New Hope Soap Blog

We've all been there -- invited to a wedding and not sure what to give the couple.

In some cases we don't know the couple's personal tastes very well, while in others we want to give something totally unique and meaningful.

To help you in your search for the perfect buy, here's our list of the top 20 most popular wedding gift ideas for the couple.

1. Stand-up Mixer

The iconic stand-up mixer is a very popular registry and gift item for weddings. With all the great Pinterest recipes available, many couple's want to try their hand at baking, making homemade ice cream or pastas, and more. Plus, it just looks good on the kitchen counter.

2. Wall Clock

It's handy to know the time and wall clocks are often more than a timepiece. Choose from a variety of different looks -- traditional, nautical, funky, Victorian, whimsical, and more!

3. Recipe Book

Find a food-specific title dedicated to a favorite dish or ingredient you know the couple love.

Personalized gifts make the most Unique Wedding Presents and are also deeply appreciated by any bride and groom. There are several things that you can do to help your next wedding couple remember your gift above all the others.

Put together a basket. Figure out the bride's color scheme in the new home (usually brides love to talk about future decorating plans so this should not be hard!), and start creating a basket with that theme.

Have you discovered Etsy yet! Originally started as a site to sell handmade arts and crafts items, it has grown to be so much more! Now Etsy is an online  shopping destination that is home to everything from best friend bracelets and infinity scarves to antique tea cups and colorful hobo bags, Etsy appears to have everything and anything you could ever want, while still staying true to its origins, lots of handcrafted products for sale by the artisans who so lovingly and artfully practice their crafts.

Almost anything can be used as a wedding favor, as long as it's heart-shaped, or you tie a cute saying to it, or label it with "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, August 2014," or whatever you want to say about your wedding day. Here are 100 wacky and fun wedding favor ideas that people have actually used! Check out this Pinterest Pin Board.

Wedding Favors - Hygiene

1. Nail files
2. Chap stick
3. Sunscreen
4. Lotion
5. Wet wipes
6. Hand soap
7. Shaped soap
8. Hand sanitizer

While shopping for a unique wedding presents, make sure that it is something that they will always cherish. For example, if you're a photographer, utilize your expertise to frame a black and white picture of an abstract part of the special day, like a picture of the chapel of the church. These will hold true meanings. Alternatively, you can also create a painting from a picture that you may have seen in their social media accounts. If you know the couple particularly well, you can also create a scrapbook showcasing their relationships with their friends and family.

In the seas of wedding gifts that wedding couples are bound to get, how will yours stack up? Is it going to be ho-hum, run-of-the-mill and as-expected or will yours make a lasting impression? If you’re looking for ways to make a splash with your gift, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, a little creativity may just do the trick. Here are some creative wedding gifts to consider:

Personalized Towels

What better way to remind the newlyweds of starting their lives together than personalized bath towels. Whether it’s embossed with a monogram or names or embellished with graphic or custom logo, personalized towels are thoughtful tokens that will be greatly appreciated.

By Linda Hilliard - Author of the Book
E-mail Your Weight Away - Diet Dialoges for Women

I remember when Kate Middleton was preparing to marry Prince William and a newswoman observed that like so many brides, Kate was trying to lose a few pounds. I was shocked. Kate seems (to me) to be extremely thin and hardly in need of “Shedding a few pounds.”

There’s no denying that brides often go on diets before their weddings. In fact wedding dresses purchased in January may need to be taken in a bit before the June nuptials.

Watching my own two daughters walk down the aisle, I totally understand the desire to be thinner for that special day (hey, mother-of the brides here also shed a few pounds for the occasions).

HOWEVER, when it comes to dieting for a wedding, I would caution brides (and the entire wedding party) not to succumb to “I have to be stick thin to be beautiful” thinking.

Shopping for bridesmaids gifts can be a special experience for a bride-to-be.  The bridesmaid favors allow the bride a very special opportunity to show how much she appreciates her girlfriends and how grateful she is to be sharing this special day with them!

A heartfelt, thoughtful gift can make all the difference in the world and a personalized gift shows you care all the more. Why not indulge your bridesmaids with personalized engraved scented soaps and candles from our extensive collection at New Hope Soap.

Recently the benefits of tea has been all the rage in news articles, blogs, daytime talk shows and more. You can’t go a week without some self proclaimed health guru extolling the benefits of green tea extract, or black tea extract or white tea extract. Pills abound for these and other extracts like coffee and red wine, all proclaiming to be the cure for aging, or heart disease, or some other health problem.

What is the average person to think? Tea in general has been one of the world’s most popular beverages for centuries. Tea has become ingrained in cultures throughout the world in daily life, in ceremonies, and in popular culture.

When it comes to bridesmaid gifts, some of the most well received are personalized items like engraved jewelry, a personalized robe, beauty products, scented soaps, and candles. Adding that personal touch to your bridesmaids’ gifts shows then that the gifts come from your heart, and shows your girlfriends how much they mean to you and how much you love and appreciate them for being by your side on your wedding day! Here are some ideas for personalized gifts for your bridesmaids:

For the Love of Lavender

Lavender and other shades of purple are on the list of top wedding color trend predictions for 2014. With that in mind, you may want to surprise your bridesmaids with our 6.5 ounce signature bars of Lavender Mist soap and a matching jar candle.

The signature bars are triple milled, which means that they’ll provide a luxurious lather and last a long time. They’ll also smell amazing. The candle, on the other hand, is made with a white soy blend, cotton wick, lavender and bergamot scents. So you can count on it to burn evenly and retain its fragrance for a long time too.