Gift for my fiances cousin's wedding?

tiffy*to*be

Hi everyone!
I was recently informed that I am attending my fiance's cousin's wedding. I have checked her registry and virtually everything has been bought (obviously her wedding is the 27th of this month!) except some towels.I feel it would be awkward to buy towels for a girl i've only met once. My future mother in law sent in our rsvp a while ago and just mentioned it to me last week, she said towels are more of a bridal shower gift. I've been thinking about what I can get the new couple that would be useful and inexpensive. I managed to come up with the idea of stationary. I just wanted to know if what I picked out is suitable? I would appreciate any ideas or feedback. I'd like to order the set today since it takes about a week to ship and I want to make sure i'll have time in case i need to return it etc. The link is below...

http://www.americanstationery.com/shopping/prod_detail/main.asp?pid=8

I would have them custom monogrammed of course. Also if you think this is okay would you buy ivory or white?

Thanks in advance!

ECook25

I think those are very pretty, but I would mention a few caveats about giving someone monogrammed stationery.  The first is whether or not you are sure she is changing her name - the monogram might not actually be their new initials.  The second is whether they might have already chosen stationery on their own, perhaps to match their invitations or something.

I happen to love stationery myself and am always excited to receive it, but not everyone is, and for the reasons I mention above, it might not be the most useful gift.

If you are unsure about what to give her, how about a gift card to one of the places at which she is registered?

rlavach

I know that this can vary by region, but why don't you just give her cash? Then they can buy whatever they'd like. If you're not a fan of that, then I agree with giving a gift card to one of the stores she is registered at. Although stationary is nice & I do occasionally use it, I don't think I'd use it all.

I was just recently married and of all the gifts we received, 99% were cash/checks. The only physical gifts we received were 2 pairs of A/E sunglasses and a gift card to BBB. We appreciated the cash.

tiffy*to*be

Oh, I had never considered a gift card! Thats a wonderful idea. Thank you! And I'm sure she is changing her last name, I had already considered that and discreetly asked/confirmed this.
As for the cash idea, I completely understand that cash is preferable, I just don't think it would be appropriate in this situation. Thanks for your advice!

LeiselEB

I actually would be fine receiving towels from anyone - I know that a lot of people like to buy personal gifts, but honestly I'd rather receive practical items than something unnecessary that I didn't register for. If they're registered for them and haven't received, they're probably hoping that someone will get the towels for them.

I like picking out my own stationery, and wouldn't like getting that as a gift, but that's just me. 

You could just give cash

hoffse

I don't think the towels are a problem but if you feel awkward about it, I'd do a gift card to the store with the towels - that way they can buy them on their own if they don't get them.

angryangry

Stationary is a fairly personal thing (sort of like picking out wall decor for someone else's home), so I probably wouldn't buy this as a gift unless I new the person well and knew what their taste was like. I think cash, gift card, and/or towels would be best here.

Bonzo2011

From what I hear, lots of people don't seem to like buying towels. I don't know why not, but I guess there's something there that makes it weird for people. For my friends' wedding last summer, my mom asked what they really wanted off their registry, and I told her the towels! I had just been at the friends' new apartment and they were using old beach towels from when they were kids because they didn't have ANY yet. Thanks to my parents, after the wedding they had new towels Anyway, the point is towels may be boring to buy, but they're really practical and the couple really does need them!

Flowerstar1023

Yea, I don't get the objection against purchasing towels. How is that different than sheets or dishware? They're housewares.

I really wouldn't want stationary from someone who didn't know me well. That, in my mind, is a very personal gift. Just get the towels, cash, or a gift card to one of the stores they're registered at and leave it at that. The couple clearly wants towels and likes the store they're registered at so you can't go wrong.

meganb1977

We don't like buying towels for wedding gifts either but put some on our registry because it was one of the the things we thought we could use, and we did end up getting some of them.  I like the idea of a gift card  so they could get the towels or something else they wanted, or even better a cash gift which would be much appreciated if they are trying to buy a piece of furniture or appliance for their home.

librababy

If they registered for the towels, then they need them.  I would get the towels.  Fi is really hoping we get a few of the towels we registered for.  If it's a personal thing for you not to want to buy towels for someone you don't know, give her a gift card to the store since cash is not the way you want to go.