Weddings are big business – even the low-key events some couples favour often come with a price tag stretching to thousands of pounds. And though the whole day is about creating a slew of special memories for the bride and groom to reminisce about for decades to come, one of the most precious memories is created by the tradition of the bride and groom exchanging gifts for the big day. The most popular thing women give their husband-to-be is a pair of cufflinks.
Weddings are formal occasions, and as such, it’s quite common to see scores of the little glinting pieces of metal adorning the shirt sleeves of those gathered to witness the event. The bride and groom will often give cufflinks to the ushers and groomsmen as a thank-you gift. Sometimes the cufflinks are given out as a handful of matching sets, while other couples will opt to buy matching sets and then mix them up, giving each of the men in the wedding party two coordinating cufflinks that aren’t necessarily a ‘pair’.
A whole market has grown around providing cufflinks for the men in the wedding party. Wedding cufflinks can often be ordered to match the couple’s colours or other theme for the event, they can be engraved with the couple’s initials and the date, or they can be personalised for the men wearing them. Also, there are a number of jewellers who supply novelty cufflinks for wedding party members – these links usually have an enamel design over a metal base – the enamel is painted or otherwise customised to include witty slogans or simple titles, such as ‘father of the bride’.
When buying wedding cufflinks online, the most important thing to bear in mind is the delivery time – after all, you wouldn’t want to receive the cufflinks too late for the big day. Also, ask the online jeweller about their return policy, in the event the cufflinks aren’t needed.
© Jewellery Box.org.uk 2006.