Brides and Grooms ask

It's been several months since my last post (Dec 08 in fact) and while I apologise for my lengthy absence from blogging, I'm back in the saddle and ready to ride. Er, post that is.

Yesterday I was asked by a friend if all brides and grooms exchange gifts just prior to their wedding. While not "all" brides and grooms exchange gifts, certainly some do, and those gifts run the gamut from grooms gifting their brides with jewelry to wear for the wedding, to brides gifting grooms with a wedding morning massage.

There really are no set rules, no specific dollar amount to be spent, no special plans that "must be" made. The gifts could be as simple as a favorite photo of the two of you framed in a lovely leather frame, suitable for the office. It might be a book by a favored author with a loving inscription inside the front cover. Then again, budgets permitting, a groom might gift his bride with a stunning pair of diamond earrings to wear for their wedding, or a bride might gift her groom with a watch inscribed with their wedding date or some words of love.

The point here is that it's the thought that counts, not the dollar amount or making this gift exchange about yet another thing on the list that has to be attended to. Give a gift if your budget and time allow it and your heart so moves you. Give it the day of the rehearsal, or after the rehearsal dinner, or the morning of the wedding, or have one of your attendants deliver your gift while your spouse-to-be dresses for the ceremony.

Looking for something a bit more intimate? Consider exchanging gifts in a private moment right after the ceremony before continuing on to the reception. This is your first official gift to your husband or wife and as such will have even more significance. I happen to be a woman who believes a few heartfelt, handwritten words carry more weight than gold. So my favorite gift from my husband will forever remain the wedding vows he wrote and signed. To this day that remains my most cherished gift from the man who is himself ... the greatest gift.

Lori Lamb
Love U Mean It