Wedding plans

Not my wedding, I hasten to add- been there, done that. This is for some of our friends who have recently announced their engagement and have scheduled a date for August 2010. This gives me enough time to sort out a knitted gift for them (as I mentioned previously in another post) and seeing how I have gone to all the effort of doing all this thinking I figured I'd share it with y'all. Apologies in advance for this being heavy with Ravelry links . I have tried to put in ones from others sites as well. I should also point out that any books I have linked are merely for the purposes of illustration and not ones that I have actually read/used. They are just things I came across in my travels as I was thinking all this through.

First up my thinking led me down paths of 'things I could knit for the bride'
*Knitted wire jewellery- this was an obvious first step. I remember my tiara type thing that I wore being exceedingly expensive and although I've not done wire knitting before this seemed like the sort of gift that would be appreciated not only because it would save money on the wedding day but because it can be personalised very easily and kept as a keepsake afterwards.
*Knitted garter- one of the ladies at my knitting group just finished making a lace silk garter with blue ribbons through it for a friend of hers that is getting married this summer. A perfect project if you want something small that you can splurge on fantastic yarn for.
*Knitted shrug/bolero- there are some fantastic lace shrug patterns around again this wouldn't need much yarn.
*Knitted gloves- probably not much use for someone who is getting married at the height of summer but a good gift for a winter or spring scheduled wedding.
*Knitted bag/clutch- you could even flex your felting muscles with this.
*Knitted shawl/wrap- I was thinking lace here, possibly with beads.
*Knitted veil- yup it could be done. If you can knit lace then knitting a veil would be a piece of cake, especially if you went for something plain with the odd bead on it.

After that I started thinking about things I could make for the couple. I discounted making anything for the groom as he's just not that kind of guy but I did come up with a couple of ideas:
*Knitted socks- you could even knit in a motif with the couples names and/or wedding date if you wanted.
*Matching waistcoat for groom and best man

Things for the couple are, let's face it, going to be home goods. Almost any of these options could have a motif of some sort incorporated into it. You could even get really carried away with adding in details- put in specific things to bride/groom relating the their interests, use photos and pictures from their homes for colour ideas, get other family members or friends to add a piece in as well etc.
*Cushions
*Heavy weight rugs (think extreme knitting here)
*Dishcloths/scrubbies
*Table cloth/place mats/napkins etc
*Sofa throw/Blanket/Afghan

If none of this is setting the spark off then there are still a few other options. There are whole books on the subject of knitting for weddings just to get you started. You could also try thinking of something a bit more unusual- maybe the bride would like her bouquet made of felted flowers so that it can be a keepsake as well (with matching buttonhole for the groom)? Perhaps you could knit up some bunting to decorate the reception hall? Or, if you know the couple well, maybe you could go for something a little bit naughty?