When I got engaged, we got a lot of bottles of wine, which stopped feeling special after a while.
If you're looking for something with a little more flair, look no further than the following gifts.
Shortly after my partner proposed to me a few years ago, we began planning our engagement parties — yes, parties plural. We wanted to celebrate with my family in Florida, their family in New Jersey, and our friends in Brooklyn. Needless to say, it was a lot of work.
We decided not to register for our engagement parties because we didn't love the idea of people feeling obligated to buy us fancy gifts twice. For the wedding, sure — we registered for a Vitamix if anyone's wondering. But for the engagement parties, we just wanted to be with our friends and family, celebrating this exciting next step we chose to take together.
I'll be honest — money is always a great gift for a newly engaged couple. The cost of a wedding these days could make your head explode, and it's likely that your gift will go toward helping them build a budget. But if you want to get them a physical gift, it's best to go with something relatively inexpensive they can enjoy together.
Save the big gifts for the wedding once they've registered for the things they really want and need.
Here are the best gifts for any newly engaged couple:
Test out your teamwork with a whimsical puzzle. Le Puzz puzzles are a fun bonding activity that also makes for a decorative home piece after it's fully put together.
A chic jewelry case is a classy way to protect any of your glamorous valuables. Crafted in Italian leather, this jewelry case is travel-friendly and can fit a week's worth of jewelry.
Enjoy a celebratory glass of champagne with this insulated, stemless flute. Intended for champagne or prosecco, the flutes keep beverages cold for up to nine hours and hot for three hours.
The competitive partner will always be game for this unique tic-tac-toe to play on family game night. This fun engagement gift comes custom-made with their initials, making each win feel more personal.
A keepsake box to store memories of their special day
This keepsake box stores each precious memory of the couple's love story from their engagement party to their happily ever after. The personalized organizer features drawers, files, fabric bags, and envelopes to preserve your items forever.
For the couple that loves to host, this elongated cutting board lets their charcuterie spread appear even more aesthetically pleasing and irresistible than before.
An instant camera for capturing life's sweetest moments
The fanciest DSLR can't beat the novelty and instant gratification of this Instax camera, which produces mini prints to slip in wallets and hang on the wall. Personally, we plan to pick a couple of these up for our wedding day so guests can take photos of each other and bring them home!
It's becoming more and more common to have the top tier of a wedding cake preserved for the couple to eat on their one year anniversary. Give them something beautiful to serve it on at their engagement party, or to use for all their dinner parties and family gatherings in between.
Whiskey is a way of life for some couples. You know the type that likes to enjoy a night cap at the end of a long day. A nice decanter set with gender-neutral glasses as an engagement party gift will make this couple very happy indeed.
A literal wedding planner for the organized couple
If I've learned anything from wedding planning over the past year, it's that checklists are your best friend. This planner from the queen of planners, Erin Condren, includes handy lists and built-in timelines to take the guesswork out of wedding planning. It's not for everyone, but if you happen to know that one partner or the other is highly organized and loves making lists (*raises hand quietly*), they'll be grateful for this thoughtful engagement party gift.
As a Christmas gift one year, I got my partner a Grafomap of the exact spot where they proposed to me. It totally blew them away! The maps can be customized with different colors, zoomed in or out as far as you want, and you can even include a special date on your map.
Assuming they live together, they'll both be able to take advantage of this little desktop calendar to keep track of their days — but more importantly, they'll be able to reflect on all the sweet memories you chose for them to see again. Photos can easily be pulled from Facebook and Instagram to fill the calendar out.
If they haven't had an engagement photoshoot yet, consider a Flytographer gift card that will help them find and hire an amazing local photographer. The most popular gift card costs $500 and includes a 90-minute photography session and 45 photos. The most affordable gift card costs $250; you get a 30-minute shooting session and 15 photos to treasure for years to come.
If they've been living together for a while and you just can't think of anything to gift at an engagement party, a beautiful bouquet of flowers is always a safe bet.
Date night doesn't always have to mean going out for a fancy dinner; sometimes it's just about spending a night in with a pile of takeout or taking the time to cook a nice meal together. Get them a cookbook that portions out ingredients for two so they know just what to make and how much to buy at the grocery store.
A Champagne-scented candle that's just as good as the real thing
If wine isn't quite their thing, a gift set of loose-leaf tea might be the perfect alternative as an engagement gift. It feels special and celebratory, but you can still operate a vehicle safely after having a few cups.
A gift card to pick out a luxurious set of sheets that matches their decor
Give the newly engaged couple new sheets — and the freedom to personalize prints, sets, and sizes — with a gift card box to the internet's favorite bedding startup, Brooklinen. Our editor in Chief, Ellen Hoffman, calls them one of the best purchases she's ever made.
A custom stamp for all their invitations and thank-you notes
Planning a wedding includes quite a bit of snail mail — invitations and thank-you notes, for starters — and a custom stamp can make the process go by much faster. Each gift set includes a self-inking stamper, one black ink cartridge, and one gift certificate that allows them to customize a stamp plate online.
There's a chance they had an engagement photoshoot shortly after the proposal, but even if they didn't or weren't able to, it's not too hard to find a sweet photo of them together on social media to be framed. With Framebridge, all you have to do is upload the digital photo to the website, pick a frame and frame size, and they'll do the actual printing, framing, and shipping for you.
A monogrammed passport and luggage tag set for frequent travelers
For their honeymoon and all their future travels, they'll definitely make use of this set. Either split the engagement gift between them, or purchase one for each person — either way, you can't go wrong with a simple and useful gift like this.
Pop the Champagne ... bears, that is! They're probably going to be drinking a lot of Champagne in the upcoming months as they celebrate their engagement, so gift them these sparkling Champagne candies for a sweet, edible change.
A candle that brings a romantic ambiance to any room
Candles might be a common gift, but Otherland's are among the best ones to give. That's because the scents are unique, the packaging is gorgeous, and everything down to the matchbox message — the engagement-themed one says "The Perfect Match" — is thoughtfully designed.
When my partner and I got engaged, someone sent us a set of these mugs with our avatars printed on the front and the year we met on the back. I'm not one for kitschy gifts, but honestly these were too cute. The idea itself was so thoughtful and sweet, and the mugs themselves are actually really great quality.
A book with ideas to add spontaneity to date nights
This book can help couples of any relationship stage liven up their date nights with fun experiences and adventures, like cooking a delicious apple pie blindfolded and recreating your grandparents' first date. It comes with 50 ideas that range from $0-$50, but they can all be modified to fit within their budget. The pages also leave room for them to add photos and journal about each experience.
Their entry to the perfect smart-home setup starts with this Echo Dot, which will let them use their Alexa enabled devices with a simple voice command.
