The secret art of gifting

We spoke to Sarah Turnball, Director of Simply Wedding Gifts, to get an insider’s top tips on how to use your wedding gift list to kit out your house, all under the eye of an interiors expert.

Simply Wedding Gifts sets itself apart from many of the other online gifting websites by offering a personalised service that focuses on interiors gifting.

I always wanted to set up my own business and having made the decision after 6 years of treading the boards as an actress I decided to switch focus and turned to the gift world and interiors. When getting married myself in 2013, I spotted a gap in the gift list market for a bespoke service that focused more on interiors along side offering the bride and groom the usual options from a gift list.

Since launching Simply Wedding Gifts 5 years ago from my kitchen table, the business has grown organically and now operates from a large warehouse, which I juggling in between looking after my 2 young children. As so many people already live together when getting engaged, we have developed a consultation that enables couples to get a professional interiors consultant to come to their home and advise on gifts that suit their home and their individual style. It’s a truly bespoke service.

Sarah’s top tips for building your dream wedding gift list…

When creating a gift list, couples should first decide if they want a traditional list with gifts for their home or cash gifts or a mixture of both. Simply Wedding Gifts enables couples to have gifts and cash all on the one list, and the best bit is, it doesn’t cost a thing!

A lot of Brides & Grooms don’t know where to start when adding items to their list, especially with over 200 hundred suppliers to look at, but fret not as our service includes an interior consultation in your own home where one of our gift list experts will advise you on what to add to your list. If this isn’t enough we will also send you our Bespoke Checklist which guides you through the gifts room by room.

Having a good range of gifts is key and guests will all have different ideas of what they wish to spend so be sure to cater for all budgets. You should also make sure there are enough gifts on there to give your guests lots to choose from and be a stickler for checking each gift you choose as it would be a shame, as an example, to end up with dinner plates that don’t fit in your dishwasher!

Sarah’s top gift recommendations…

Photo Frames – because you will need somewhere to display all those gorgeous wedding pictures

Le Creuset Casserole dish – they really are timeless, and an addition to any home be it for dinner parties, Sunday roasts, or a punch bowl for drinks parties

Electricals – a gift list is a great opportunity to upgrade everyday electrics such as kettles, toasters and blenders. A matching Toaster and Kettle is a real statement for any kitchen, and one of our favourite ranges is Dualit Lite

Crockery – this is a great chance to ditch those IKEA plates and chipped glasses, and invest in quality long lasting items. A personal favourite of mine is the fun designs from plates/bowls from the Alice Peto range and the beautiful handmade Champagne Saucers from Vintage List

Bespoke gifts – your guests will really want to give you something personal and meaningful, so we always advise adding bespoke items to your list. Such as a chopping board engraved with your names and date of your wedding, or an artists commission of your wedding venue/church/dog etc..

Simplyweddinggifts.co.uk