5 out-of-the-box wedding gifts

Sticking to buying off a couple’s wedding registry is always OK: whatever you buy, it’s something your soon-to-be-wed friends have preselected and therefore already want. But if you want to gift your friends something truly one-of-a-kind, you won’t find it listed on a big box store registry. Etsy is of course the go-to for custom-made anything, so we asked Etsy’s Merchandising Manager Emily Bidwell for her top picks of gift ideas a couple will truly treasure.

Sound wave art

Gift your couple friends a print with a custom message that looks super, super cool. Take anything from a quote about love to the couples wedding song or vows and get it turned into an art motif. Every sound creates a pattern of compressed airwaves, and the latest trend is to turn these patterns into art using digital technology to see what the sound waves look like. “It becomes really personal and someone of an heirloom,” Bidwell says.

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Custom dolls

“Another trend we are seeing are customizable dolls made to look like the couple,” Bidwell says. “The cool thing about it is that the couple can add on to their collection as their family grows, like if they get a pet or have kids.”

Copper everything

“People are shifting their mason jar palettes over to copper,” Bidwell tells us. She’s seeing copper trending in all sorts of various forms: lighting, dinnerware, pots and pans…Her picks for wedding gifts: copper barware like Moscow mule cocktail cups or high-end coffee equipment.

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DNA mapping art

“A lot of people are doing [DNA test] 23andMe, so a great gift is to offer that and then a beautiful customized watercolor wall art print,” Bidwell says. Seller Sandra Culliton, who studies science, takes genetic coding (including in the 23andMe results), and turns it into a genomic map.

Ceramic homeware

Bidwell says people are really searching our products that don’t look factory made and she’s seen a rise in searches for ceramic homeware, such as plate sets, vases and pitchers. “They want something that looks handmade, beautiful and unique,” she says.

Follow Emily on Twitter: @EmLaurence