We are delighted to have friends and family share this happy occasion with us! Your presence at our wedding would be a wonderful gift to us. It is really not necessary to give us a wedding gift.

We know that some of you want to get us a gift that will help us start our married life. If that’s the case, our suggestion is to give us a gift card and any suggestions you have for its use; see below for some local stores we like. This would be easier than transporting gifts from Saginaw/Bay City to Oregon. This would also help ensure that gifts do not arrive and sit on our front porch while we are still traveling in connection to our wedding. Alternatively, we would be delighted if you chose to make a donation in our honor to the charity you care most about.

Below is contact info for some nice local stores in Eugene, Oregon which have things we could really use in our new house and yard (a kitchen store and two stores with very useful outdoor items, as we spend much of our spare time in the kitchen and in the yard).

Gift certificates or gifts from Pepperberries Kitchen Store (phone number 541-485-6922, address 2538 Willakenzie Rd. Eugene, OR 97401). Our pans are all pretty worn out, so we could use an assortment of new pans as well as some other kitchen items. We could pool together gift certificates for some larger items such as a Le Creuset Dutch oven and also could use some smaller items. Pepperberries is a local store with a wide assortment of really high quality pots and pans (brands like Lodge, Le Creuset and Heritage Steel) and all sorts of other very useful kitchenware. They are happy both to sell gift certificates and to conduct a gift registry for us over the phone. We have given them a list of some specific items we could use. Warning: Do not buy a gift certificate from their web site, as we were recently alerted by the store that there is a web site not operated by Pepperberries that purports to be selling gift certificates to Pepperberries which are not valid; you’d need to call them at 541-485-6922 or stop by in person to buy a gift certificate.

Gift certificates for Redwood Northwest (phone number 541-434-2166, address 4977 W. 11th Ave, Eugene, OR 97402). We could use up to about 8 of their 2 foot straight leg benches ($59 apiece) to use around our back yard and inside our house. Another large item that could also be very nice in our yard would be their 4 foot wide glide bench with back and arms ($222) to put in the corner of our back yard near our apple tree. We have been assured they still carry their 2 foot straight leg benches even though they don’t show these on their web page. The 2 foot straight leg benches are quite versatile and nice looking — they could be useful as end tables or foot rests or additional seating. Redwood is remarkably durable, good for the very rainy Pacific Northwest.

Gift certificates for Jerry’s Home Improvement Center (phone number 541-689-1911, address 2600 OR-99, Eugene, OR 97402) which we could use e.g. to get some pretty outdoor ceramic pots for growing flowers and vegetables in our back yard. Jerry’s also has a nice selection of lamps and overhead lighting (something our house could use more of as well as some updating of what is already there). They also have all sorts of other practical things (quite similar to a Home Depot, but with higher quality in our opinion on things like the ceramic pots and lighting).

Another idea could be gift certificates for Wineries near Eugene in the Willamette Valley (many of which have free live music and excellent pinot noir and other wines as well — pinot noir is the local specialty). Some that we like are Bennett Vineyards (541-998-3336), Lavelle Vineyards (541-935-9406), and King Estate (541-685-5189). King Estate purportedly had the best restaurant in the area and has a lovely view, though for the moment they seem to have scaled back on food. We go to Bennett Vineyards pretty regularly in the summer for their live music and really nice wine with a pleasant, laid-back atmosphere. It also could be fun to try new places.