wedding gifts

Seven-Year Wedding Anniversary Gifts

| The Bee Life

My annual wedding anniversary gift guide is back! We are exploring traditional and modern seven-year wedding anniversary gifts this year. The traditional gift to celebrate year seven is copper or wool, while the modern gift is desk sets and the gemstone is Onyx.

“The traditional gift calls for either copper or wool. These two elements may seem diametrically opposed, but they have one thing in common: warmth”

“… the gemstone is the dark and mesmerizing onyx, which is thought to protect marriages from trials and promote harmony”
– BRIDES & The Knot

Traditional: Copper

This one can be a little tricky and not the easiest to find a practical and meaningful gift — so perhaps focus on something small and simple if you want to go traditional copper and focus on an experience with your person to celebrate year seven.

Custom Penny Key Chains are simple and sweet little gifts that won’t add bulk to your keychain and will be a daily reminder to you and your honey. Plus it’s customizable with different options to include your date, initials, and year, and ships so fast! This Copper Ball Marker is another easy gift that will be perfect if your husband loves to golf and will be a reminder throughout their day as they golf for 4-hours. 😇 Another great gift, that B got me last year for year six with iron is copper dice! We love to play Yahtzee, so this was a super thoughtful and fun surprise, he even got a custom box for them to stay in.

Modern or Stone

This year we are skipping the modern gift of desk sets because it feels super dated and a thing of the past. The stone of year seven is Onyx, which is typically a black stone — there are so many beautiful jewelry items that can be high-priced or a bit more affordable. There aren’t a ton of home decor items, but I did find chic checkered onyx dishes on Etsy. More affordable jewelry items I found are from Alex + Ani, how gorgeous is that bracelet? It’s so unique and special with the round onyx and then the round gold loop, which reminds me of an infinity symbol, which IMO is perfect for an anniversary gift. Lastly, the Onyx ring from Uncommon James (love Kristin Cavallari) is a fun and stunning statement, that will make you feel beyond this anniversary and each year after.

If you’re like us, our anniversary is coming in HOT (and this post has been a draft for months 😅) — and it’s also right before the holidays, so it’s always good to plan ahead, ESPECIALLY if you’re going the custom gift route (which I love!). Planning ahead can also help on the check book so that you can do more on your anniversary, like a fun experience, whether it’s cocktails out or a nice dinner at a new hot spot.

Here’s to Lucky #7! 🥂

Celebrating a different anniversary milestone? Read Bee Life Blog’s Two Year Gift Guide, Three Year Gift Guide, Fourth Year Gift Guide, Fifth Year Gift Guide & Sixth Year Gift Guide.

3 Unique Wedding Gifts to Give

| The Bee Life

Guess what! Wedding season is all year round – so if the Save the Dates are starting to fill up your fridge, here are a few ideas to stash away, or better yet – order ahead of time to give as the perfect shower or wedding gift this season.  Trust me, I’m not one to promote veering away from the wedding registry but after receiving a few of these ourselves I was shocked and taken aback by the thoughtfulness!
Unique Wedding Gifts - the bee life
Okay – let’s get to the good stuff!

  1. Custom Family Cross Stitch – We got this as a wedding gift, and I nearly cried when I opened it and saw our little family stitched into a beautiful frame.  Yes, it even included MOZ! which I think is what made me the most happy – upon further viewing behind my tears I noticed that the outfits B and I wore were the same from our engagement pictures! It was seriously one of the most thoughtful gifts and we have it hanging it a prominent spot to swoon over it.  Here is a similar one on Etsy. This could also be done as a custom painting or portrait of the couples new/first home or engagement picture! Better yet, if you’re crafty enough you could make this yourself!
  2. Monthly Wine Club Subscription – This could even be a food box service for a few months (while they’re adjusting to married life) or some other beverage/cocktail service that the couple can enjoy and experience together.  Giving them a few months free is a great way for the couple to get excited about something new and make a new married tradition.  Check out Winc, Clubbubbly or Home Chef.
  3. Honeymoon Help – A lot of registries, like Zola allow couples to add a Honeymoon Fund to their registry.  This is something to keep an eye out on! Another way to help a couple on their honeymoon is with a gift certificate to a restaurant for a dinner date on their honeymoon!  We greatly appreciated this as it helped us plan a special night out and around the rest of our trip. Does this couple love traveling? This 50 States Photo Map on Etsy is also another great gift and keepsake to help traveling couples document their travels!

The important thing when giving a gift is knowing the couple! And if you’re just not sure, but want to give something a little different talk to a closer family member or friend to gut check or figure out where they’re honeymooning.  Cheers to wedding season!

bee (1)

5 Unique Wedding Gifts

| The Bee Life

With wedding season quickly here, I wanted to share some unique gift ideas for the bride and groom.  If you’re like me and in the wedding party, you seem to bring gifts to every occasion you go to, so coming up with fresh, unique ideas without just buying off the registry can get hard after awhile. Wedding Gift Guide - the bee lifeAlso to clarify; these gifts could be for any of the many wedding festivities from the bridal shower, bachelorette/bachelor parties, rehearsal and day of the wedding.

Make Something. Find a local shop/studios were you can create and make you’re own ceramic pieces, whether it be from scratch or painting a pre-made piece. My future MIL, owns a studio (Studio Clay) where you can create plates, bowls, dishes, ornaments, figurines… you name it, out of clay.  Visiting a place like this, not only gives you a fun experience but also allows you to create an original piece for the couple.

Remember Memories. You may need to get a little creative for this one, but this will help the couple remember all their memories, especially as they start their journey as husband and wife. You can make the couple a custom jar (decoupage), a box, or basket with instructions for the couple to fill it with love notes or memories throughout the year. Then on New Year’s Day each year, instruct the couple to take turns and read them to each other reflecting over the year. This is low cost, genuine and something the couple can use year after year.

The Honeymoon. Think about the honeymoon, especially if your in the bridal party, buy some special necessities or gear for the bride and groom. Whether it be matching swim suits, sunglasses, or even a honeymoon survival kit with sunscreen, condoms (or not!), lingerie, lip balm… you name it. Or just focus on the bride, a cute carry-on, new make-up bag or even a fun purse she can rock.  Just think of things that they couple may not be thinking of, but want/need!

Pitch-In. If you know the couple is saving up for a house, or big home renovation, find some family and friends to help pitch-in on a fund for their future projects as they start their life together. When you tie a meaning to the money, it can add that much sentiment and use for the couple. To make it a little more personal, accompany the money with a gift or trinket, like a toaster (if the couple desperately wants a new kitchen).

Photo Gifts. Here is a little plug for Shutterfly, simply because I just love them.  They’ve expanded their offerings immensely, you can customize table runners, candles, ornaments, mugs, pillows, blankets… shall I go on?  Use pictures from the couples engagement session to help customize these pieces for a unique and special gift for the Mr. + Mrs. (Not to mention there are always a few good promos going on to take advantage of!)

I think it’s easy to get lazy and just buy the couple a gift card or something off the registry (guilty), especially when you have multiple weddings to attend in one year, but going the little extra step will not only create something memorable for the bride and groom, but will also remind them of the special time you took for them.

Cheers to Wedding Season!