Wedding & engagement gift guide: presents they'll love and keep
We do enjoy a wedding. But no matter how much we love the happy couple and want to celebrate the occasion, sometimes – just sometimes – picking the perfect present can be a bit of a challenge. If there’s a gift list you’re praying that you’ve more options than a toaster or matching towels. And if there’s no list…? Well, that’s when you wish there was a list.
Which is where we come in.
The best wedding and engagement gifts are for the couple who have almost everything, but nothing quite like this. In our mind, the ideal wedding present is something they didn’t know they needed, something they’ll keep. Something they’ll use everyday, or put out on display, and every time they see it it’ll remind them of a great day, a happy occasion surrounded by friends and family, and of course the person who gave it to them (you).
Go straight to our wedding and engagement gift collection for a browse - or keep reading for some ideas based on what we'd give, our favourite Scandinavian wedding and engagement presents from the shop:
Stand-out glass
If you want a gift with real presence, start with glass. Swedish glass is world-renowned, and Kosta Boda is Sweden’s best-known glassmaker. Their pieces have a heft that comes from serious design credentials, heritage and irrefutable presence. A substantial bowl or a sculptural vase isn't just a present, it's something the couple will have and use for years to come. And a piece of art glass will earn its place on a shelf or a sideboard, where they’ll admire it and think of you each time they do. Other glassmakers also worth a look are Orrefors (also Swedish) and Iittala (Finland).
Our favourite glass for wedding presents:
Kosta Boda houses (available in black and clear glass, and in different sizes)
Kosta Boda contrast bowl large white
Other sizes and colours available - see all Kosta Boda bowls →
Kosta Boda large crackle vase
Also available in other colours and sizes - see all Kosta Boda vases →
Orrefors midsummer mini vase set of 7
Orrefors Squeeze Vase Midnight Blue 50cm
Iittala Aalto vase clear 220mm (other sizes and colours available)
Lyngby Porcelain Copenhagen green glass vase
Other sizes and colours available - see more Lyngby vases →
Kosta Boda Limelight Tulip Vase Apple Green
Love birds (literally)
Some gifts just suggest themselves. Kay Bojesen's wooden love birds (a pair, naturally) are a Danish design classic and a perfect present for a loved-up couple. Made since the 1950s, they’ve a mid-century aesthetic that sits happily on any modern shelf. Hard to beat for either a wedding or an engagement.
Kay Bojesen Wooden Love Birds
Kay Bojesen Love Birds green and rose
Occasion-worthy Ceramics
A striking piece of Scandinavian ceramics is a gift well worth considering. A good vase or some gorgeous tableware are things that will be used, admired and loved from day to day, rather than put away in a cupboard.
For vases, the names we’d suggest you look at first would be Lyngby Porcelain and Kahler, both Danish makers with a strong heritage and reputation, and we’ve some beautiful timeless pieces from both. Broste Copenhagen also has some more affordable and contemporary options, as well as large statement vases. And Lindform vases are small but perfectly formed, made by a Swedish family business.
Our favourite ceramics for a special gift:
Lyngby Porcelain Tura Jug Vase
Kähler Signature Vase Multi
Lindform Kyoto Vase Forest Green
See our blog on our favourite vases for more inspiration →
Another option for ceramics is tableware. Broste Copenhagen do some beautiful stoneware plates, bowls, mugs and teapots in a reactive blue or grey glaze. The tactile, organic finish makes each piece subtly different, and they can be mixed and matched with other pieces in the range, or with pieces the couple already have. Nordic Sea (the blue-grey finish) is our most popular, and the items we sell the most include the handleless mugs, teapots and cups. There are also some great (in both senses) big bowls which are described as being for salad, but can be used for pasta, fruit and more – they attract a lot of compliments and make a very, very good present.
Nordic Sea extra large stoneware bowl
Broste Nordic Sand Stoneware Oval Serving Plate
Broste Nordic Sea Stoneware Teapot Large
See more Broste Copenhagen Nordic Sea tableware →
Dottir also do some very striking serving bowls and platters in blues, grey and greens as part of their Samsurium range.
Dottir Samsurium Ceramic Serving Bowl Grey
Dottir Samsurium Ceramic Bowl On Foot Eucalyptus
For couples who cook and entertain
Continuing the kitchen and dining theme, if the couple you are buying for like cooking or entertaining, something stylish but practical might just be what you’re looking for.
If they like their coffee, an Eva Solo thermo cafetiere or sleek Stelton Arne Jacobsen coffee press would both make outstanding gifts. Stelton also has some other lovely pieces suitable for the occasion, such as the Cylinda-line champagne cooler or cocktail shaker, or the Brus carbonator.
The iconic Stoff Nagel candleholder also makes a great wedding present. The original design dates from 1960, but looks modern and striking in a choice of black, chrome or brass finishes – and works just as well on a sideboard or coffee table as it does on a dining table. Other dining-related gifts that are worth a look include the Broste Copenhagen Gracie tablecloth in eco linen, which has matching napkins, or Kahler Hammershoi salt and pepper grinders, which are both useful and very lovely to look at.
Our favourite kitchen gifts:
Eva Solo Nordic Kitchen Thermo Cafetiere Stainless Steel
Stelton Theo Teapot
Gracie linen table cloth and napkins
Stoff Nagel candleholders
Stelton Arne Jacobsen Cylinda-Line Champagne Cooler
Broste Olina Oak Chopping Board 57 x 14cm
See other sizes and styles of chopping board →
Kähler Hammershøi Grinder Indigo (other colours available)
The couple that really does ‘have everything’
The hardest couples to buy for are the ones who've lived together for years and genuinely have everything they need. In that case we say throw practicality to the wind and go for something for no other reason that it’s a lovely thing in and of itself. The kind of thing the recipients will love precisely because they don’t need it. Sometimes we’re so focused on the practicalities that we don’t just get something because it makes us happy – and that something makes a perfect gift. A couple of areas we’d suggest looking at for lovely things are art glass and design icons. Our art glass collection is full of pieces which have no purpose other than being lovely to look at. And our collection of Scandi design classics includes iconic pieces from makers including Stelton, Arne Jacobsen, Kay Bojesen, and more.
Our suggestions for art glass:
Iittala Birds By Toikka Kuulas Rain
Kosta Boda My Wide Life Gabba Gabba Hey Dark Green
Some Scandinavian design classics:
Kay Bojesen Small Teak Monkey by Rosendahl
Stelton Original Flower Watering Can
Kosta Boda Snowball Votive Set of 3
Something special which doesn’t blow the budget
And lastly, if you’re looking for a special present which doesn’t cost the earth, our suggestions would be a candle votive, or a mini vase. Kosta Boda and Orrefors do some iconic crystal votives which would make a good wedding gift, or have a look at the Dottir Alba set of 4 white ceramic ones, which are a particular favourite of ours. For mini vases, the Broste Copenhagen Amelie set of 3 is a good buy. But for a tiny vase that makes a big impact, any one of the Lindform pieces will tick all the boxes. We love them.
Kosta Boda Snowball Small 60mm
Orrefors Valentino Votive
Dottir Alba Flock 4 Ceramic Votive Candleholders
Broste Amalie Stoneware Vase Set of 3 Light Grey
Lindform Bari Vase Medium Grey
Lindform Line Vase Cut Medium Sand White
We can send it for you, too
Whatever you choose, we can gift wrap it and send it straight to the couple if you're not seeing them in person – and UK delivery is free over £60. If you really can't decide, we also do gift vouchers, which lets them choose for themselves.
SEE our full collection of wedding & engagement gifts →
