The New York Times - A really great travel backpack

Sticking to the couple’s registry is usually your safest bet. But when the only things left on the list are beyond your budget, or the couple hasn’t registered for gifts at all, you’re going to have to venture out into the Wild West of shopping off-registry.

‌

And sometimes, you know the couple so well that you may want to go off-registry, anyway. As supervising gifts editor Hannah Morrill puts it: “It just feels too impersonal to get my dear friends from college a bath towel. I’d rather leave that to their parents’ friends. Instead, I like to use this opportunity as a chance to buy them something special they’d never buy themselves.” (One of her favorite ideas? These jewel-toned champagne glasses.)
‌

More unexpected (but great) wedding gifts→

We asked Wirecutter newlyweds what made their wedding days a little easier. For Elissa, her must-have was a trusty, portable fan. “I run very hot and having a fan with a long battery life that I could point at my face all day—and night—was essential,” she told us. It’s perfect for dancing the evening away, whether you’re the one wearing white or not.

Thanks for reading.

You can reach the Wirecutter newsletters team at newsletters@wirecutter.com. We can’t always respond, but we do love to hear from you.

Was this email kindly forwarded to you? Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.