She's stood by you through thick and thin, and now she's even going to do that in satin, chiffon and high heels. If that isn't friendship, what is?

She's not a girly-girl. Never has been. She doesn't squeal with dismay at a broken nail, she doesn't grow faint at the sight of mismatched clothing. What do you get her? No perfume, pedicures or precious pampering for this gal, what she wants is something practical.

Well, maybe a little pocket-knife (and tweezers and screwdriver, etc) isn't 100% practical -- but it's gadget enough to warm her un-girly heart. We hope she'll forgive you the pink ...

(If you're interested in more information on this engraved pocket tool, follow the link!)

Money clip are one of those gifts that show up all the time on websites and in catalogues aimed at bridal couples. Looking for a gift for the men? How about a personalized golf ball, a silver flask, or a money clip? They're everywhere.

What this gift idea may lack in originality, it makes up for with its saying. It's a nice reminder, that the truly important, really valuable things in life cost nothing -- the love you share, for example. A sweet, romantic notion for the groom. For the father of the bride, who may be getting a little dizzy at how quickly his bank balance is receding, it might be just more than a little ironic. Could be the poor man will soon be thinking that the only things he ever will own from now on will be the ones that don't cost money.

Will you give it to him? Probably depends on his sense of humor ...

Five brides are competing to be the Modern Bride of the Year and grace the cover of Modern Bride magazine. Not a finalist? You still have a chance to win something: how about a $2,000 Macy's gift card?

That would certainly help with your wedding budget. Five ways you could spend a $2,000 gift card at Macy's:

1. Your dress - Macy's offers a nice selection of affordable wedding dresses.
2. Wedding party gifts - You could buy some nice "thank you" gifts for your brides maids.
3. Groom's gift - Surprise your groom with a thoughtful item just for him.
4. Housewares - Think of the great home or kitchen gadgets you could get.
5. Honeymoon - Buy yourself a nice honeymoon wardrobe.

We're certain there are many more ways to enjoy $2,000 at Macy's. So go ahead and enter the contest. Maybe you'll be a lucky winner!

Your eyes keep shifting between your budget spreadsheet and your potential guest list. You love your friends and family -- all 250 of them -- but at 35 bucks a head for dinner, you can't afford to invite them all. You could save thousands of dollars by cutting your guest list in half, but how do you decide who makes and who misses the cut? This part of wedding planning is no fun.

So here's an idea: instead of an expensive, fancy feast that blows your whole wedding budget, ask your guests to bring a dish to share instead of a gift. Provide guests who travel or guests who simply don't cook with a list of pre-made items that can be bought at your local grocery store, and appoint someone to field all the phone calls about what to bring. Sure there will be some repeats, but with several dozen guests, you'll surely get a nice variety for your buffet.

Make sure your invitations are clear about this. "In lieu of gifts, the bride and groom request that you bring your favorite dish to serve at our reception buffet. Call Mandy, the Maid of Honor, at 555-5555 with questions." Then you can take the money you saved on food and buy your own wedding gifts, so you get exactly what you need and want. Encourage guests to include the recipe with the dish they bring, so that you can create a wedding cookbook. You can even post the recipes online to share with all the guests.

We all love to be pampered, though not all of us make the time or spend the money to do it often. That's why we're always a fan of giving a gift that practically begs the recipient to slow down for a moment and relax. We like these gifts even more when the company behind them uses environmentally friendly practices in creating the products, all of which is why we love k. hall designs.

From bath salts and shower gels, lotions and soaps, to candles and diffusers and sheet sprays, k. hall has something for everyone. The products come in a variety of intriguing scents, like black currant, orange amber, and moss, but there are also plenty of scents that you know you'll love, like cocoa almond and lavender.



Aside from the fact that they're pretty and smell yummy, these items are something you can feel good about giving. k. hall designs is a family-owned and run company, and they produce their products as locally and naturally as possible -- no animal products or petroleum is used, and they don't test on animals. Seriously, who wouldn't love to receive one of these products as a token of thanks?

Looking for a great gift for your bridesmaids? Jewellery is something that most women appreciate so you can't really go wrong with a bit of bling, but for something just a little bit unusual, why not get you bridesmaids a set of girly cufflinks?

Yes, we know that cufflinks are usually for men, but we love these pretty cufflinks for women from Shefaly. Made from Swarovski and Austrian crystal they are seriously glamorous and sexy and add a fabulous finishing touch to a chic outfit. They'd be great in the office, livening up a formal suit, and would probably draw a lot of admiring looks and remarks.

Here's another use: if you're planning on wearing a sophisticated and sleek suit to your wedding, instead of a gown, then wear the cufflinks to add a dash of glitz and sparkle to your outfit.

There's a large range to choose from, with loads of different designs and colours, and they are very affordable with prices from around £27.

There's nothing new about iced wedding biscuits and there's no doubt that they do make great wedding favors. But how about an iced biscuit bouquet? It's certainly a fun and quirky idea and while it isn't really suitable for a traditional and classic wedding (can you just imagine the bride swooshing down the aisle holding a bunch of biccies?) it could be quite a funky bouquet alternative for the offbeat bride in a fun and informal setting. Well, why not?

Okay, maybe that is stretching the imagination just a tad but the idea of sending a bouquet of biscuits as a thank you gift is actually lovely. It's always nice to have a delicious biscuit with that mid-morning cup of coffee and how cool would it be to munch on a iced wedding-gown or shoe or top hat? Lots of fun, we think. Another good idea is to use them as funky table centrepieces, and they can do double duty as favors too.

There are a number of companies that supply biscuit bouquets, ( a quick Internet search will bring up a good list) but we really like these ones from Biccies. The biscuits are handmade, they look good, they taste good and at £44.99 they're not too destructive to your bank account.

A night in a honeymoon suite can spoil you. Your own bed just doesn't seem as nice anymore after you've spent a night in the most luxurious linens your skin has ever touched.

If you can't stop daydreaming about resting your head on those pillows again, you don't have to move into a luxury hotel. You can find the bedding you loved in that honeymoon suite online at Pacific Pillows. This website sells the same bed linens featured in all the fanciest hotel suites in the world.

Order them as a wedding gift to yourself, or stick them on your registry as one of your big ticket items. After all, a newlywed couple deserves a welcoming bed.

Move over the shoe-a-holics, hello the clutch-a-holic! We've recently found a fantastic Etsy designer who makes the most gorgeous little clutch bags that are a must-have for any girl, never mind just those about to tie the knot. But let's be honest - a wedding is a fabulous reason to spoil yourself with a gorgeous and stylish bag, whether you're the bride, a bridesmaid or just a wedding guest looking for that perfect finishing touch. Or why not give these to your bridesmaids as thank you gifts?

Red Ruby Rose makes her stunning bags by hand, using beautiful fabrics and lining each bag with Dupion silk in a complementary colour. Priced from $58 to $80, depending on the design, Red Ruby Rose ships worldwide so there's no excuse not to treat yourself!

Have a quick browse through our gallery for a peek at some of these divine little bags and don't forget to visit her site for even more bag-candy.

Cream, navy and gold is a sophisticated color theme for you wedding. It can be preppy, masculine and/or glamorous - it all depends on the details you choose. Want to learn how to make it your own? Read on!

A beautiful and practical way to wrap a gift within a gift! Furoshiki are simply pieces of fabric, slightly more rectangle than square, generally with a pattern on each side. They come in any number of sizes, depending on their use -- which can be anything from carrying home some groceries to elegant wrapping for a wedding gift. In fact, we've written about the idea of wrapping gifts in fabric before, but we didn't know we were tapping into an old Japanese tradition that's coming to life again in these waste-conscious days.

When you pick out your wedding china, are you looking for something classic? Something elegant and fancy, or something funky and different? If you tend toward the funky, you'll love Orion Glassware Collection's handblown Mexican glassware.
Whether you're looking for glasses for your wedding registry, or to use for your rehearsal, reception, or bridal showers, you should definitely have a look at these glasses. They are made from recycled soda bottles, so they're eco-friendly as well as beautiful.

Each glass is handblown, so no two are exactly alike, and they come in several colors, so you can select the color that best matches your wedding or home decor. Flip through the gallery below for some examples of these artistic pieces. To order, visit this page.

Are you looking for a fun favor to give your guests, or are you a wedding guest trying to find the perfect little something to add to a gift for the couple? Either way, you'd be smart to check out Placetile Designs -- their Erasable Ceramic Bottle Stoppers have been shown on HGTV and been named as "the best little gift under $20" on numerous lists.

Placetile Designs offer the aforementioned bottle stoppers, as well as ceramic place cards and wine tags -- all are ceramic and are meant to be written on, erased, and written on again, which means you can write a little something on it for the wedding, like the date, or the recipient's name, and then later they can write something more useful on it.

Want to see how versatile these items can be? Check out the gallery for a few examples, but be sure to check out Placetile's website to see everything they have to offer. You might have to get an extra one for yourself!

With 'going green' becoming more and more important in all areas of life, including weddings, here's a gift that ticks all the right boxes: practical, earth-friendly, stylish, unique and affordable. It's called the Wedding Plantabox and it's available from Not On The High Street. com for £40.00. The box is stencilled with the names of the bridal couple, as well as their wedding date, and is planted with seasonal flowers.

Also, the smaller plantaboxes, planted with lavender, herbs or a mini cone, would make wonderful rustic table centrepieces and venue decorations. The boxes can be stencilled with table numbers or any other short message and, best of all, can be kept long after the wedding is over. Fantastic keepsakes of a fabulous day.

Here in North America, we have decided that it's tacky to ask for money at your wedding. This is a little ironic since by the standards of some other cultures, the whole North American Big White Wedding Industry is itself an exercise in the very tacky. All this proves is that "tacky" is relative. What would have horrified etiquette mavens of another time is perfectly acceptable today; what seems awful to us is fine to another culture. And you know what? No one's right, no one's wrong. It is what it is.

Enter the "Buy our Honeymoon" website. Now, even those among us who actually did ask her guests to contribute to her honeymoon (there's at least on one staff here) found this name a bit, well, tacky. But when we investigated a little further, we were pleasantly surprised.