Top 10 Armenian Wedding Gifts.
Armenian weddings pair a formal church crowning with a long, heavily-danced reception, and gifting is gold and cash — much of it pinned to the couple during the dancing.
What not to give
Read this before the list below. These are not preferences — several are genuine offences, and they are the part most gift guides leave out.
- An even number of flowers Even bouquets are for the dead, as across the region.
- Scheduling gifts around fast days The Armenian Church does not celebrate weddings on Wednesdays or Fridays, and gifting follows the same calendar.
- Turkish-made goods, for some families Sensitive given the genocide. Worth being aware of.
The ten
- 01
Gold jewellery
The traditional significant gift, especially from godparents and close family.
- 02
Cash pinned during the dancing
Notes pinned to the couple’s clothing as they dance. Public, warm and expected.
- 03
Cross-stone (khachkar) miniature
The Armenian carved cross-stone, in miniature for the home.
- 04
Armenian carpet
A serious family-level gift with a long weaving tradition behind it.
- 05
Silver or gold cross
For the home or to wear.
- 06
Armenian brandy from the birth year
Ararat especially, kept for anniversaries.
- 07
Ceramics from Jerusalem’s Armenian quarter
The distinctive blue-and-white Armenian tilework tradition.
- 08
Handmade lace (Armenian needle lace)
A fine and increasingly rare craft.
- 09
Pomegranate motif items
The pomegranate is the Armenian symbol of fertility and abundance.
- 10
Illuminated manuscript print
Reproductions of Armenian manuscript art, framed.
If you are giving money
Cash is given both in envelopes and pinned during the dancing. Godparents (knuni) give substantially more, as they carry a formal role.
Written as common practice. Regional and family variation is enormous — if you are close enough to the couple to ask, ask. Nobody has ever been offended by the question.