The Guestbook: Gourmet Gift Basket

Attending weddings can start to be a strain on your wallet. Here’s how to give a thoughtful and inexpensive gourmet gift basket sure to please any bride’s heart and stomach.

Wedding Food Basket

If you’ve been following the news lately, or read the previous article, then you might know about the brides who so rudely attacked a guest for bringing them a gift basket of delicious treats. For the guest it was a thoughtful and inexpensive way to show the brides how much he appreciated their invitation, but to the brides it was a cheap affront. We love the idea of the gift basket and though we try not to take sides based on hearsay so we’ve decided to construct our own gift basket. For the foodie bride who is interested in gourmet treats this gift basket will probably be the perfect post wedding or honeymoon treat. We’re going to try to find the right balance between inexpensive and thoughtful and hopefully the bride you gift this basket too will be much more receptive!

See also: Edible wedding favors for your bridal party

For starters, the key to any good gift basket is of course the basket. There are many companies and services who can provide you with the basket, the complex wrapping and the presentation as long as you provide them with the items you would like to include in the gift basket. There are also many tutorials online to help you learn how to find the perfect basket and how to then properly place the items inside so it looks professional. A wicker basket that could double as a picnic basket once all the treats have been gobbled is probably a great idea or a basket large enough for picking wildflowers or bringing home fresh fruit. The key to winning this gift is to be as reusable as possible since most food items are imminently perishable and won’t be around to serve as a memento of your appreciation. After you have found the perfect basket, decide how much money you want to spend. $50 is probably a good median amount (and if that seems exorbitant remember that your plate of food at a wedding is usually around $80-$100) but you could get away with less and of course more is definitely appreciated. You want to proportion the sum to one or two big ticket items that will definitely show the thought put into this project and bonus points if they can be reused or kept. Dish towels are a great purchase, you might even be able to get them monogrammed or personalized.

Shop local markets and online to find foodie inspiration and if you include a heartfelt note you will go down in wedding guest hall of fame.