Funny Wedding Gifts for Older Couples They'll Both Laugh At

2. Is a funny gift okay for a second marriage?

Yes, as long as the joke is about the two of them now and not about the past. A second (or third) wedding is often more relaxed than a first one, and a light gift fits that mood.

• Leave out jokes about exes, divorce or "finally getting it right." Someone at the party may still be hurt by that history.
• Leave out jokes about getting old, being slow or needing pills. They sting more than they amuse.
• Keep it clean enough to open in front of grown children and grandchildren, because they will probably be in the room.

If you are not sure, read the line out loud and picture the couple's adult kids hearing it. If you would wince, pick another one.

3. Which jokes land with couples who marry later in life?

Jokes that treat their age as a badge of honor land best. Think "vintage," "classic" and "seasoned," not "over the hill."

• Classic, not old. A line that turns age into something to be proud of is safe and flattering.
• Their hobbies. Classic cars, golf, fishing, gardening: tie the joke to what they love doing on a free Tuesday.
• Old songs and shared memories. References from their era feel personal in a way that new slang never will.

For a groom who spends Saturdays in the garage with a car older than his kids, "I'm not old, I'm classic" says it all.

4. What do you give a couple who already has everything?

Give something small that they will use every day, or something they will do together, not another thing to store. Most older couples are merging two full homes and are trying to get rid of stuff, not add to it.

• Use it up or use it daily. Good coffee, a mug, a nice bottle of wine or a local treat all earn their space.
• Do something together. A dinner out, a cooking class or tickets to a show give them a new memory as a married couple.
• Mark the date. A framed photo from the ceremony, sent a few weeks later, is often the gift they keep longest.

A playful line that both of them can claim works well here. "Love you most the end I win" is the argument every long-married couple has, and nobody ever wins it.

5. What if the invitation says "no gifts"?

Respect it. Bring a warm card and your best wishes, and skip the wrapped box. Many couples marrying for a second time ask for no gifts because they truly have everything.

• Write a real message in the card. Our guide on what to write in a funny wedding card has lines you can borrow.
• If you still want to give something, wait. A small gift at their first dinner party or their first anniversary doesn't break the request.
• Don't bring a large gift to the reception. It puts the couple in an awkward spot in front of the guests who followed the rule.

6. How do you make a funny gift feel heartfelt too?

Pair the joke with one sincere sentence in the card. The gift gets the laugh, and the card gets kept.

• Say what you have seen: how she lights up around him, or how he finally slows down to sit with her.
• Add a memory from your friendship with one or both of them.
• Pick a gift that is funny and sweet at the same time, so it still means something on a quiet morning.

A mug that spells out "And I… will always love you" the way it is sung, with a long row of capital I's and a stretched-out "YOU," does exactly that. Anyone who sang along to Whitney Houston's 1992 version will hear it the second they read it.

7. Should you get one gift for both of them, or one each?

One shared gift is the norm, but a matching pair of small gifts works well for a couple who likes to tease each other. Two mugs with different lines make breakfast a little contest.

• For a shared gift, choose a line that either of them could say to the other.
• For a pair, give each partner a line about the other one, and make sure the jokes are equally kind.
• If you know the groom much better, a gift just for him is fine. See our ideas for funny wedding gifts for the groom.

Shopping for a younger pair instead? Our list of wedding gifts young couples will actually keep covers that stage, and funny wedding gifts the couple will actually laugh at explains how to judge any gag gift. For a couple celebrating years together rather than a new wedding, try these twenty-year anniversary gift ideas.

Love that starts later in life is worth celebrating out loud. Choose a joke they will both enjoy, put it on something they will use every morning, and add a card that says what you mean.