So I'm less than a week away from attending the wedding of two friends of mine and it's suddenly occurred to me I haven't bought them a gift yet. To be honest I until this evening I hadn't even checked their wedding website yet. But hey, I'd received their invitation and I responded to it not long after that. They knew I was coming and I knew when it was. The world got along just fine with only that back when we didn't have this dad-gum internet thingy.

But realizing that time was running out I bit and checked their online wedding registry. I'm not sure why. I have the same reaction all the time: "Man, this is boring!" Don't get me wrong. I know the registry serves a purpose. Traditionally the young couple was setting up house and needed all those everyday things like dishware, flatware, linenware, bathroom ware, and all the other wares. But then you get to the just plain odd stuff like the fondue pots (that get used maybe once) and...headphones? Seriously?

Of the last few weddings I've gone to I have not followed the registry. I figured everyone else would cover me. In most cases I have given gift cards. I know what you're thinking, and I agree. Gift cards are good in many respects in that you are free to get whatever you want at that particular store, and the gift giver is free from worry about whether the recipient will like it or not. And on the flip side gift cards are impersonal and boring. It doesn't matter what it is; for better or for worse an actual gift is always more interesting than a gift card. I fully admit that gift cards are a major cop-out in terms of gift giving occasions.

But for a wedding given someone a wine opener and matching napkin set doesn't really fit me either. So the last wedding I went to I compromised. I got a gift card to the couple's mutually favorite store and found the nicest picture of the two of them that I had, touched it up a bit, framed it, and gave them that as well. They seemed to enjoy it, and I felt no qualms about giving it to them.

But what do I do about this next couple. I don't see them all that often and have very few pictures of them. To be honest even though I think they're both great people I thought it was a 50/50 split whether or not I'd be invited to the ceremony. Hmmm....this is a puzzler.

But here's a question. I don't necessarily care, but is it considered rude to stray from the gift registry when buying a couple's wedding gift? Anyone?