).

[Sandra&Mario]

We will be giving our moms a spa treatment of their choice at the resort. As for our dads, we're at a loss. Upon the arrival of our pro pics I'll be scrapbooking an album for each set of parents. They are both picture nuts and love it!

[~*Lisa*~]

I really like the picture book ideas! that's makes a wonderful gift!

[kat_mc13]

I was planning on taking our parents on an excursion with just us and the parents and giving them a photo book but I'm not sure if I should be giving them something else as well. I think the personalized mother/father of the bride/groom items are a good idea