I got married 10 years ago. When I look back on my wedding gifts, I'm surprised by what stood the test of time.

"I remember opening our bounty of wedding gifts vividly. Ten years ago, right after our wedding, my husband and I road-tripped to New Orleans for our honeymoon, and we passed the time on the road by opening a gift every hour or so. With every bit of tissue paper, we felt like the most well-loved people in the world. Friends and family gave us so many of the things we needed to set up our home and start our family. I thought for sure that every single kind gesture would be bright in my mind forever, but it turns out that many of the specifics of those gifts have faded and been replaced by the feeling of the warm glow of support I felt opening them, as my mind has filled up with 10 more years of life."

"Time makes forgetful people of us all, and I can now look around my home and only dimly remember which items are from which family members and friends. I do remember some items: I remember that my husband's ex-girlfriend, of all people, got me the super-useful hanging rack that holds all my pots and pans in the kitchen; I remember that a bunch of the pottery we own came from a dear friend whose family has a pottery business, allowing him to give us a truly lavish gift of handmade items without having to pay retail for them himself."

"Two friends painted detailed tropical scenes on big wine glasses as one of our wedding gifts, and they made every sip more festive for the last 10 years."

A couple opened wedding gifts hourly during a honeymoon road trip and felt deeply supported by friends and family. Many practical items helped set up a home and start a family, but specific gift-giver associations faded over a decade. Certain items remain vividly remembered, such as a hanging rack from the husband’s ex-girlfriend and handmade pottery from a friend whose family runs a pottery business. Decorative gifts like painted wine glasses added recurring joy. Sentimental attachment and memories often determine which gifts endure, while life changes repurpose, wear, or replace other items over time.

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