June is the traditional month for weddings and with weddings come presents. Not every gift is welcome, unfortunately, and many couples are unsure what to do with unsightly lamps and oversize paintings that well-intentioned friends and family have given them. Some presents are perfect, however, and retain places of honor in a couple's home year after year. In celebration of married couples everywhere and in tribute to the spirit of giving, I offer a look at wedding gifts and mementos that have personalized a variety of settings . . . 


"A black-and-white photograph from Lindsay and Hank's wedding hangs above a Tibetan chest in the dining room."
1920s-era Edwardian-style apartment of Lindsay and Hank Brier in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood.
Interior design by Lindsay Anyon Brier, Anyon Interior Design.
Photography by Paul Dyer.
Written by Krissa Rossbund. 
"Updated California Classic" produced by Sarah Alba.

"The marble-topped antique chest in the foyer was purchased at a French flea market as a wedding gift for Lili and Sean O'Brien."
"Julian Mirror" by Niermann Weeks.
Home of designer Lili O'Brien and her family in Richmond, Virginia's historic Fan District.
Interior design by Lili O'Brien and Leigh Anne Muse, O'Brien and Muse.
Photography by Gordon Beall. 
"Comfortable and Charismatic Virginia Row Home" written and produced by Elizabeth Beeler.

"Karen Sealander's prized blue-and-white dishes look at home in an antique pine cupboard."
Says designer Mary Douglas Drysdale, "This is so romantic. . . . My clients have been married for over twenty years and this piece was the wedding gift from the husband to his wife!"
Capitol Hill home of Karen and Winfield Sealander. 
Architectural and interior design by Mary Douglas Drysdale.
Photography by Ron Blunt.
"Before and After: Capitol Hill Renovation" written and produced by Amy Elbert.
Traditional Home (March 2012). 

"This stunning secretary from the Veneto is dated 1740, and is painted with scenes representing the family for whom it was made, likely as a wedding present."
An Italian-style palazzo that faces a lagoon off the San Francisco Bay.
Photography by Tim Street-Porter.
"Lush Life" by Frances Schultz.
House Beautiful (July 2007). 

"In the entry, a console is topped with vintage lamps from Silver Lake vintage shop Casa Victoria; the tassels are souvenirs from [Janie] Bryant and [Peter] Yozell's honeymoon in Vietnam, the bowl is a housewarming gift from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner and his wife, and the flowers are from Dandelion Ranch."
Los Angeles home of Janie Bryant and husband Peter Yozell.
Interior design by Janie Bryant and Meredith Kleinman.
Photography by Kimberly Genevieve.

"On the dining table, Royal Crown Derby's Gold Aves plates are paired with napkin rings from Mexico - a wedding gift from [Jane] Bryant's mother. The silverware, Rose Point by Wallace, originally belonged to her grandmother, and the stemware is Colleen Encore by Waterford."
Los Angeles home of Janie Bryant and husband Peter Yozell. 
Interior design by Janie Bryant and Meredith Kleinman.
Photography by Kimberly Genevieve.

 " 'I love mixing the old with the new. I love things that tell a story and have a history. For my place setting I used my wedding silver. It brings back wonderful memories. The china is from an antiques store here in Savannah. For flowers I went right out to my garden and picked up some hydrangeas that were drying on the bush. I added some dried gourds and roses for a festive look. I placed the hydrangeas in a tarnished silver pitcher. I like the tarnished finish. The place setting wasn't complete without a mint julep. Instead of a place mat I used an antique table runner I found at a yard sale."
Place setting by Paula Deen, Food Network star.
"15 Designer Place settings with Basic White China" by the editors at House Beautiful.

"Swathed in Carrara marble and aglow under a 19th-century chandelier hanging from the 11-foot-high ceiling, the guest bathroom in designer Betty Lou Phillips's French-style Dallas house was inspired by baths in five-star luxury suites. Monsieur and Madame 'mats' are inlaid mosaics."
Interior design by Betty Lou Phillips.
Photography by Nathan Schroder.
House Beautiful (March 2011). 

"One of a pair of silver napkin rings than inspired the his-and-hers tile mosaic 'rugs.' "
Guest bathroom in Betty Lou Phillips's Dallas, Texas, home.
Interior design by Betty Lou Phillips.
Photography by Nathan Schroder.
House Beautiful (March 2011). 

"In the family room, oversize wing chairs by Formations are slipcovered in Ralph Lauren's Hemp. The pillows are made from old French feed sacks, which would have been part of a rural bride's dowry. Dennis and Leen Cap D'Antibes cocktail table."
Interior design by Dana Lyon.
Photography by Reed Davis.

" ' Even though I'm known for a soft neutral palette, I keep getting hired by people who love color. I can do both, and I explain it like this: I am married to beige, but I have affairs with color. GOING TO THE CHAPEL is just like a marriage - comfortable, livable, with just a hint of gray. Actually, that sort of describes my husband. A super-neutral, safe color you can stay with for a long time.' " 
Interior designer Phoebe Howard regarding Benjamin Moore's "Going to the Chapel" (1527).
Photography by Mali Azima.
"Colors with Great Names" by Christine Pittel.

"In the entry, a watercolor by Maximo Gonzalez above a flea-market settee upholstered in a suzani that was a wedding gift; the table is by Renzo Mongiardino."
Madrid apartment of Carolina Herrera Baez, Miguel Baez, and their three children.
Interior decoration by Carolina Herrera Baez.
Photography by William Waldron.
Produced by Cynthia Frank.

"The dining room - with its hand-painted wall covering [SY-206 by Gracie], round table, and twin-door access to the kitchen - is built for entertaining. The smoky-gold [Murano] chandelier, which came with the house, adds dramatic flair.' The table cover was used at a wedding reception.
1950s home of Kimberly Schlegel Whitman, who has written books about weddings and entertaining, and her husband Justin Whitman.
Interior design by Jan Showers, Jan Showers and Associates Inc.
Photography by Werner Straube.
"Elegant Makeover for a Dallas Home" written and produced by Jenny Bradley.

"The new Thermador range fits snugly into a tiled niche in the kitchen, built to look like an updated cooking fireplace from an older residence."
"Basket on wall: Antique African wedding basket."
Lynn Haven, Florida, home of Gene and Renee Evans.
Interior design by Phillip Sides, Phillip Sides Interior Design.
Architect: Eric Watson, Eric Watson Architect, P.A.
Photography by Tria Giovan.

"An early-19th-century Mexican painting hangs above a Mexican wedding chest and a pair of 18th-century Italian candelabra, which are on a chip-carved sideboard in the dining room. In the foreground, a chandelier illuminates a Mexican santo; both are 18th century." 
Home of architect Christopher C. Hill in Texas Hill Country.
Architecture by Christopher C. Hill.
Photography by Mary E. Nichols.
"Dude Ranch Do-Over" text by Jeff Turrentine.
Architectural Digest (June 2006).

"Positioned against the wall under a landscape oil painting that melts into the background, a 19th-century Syrian wedding chest displays dazzling mother-of-pearl inlays."
Lake Forest Showhouse; Lake Forest, Illinois.
Interior design by Gerri Wiley, Geri Wiley Design Group.
Photography by Werner Straube.
"Showhouse Rooms in Neutral Palettes" produced by Hilary Rose.

The "sunroom is invested with all the elements that make Julia's personal style buzz with energy - a mix of a Romanian wedding trunk repurposed as a coffee table, a 1960s-vintage outdoor sofa commandeered for use indoors, and an old olive jar that stands by the door as sculpture."
Interior design by homeowner Julia Buckingham Edelmann, Buckingham Interiors and Design, LLC.
Photography by Edmund Barr.
Text by Candace Ord Manroe.
"Smooth Moves" produced by Hilary Rose.

"Between a pair of French doors dressed in panels made of a shimmery sheer fabric and shocking pink saris, an antique wedding chest sparkles with mother-of-pearl inlay. A mirror from Syria is also framed in mother-of-pearl."
Dining room designed for the Stately Homes by the Sea Showhouse in Rumson, New Jersey.
Interior design by Jennifer Garrigues.
Photography by Peter Rymwid and Peter Krumhardt.

"On the entry deck, the Formations iron table with stone top shields a shell-appliqued wedding box. Vintage bird figures, woven roots and a bowl of sand dollars are a direct response to surrounding nature."
L.A.-based designers Hallberg and Wiseley create an earthly and sensual home on the shore.
Photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna.
Veranda (April 2010). 

"An Arne Jacobsen Egg chair, a Fritz Henningsen armchair, and an 18th-century Gustavia cabinet in the Romantic Barn; [Ellen] DeGeneres made the artwork on the easel as a first-anniversary 'paper' gift for [Portia] De Rossi."
The artwork says "I'm glad I married you."
Hidden Valley, California, ranch of Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi.
Interior design by Ellen DeGeneres, Cliff Fong, and Jay Holman.
Photography by William Abranowicz.
Produced by Anita Sarsidi.
Elle Decor (May 2013).

"Something old, something new, something blue - Josephine Fisher's 'Going to the Chapel' room had it all. Perhaps the most heart-stopping piece was the custom wedding gown by Suzanne Hanley. 'The soft blue walls, silk curtains, and French daybed created an ethereal palette - the magical surroundings of a wedding day,' Fisher says. The low ceiling was coated in Farrow and Ball's high-gloss 'White Tie,' which made the room more reflective and thus seem larger."
Interior design by Josephine Fisher, Josephine Fisher Interior Design.
Photography by Philip Harvey.
Written by Clara Haneberg.
San Francisco Decorator Showcase 2011 produced by Heather Lobdell.

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