A guide to helping you choose a one of a kind wedding gift to give to a couple you love.
Wedding Gifts have changed a lot over the years.
Many couples have moved away from the idea of having a traditional gift list for their guests to buy from, often favouring a contribution to their honeymoon, a charity donation or even stating that the wedding is a ‘giftless’ event.
There are still some people who are very traditional and like to give a physical gift (when I got married in 2023 we had several guests who were insistent on it) and that is where a gift illustration can come in, a one of a kind, personalised gift that means something to the couple or a keepsake from their wedding day.
So, if you are the sort of person who likes to give a gift, here are some of the most popular Wedding gift illustrations ideas:
- Venue Illustration, personalised with the couples names and date below
- The lyrics from the couple first dance
- An illustration of the flowers/bouquet from the wedding
- A drawing of the couple from their wedding day
- A road map of the venue coordinates (often in a heart shape)
- Landmarks that are significant to the couple / map of their relationship
Some of these examples you can have prepared in advance for a gift on the day, while others you may need to wait till after the Wedding to confirm a few of the details, so keep that in mind.
Below I have included some examples of hand drawn Wedding Gifts I’ve created over the years to help give you some more ideas.
Gift Examples
Leesham & Danielle - Fine liner and watercolour illustration of All Saints' Church, Tudley. Danielle's sister who commissioned this, also requested that the colours featured reflected the colours in bloom at the venue at the time of the wedding.
Alyce & Craig - Fine liner and watercolour illustration of The Moonraker Hotel. The Bride's brother who commissioned this, requested the white flower detail on the arch as it was on the day.
Simon & Becky - Watercolour and fine liner illustration of the Casa Santonja in Alicante. This was a really challenging venue to draw as it is covered in so much foliage, but the contrast in the soft watercolours and hard line from the pen work well together.
Jamie & Emma - This was a very light and bright building illustration, to capture the sunny and warm vibes of the wedding at the Finca Es Cabas, Spain. This illustration was created using fine liner and watercolours.
The Garner-Mayos - The Over Barn. The lady who commissioned this knew that the wedding was going to be colourful in its theme and wanted the bunting to match the colours the couple had chosen. They really popped against the detailed fine liner drawing of the barn.
Charlie and Katy - Flower Arch - This was another post wedding gift and the illustration is of the flower arch in front of which the couple got married. I created this using watercolours, fine liner and pencils to bring out the finer details.
To find out more about my gift illustration or commission your own, click here!
About the author:
I'm Chris, an artist and wedding stationer based in Whitstable, Kent.
I've been designing bespoke illustrated wedding stationery and gifts since 2016.
All illustrations featured within this article are my own.