Your wedding day is the most romantic, unforgettable and exciting day of your life. Having married my wife, Elizabeth in January of this year, I can certainly confirm this. This wonderful day is the culmination of months of hard work, but being a typical example of the male species, my contribution was to a much lesser degree than my wife's. It is at times like these that women assume the mantle of 'Officer in Charge' and the men under their command are given clear directions and left in no doubt as to the consequences, should they fail to deliver.
After all the arrangements had been made for the ceremony and the reception I thought that everything else would be 'plain sailing'. The wedding list; a joint decision and great fun. We toured a major department store making notes of gifts that we liked, gave the details to a wedding gift advisor and that was that. The only real concern in my life was the fact that my football team were having a poor season. Then the bombshell was dropped; I, according to the wedding books and my wife to be, was solely responsible for arranging gifts for the bridesmaids, ushers and best man. I set about this task with the words 'solely responsible' ringing in my ears.
My typical day starts with a cup of tea and a bowl of cereal whilst reading the morning paper; but now I found myself pouring over the pages of wedding books. What type of gifts does the groom give to the attendants? According to the books they should be neither grand or expensive, simply a thank you for their contribution to your wedding day. The suggestions for bridesmaids were - a small piece of silver jewellery, an initialed handkerchief, a framed print or drawing of the church, a personalized enamel box and a silver photograph frame. For the pageboys, a pen, a pair of cufflinks, a tankard and a silver photograph frame. For the best man and ushers, a tankard, a pen, a key ring and a silver photograph frame.
I could suddenly see the light at the end of the tunnel. One gift was applicable to all the attendants, the photograph frames of course. Feeling extremely proud of myself for finding the easy answer, I informed my future wife of my monumental decision. My feeling of euphoria quickly turned to the depths of depression; the rules had now changed. I discovered that although I was solely responsible, she had read the same books and I was accused of putting no thought into my task, and anyway she wanted them to wear the gift on the wedding day. My flippant remark suggesting they could carry the photograph frames and balance their drinks on them was met with a wall of silence. I was informed in no uncertain terms that more was expected of the director of a company that specialized in silver ware design.
I decided to remove the golf clubs from the boot of the car and pay a visit to the local shopping centre. Three hours of wandering from shop to shop produced nothing. It occurred to me that my previous attitude was wrong and I now realized the importance of a special gift for the attendants which would not only remind them of their part in our wedding but also show our gratitude for their efforts. I sought sanctuary at my best mans house, who also happened to be a fellow director of the London Cufflink Company. We sat down and designed cufflinks and a tie pin for the groom, the best man, ushers and pageboys. This was quickly followed by two pendants and a charm bracelet for the bridesmaids.
Although I have relayed the incidents concerning gifts for the wedding attendants in a light hearted manner, there is a serious side to it. It is so easy for wedding books to make suggestions for gifts for the attendants, but where do you buy them from without breaking the bank? Our wedding jewellery was not designed for other peoples weddings, it was designed for mine. If you are experiencing the same problems as I did, visit our web site and forward your comments.
Director - The London Cufflink Company Ltd