If you are looking for a unique bridal shower or wedding gift, consider gifting the bride and groom with a case of wine. But not just any wine… wine with custom labels to signify milestones during the beginning of their marriage. That way, they can celebrate each of their milestones with a bottle of wine. Here's what you'll need to do.

12 Bottles of Wine for 12 Milestones

If you already know what types of wine the bride and groom prefer, stick with their preferences when you buy the wine. That way, you know they will enjoy them. However, if you don't know what type of wine they like, you'll need to find wine that will match the various milestones. To do this, you'll want to consider food pairings for milestones that are focused on meals, such as Thanksgiving.

For milestones that don't involve dining, you can consider occasion pairings to help narrow your decision, which can be based on the alcohol content in the wine. For example, chose a light wine for them to share while preparing the meal for the first dinner party they will host as married couple so they will still be able to focus on preparing and cooking the meal while still enjoying the bottle of wine. Choose sparkling wine for the most important celebration of all – their 1^st anniversary.

Here are 12 milestones that are typically reached in the first few years of marriage.

1. The wedding night
2. First major purchase together
3. First pet chosen as a couple
4. First time hosting a dinner party
5. First baby together
6. First major fight between the newlyweds
7. First disagreement with in-laws
8. First emergency fund saved
9. First Thanksgiving
10. First Christmas
11. First New Year's Eve
12. First Anniversary

Of course, these milestones aren't necessarily in any order or set in stone. You can customize each bottle for each month of their first year instead, ending with the 12^th month being their 1^st anniversary. This is a good alternative for non-traditional marriages such as for couples who choose not to become parents or those who have already been living together and have experienced some of the milestones before marriage.

Custom Labels for the Bottles

Now that you've decided on the type of wine and the milestones, it's time to think about the custom labels for each bottle. It's a good idea for all the bottle labels to match or at least be similar in case the couple wants to display your gift in a wine rack. Consider the tastes and personalities of the couple and find a font style that matches. For example, if the couple is free-spirited, choose freestyle script. If they are more refined and elegant, chose a fancier font like French script.

You can personalize the labels even further by adding photos and/or poems to each one. If you're not good with words, look at a few greeting cards for ideas in how to word sentiments about the milestones.

Make sure you order waterproof labels. That way, you won't have to worry about the ink getting washed off or the labels disintegrating in case they get wet or damp. Because of this, it's a good idea to order custom labels from a professional printing company instead of using your home printer.

Remove the wine label from the wine bottle so your custom labels will fit smoothly on the bottles. Carefully peel off the labels and remove any remaining glue with an adhesive remover. For stubborn labels, soak the bottle in hot water with a fabric softener sheet. The fabric softener will soften the label so you can easily remove it. The bottles will need to be completely dry before you can attach the labels to them.