Worst wedding presents ever....

[gwynne]

And I've never comprehended that guests are supposed to buy their own beverages at a wedding.

Just goes to show that different areas have different cultural rules.

There's no statute of limitations on post replies, but the zombie post bumped is a little old.
I guess one can hope that the next wedding reception you're invited to will be generous with beverages.

 

[aprilchem]

We have an awful gift that has been making it's way through my family for the last 20 years. My oldest cousin received this set of a cookie jar/salt and pepper shakers that are shaped like cats. Perhaps it wouldn't be bad if you were a cat lover, but the things are just hideous (think dollar store quality paint job). A few years later when her sister got married she gave it to her as a shower gift and labeled the box "The Ugly Cat" I believe it has now been re-gifted to 11 cousins. Each time the giver writes a message on the box for the new recipient, so now the box is covered with notes. The joke is always how long you will have to keep it and who will wind up with it last. My one cousin married just two weeks before I did, so she made out pretty well. I had the thing in my attic for a few years.

My in-laws gave us a gift like that, except they didn't tell us what it was. It was a half-used candle that had made its way through the family for years, but we thought it was just a half-used candle so we burned it during a power outage. A couple of years later they asked us why we hadn't passed it on and were mad when we told them it was gone.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't recall what it was, but it arrived poorly packed and broken. The giver offered to replace it and did.

Our favorite was our kitchen aid mixer. Still going strong 16 years later.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I don't know if it was the WORST, but it was certainly odd. A family of 5 was invited. They RSVP'd. We included them in our head count and paid for the caterer. They no-showed. Apparently they decided going to Carowinds would be a better use of their time that day (Carowinds is a Six-Flags-esque theme park). They gave us two park tix as a wedding gift a few days later.

Another one, from my MIL. Two HIDEOUS...I mean attrocious looking vases in this awful poop brown/gray color. Clearly the potter who made them had made a mistake when spinning them on the wheel and they had started to collapse. But the determined potter decided to call the two leaning/deformed vases a matched set of "hugging vases" (because when placed together one appears to lean towards the other). So MIL bought them as a wedding gift for us. I've displayed them on the buffet in my dining room since we married in 2005. In 2011 my MIL went through a series of insane moves that ultimately led to us cutting her out of our lives...among them, reclaiming the vases from my buffet while I wasn't home saying "You never use them." It's true, they've never held a flower, but I have always displayed them...for comedic value if nothing else. She also took the buffet itself. And the last can of Who-hash.

This week has not been good for me. But by golly that made my day. My 4yo wants to know what's so funny.

 

[Pigeon]

My aunt was into making hideous ceramic eyesores and inflicting them on all the family. For a shower gift, she gave us a tea set that was useless, but moderately less awful than many things she made.

For our wedding present, she made an ugly plaque for hanging on the wall, featuring two hands clasping, a trite little quote underneath, and "Mr. and Mrs. Hislastname" and the date (incorrect) of our wedding.

I didn't change my name and I'm not Mrs. anything.

We kept it in a closet for a few years in case she happened to visit, but eventually threw it out.

 

[HM]

sorry, can't relate
we started out with nothing, and were very grateful for all the various gifts we received (we didn't do any registries - not our cup o' tea)

25 years later & we still have almost all the non-cash items

Same here. No registry. If people called my mom told them pottery or a couple other things she thought we could use. We have quite a few nice useful pieces. We didn't receive any cash. I can't tell you how many times I pull something out to use and remember being given it at our wedding nearly 26 years ago. Our friends and family did a good job.

 

[HM]

My in-laws gave us a gift like that, except they didn't tell us what it was. It was a half-used candle that had made its way through the family for years, but we thought it was just a half-used candle so we burned it during a power outage. A couple of years later they asked us why we hadn't passed it on and were mad when we told them it was gone.

Oh my gosh, that's classic. Too bad they didn't tell you the deal, huh?

 

[WowLookAtThat]

Not me (I was the one who got the half-used lotion bottles for my wedding, lovely.) but a friend of mine was given a set of baby clothes from her MIL. She wasn't pregnant and didn't have the intention of being a mother at the time.

 

[Jedana]

Would you like another one? I have 3 left over that I can't return

We gave DD2/DSoIL2 a waffle maker for their wedding gift. It was a Mickey ears one, that makes 4 mini Mickey waffles, and there's an indent to put a stick in them, if you are making waffle pops or something.

It was on the list.....

(We also gave them the Thomas Kinkaide prints that they wanted, and Disney gift cards--they honeymooned at WDW. DD1/DSoIL1 wanted Amazon gift cards, so that's what we gave them.)

DSoIL2's little sister gave them a pair of very ugly vases from the dollar store (still wrapped in the dollar store bag and everything.) [The older sister gave DD2 a beautiful necklace and DSoIL a digital picture frame, filled with pictures of his family (and some space left to add pictures of DD2) that he could take with him on deployment. The vases weren't a money thing--it was an attitude thing.]


No bad wedding gifts for us---we got cash, champagne glasses and champagne and DH got 2 days off from work, paid (not vacation or sick time, just "take these 2 days off and we'll pay you your 9 hours each day").

 

[HM]

Our "worst" gift actually turned out to be pretty great about 10 years later LOL. We received a rolling pin. Yep. a rolling pin. Best part? I didn't open the box until years later when I was baking christmas cookies with my girls.....

There were 500 one dollar bills taped together and wrapped around the rolling pin. Holy cow!!! What a day that was - and right before christmas too!!!

~C

How did you thank them for the rolling pin? Do you think they ever wondered why you didn't say anything about the money? And, yes, that was a pretty great gift all in all.

 

[Hillbeans]

I invited the VP of my department who made well into the 6 figures (in the late 90's) to my wedding and he gave me a yard sale needlepoint in a broken glass frame.

 

[diznygirl]

I got a Gevalia coffee maker - you know the ones you get for free for buying their coffee? But no coffee. They kept the coffee!

 

[Missy1961]

There's no statute of limitations on post replies, but the zombie post bumped is a little old.
I guess one can hope that the next wedding reception you're invited to will be generous with beverages.

My guess is this thread was bumped up by a spam post that got deleted. Others had probably replied before that happened - most people don't look at the OP or the dates.

And now me posting that will bump this up again!

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

Two gifts come to mind.....not "bad" per se, but unusual!
My boss gave us a HUGE world atlas. It's been sitting on the top of the bookshelf for 38 years. Maybe the kids opened it a few times when they were in elementary school. Also, some friends of DH gave "us" a tool box! I guess they wanted to make it clear that they were HIS friends!

 

[jackskellington01]

A family member (a first cousin to be exact) gave me a bounced check for my wedding. Lol
Funny thing is, he then complained to another family member that he never received a thank you note from me for attending my wedding. I was confused as to what I was supposed to thank him for the bounced check or the fact that he also cost me an additional $25 fee that I received from the bank for trying to deposit the check. Lol

 

[wallace02mgd]

I have all kinds of ideas for future gifts now. LOL!

 

[minkydog]

my worse gift was a non-gift. We were married on a Friday night and left for our honeymoon on Monday. On Saturday we went through our gifts for my in laws to make a deposit. My DH pointed out that my 3 aunts gave us empty cards... I told him I didnt expect anything from them cause all 3 were hurting financially, he accepted that. At the end, we noticed neither of my sisters even gave us a card. Nada from them

After our honeymoon we stopped by my sisters, she was pushing some papers around the table and a Hallmark bag fell off the table. She picked it up, looked in it and said... oh here... it was the card she intended to give us... not signed, receipt still in bag..... I told her keep it for her next wedding.

My mom gave us...nothing, no present, no card. Nothing but lots of criticism. DH and I paid for 100% of our wedding, so it wasn't that she felt that she had already given enough.

Interestingly, she threw showers for my 3 sisters and gave each of them small household items, like toaster, mixer, towels, etc. Each of my sibs also received a large garbage can filled with cleaning supplies, a broom, and a mop. She paid for my brother's small wedding entirely and paid for part of my sisters' weddings.

I never asked why she chose to withhold a wedding gift and I'm sure she doesn't even remember. She didn't like my DH much, so maybe that's the reason.

 

[diznygirl]

Two gifts come to mind.....not "bad" per se, but unusual!
My boss gave us a HUGE world atlas. It's been sitting on the top of the bookshelf for 38 years. Maybe the kids opened it a few times when they were in elementary school. Also, some friends of DH gave "us" a tool box! I guess they wanted to make it clear that they were HIS friends!

After hearing about the rolling pin gift....

Did you check the atlas for money?!

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

We got a check dated for our wedding date, but for 2010 (we got married in 2011) and we couldn't deposit/cash it because it was over 6 months from the date on the check.

 

[MamaLema]

Is it just me, or would this thread be totally better with pics?
I know most of you don't have these gifts but I would love to see them