Custom Gift Registry

Following our August 7, 2010 nuptials, my husband and I packed up all of our beautiful wedding gifts in boxes where they would wait for us in my parents’ basement until our return from a four month stint of living in Arizona. Even though it was sad to leave all those beautiful gifts behind in South Bend, it was like all of my showers all over again when I returned home the week before Christmas and re-opened all of them. I had just as much nostalgia and excitement opening them for the second time because of how wonderfully personal most of our gifts were! I had forgotten just how uniquely “ours” our primary registry at Orange Tree Gifts really was. From the ultra-custom place settings that I hand selected from a rainbow of color options to the gorgeous platter that sets out in my kitchen today with our names and wedding date on it, our registry had our names written all over it. Literally!

In a world of “Made in China” and bulk–produced goods, it is wonderful and rare to have so much personality in a wedding registry. I am so grateful for the gifts that have become priceless mementos of our special day thanks to the customization available at Orange Tree.

Owner and artist, Jamie Helman, created a custom platter for us that will forever be a treasure reading “Come Fly With Me” (my husband is a pilot and we entered our reception to the Frank Sinatra version of this classic love song) and our wedding date across the bottom. It doesn’t get much more personal than that! We have a set of eight wonderful monogrammed napkin rings to go with our Orange Tree-purchased cloth napkins, as well. Our crystal was selected and special ordered for us from an extensive line of the finest crystal. We had a major role in every part of the registry, and as the bride and groom, that’s the way it should always be!

The personalized gifts at Orange Tree are truly limitless! I bought my bridesmaids Pashmina scarves, which were monogrammed and worn on the wedding day, as well as personalized stationery, which is always a beautiful and timeless gift. All of my wedding jewelry was bought at Orange Tree, and it was made custom for me by jewelry artist, Terri Blaising of Baubles Jewelry line. For my two best friends who helped with various elements of the wedding, I bought charm necklaces on printed cards that read “Honorary Bridesmaid”, and the beautiful sentiments on the card couldn’t have been more perfect for my girls!

For parents and other important participants, I opted for Potter’s House creations. From monogrammed coasters to large, personalized keepsake boxes, there is something for everyone, in every budget. My husband was even able to find some great gifts for his groomsmen and ushers in the men’s department! Some recycled bike accessories for his bike-enthusiast brother and a Notre Dame Bottle Opener for his Irish-loving usher were perfect tokens of appreciation. 

I can’t believe it’s been eight months since our wedding. Planning can be such a blur and time truly flies by when you are in the heat of planning, but take the time to select the personal gifts for your registry and your wedding participants. You will be so glad that you did!