A wedding is one of the major occasions in life which usually require the guest to bring a wedding gift. Any wedding gift will usually do, even a cheap wedding gift. Being cheap does not necessarily mean that the wedding gift is tacky, it just means that it is basically does not cost much compared to the other major wedding gifts that friends and relatives may give. There are a lot of choices for a cheap wedding gift which will not offend the couple receiving it. You just need to be enterprising regarding what to give and how you present it.
Handmade Items
Handmade items are probably the best choice for a cheap wedding gift. These gifts not only express your regard for the recipient but they also show that you have spent a lot of time making them and that you believe this is time well spent. Examples of handmade items which can be cheap wedding gifts are soaps, rugs, plastic flower arrangements and even a scrapbook of the couple’s life.
Other handmade items which will suffice as a cheap wedding gift are portraits, handmade vases and pottery, candles and many others. The candles and even the soaps can be presented in a basket with other items which go along with them. For candles, matches or lighters can be added as well as a candle burner along with aromatherapy oils for burning. Incense can also be added to your gift basket for the convenience of the recipient.
Practical Items
Practical items can also be great choices for a cheap wedding gift. Examples of cheap but practical items are towels, rugs and bed sheets. These can be bought at low prices but can serve the recipients well. Weddings do not necessarily mean giving extravagant or luxurious items. Many couples appreciate day to day practical items as cheap wedding gifts. Pots of plants can be an example of a cheap wedding gift for couples who appreciate horticulture as well as gardening.
Other examples of practical items for cheap wedding gifts are shower curtain hooks, daily table ware, curtains and blinds and many others. You can also start your friends’ wine collection by giving them a decent bottle of wine. Other collections that you might try to start for the couple are art collections such as paintings, books and other art objects from relatively unknown artists who may make it big in the industry some day.
The wedding cake is one major aspect of a wedding that many people always remember. This is part of a tradition that goes back along way where brides are given cakes to eat while they journey to the far away places of their husbands. These days, wedding cakes have become more and more beautiful but also more expensive. In spite of this, there are a lot of ways to have a cheap wedding cake for your wedding without compromising style and taste. The cheap wedding cake can be an alternative to a cheap wedding gift from family members which makes it a free cake instead of a cheap one.
Design Options
Most wedding cakes are actually made of a hard icing that holds the details of the wedding cake design very well. A cheap wedding cake can be done by substituting the detail oriented icing for the cheaper but also tastier icing. To avoid the lack of attention to detail that softer and tastier icings have, you might opt for a simply designed cheap wedding cake which does not need the hard icing. This way of cutting cost can actually make your cake more edible.
For those who wish to have more versatility in design, you can still opt for the harder icing but keep to simpler designs that use already cut out gum paste or fondant to decorate the cheap wedding cake. Some couples also like to make use of past designs so as not to tax the mind of the baker and at least get a discount for choosing a simpler or more familiar design.
Another advantage of using light and tastier icing is that the base of your cheap wedding cake can now be made of cheaper cake instead of the more expensive fruit cake or butter rum cake. A very good baker can actually pull off making ordinary boiled icing look like fondant.
Go Local
You might also like to ask your local baker if he or she can make your wedding cake. Most bakeries that dabble with breads can actually make cheap wedding cakes with simple designs that can pass of as elegantly simple. The decorations for your cake can also use just local flower or whatever so as not to be charged with the additional cost of expensive imported flowers. Other decorations that can be easily placed in the cheap wedding cake are fresh local fruits that are in season.