First Wedding Gift?

Surprisingly even though I am about to turn 26 years old I have yet to have to attend a friend's wedding. None of my really close friends are really even engaged. The one exception to this is one of my best friends who I have known since middle school. He and his fiancee' are getting married in June in the wine country part of California.

So naturally they have done what I assume all hip engaged kids are doing these days, they started a website for the event. They have also put their gift registries online to make it oh so easy for guests to purchase things for them. Since the kid is a really good friend of mine, I figure I should prolly get them something decent. But a $40 pepper grinder, uh yeah, not so much (sorry man if you read this and were really hoping to get that from me).

The amazon.com registry had them rate things that would be "nice to have", like to have" or "love to have"...now I can figure out that love is the things they want most, but which is better "like" or "nice"? I mean, I "like" "nice" things...It's also "nice" to have things I "like"...These are the things I'd like to have learned by now.

I also have some other questions and observations:

Really, you want two olive oil sprayers? You really use that much olive oil in aerosol form? That's pretty impressive...I'd buy you one, but as much as you'd love to have it, I cannot buy you two on principal.

That $43 pepper grinder is only 29.99 on Amazon...poor sucker that buys that on BB&B...

I wonder who wanted this, her or him? Seems like an odd gift for a wedding, you're married now, you're supposed to be able to stop watching your weight so much...right? right?

I'm all about Apples to Apples, but apparently its only "nice to have" so that's out...but I do encourage playing with the Michael-Jackson-Card-Always-Wins rule if you get this gift.

So anyways, I need help picking out a gift for them. Here are the things I have narrowed it to:

Square White Dishware I thought this was a good choice style wise. I'd eat at your house if served on these...and they prolly have a nice heft for throwing in arguments. Very important.

Stainless Steel Flatware Apparently this serves 8. Good savings on Amazon, I can appreciate that.

PUR Water Filter thingy Clean water is the key to a happy marriage I'd think.

Fasta Pasta Maker Does this thing actually work? I'd prolly force them to make me some pasta just to see if it does. If I bought this I'd have to buy something else too, prolly the Egg Rite Egg Timer. Maybe I'll get them anyway, just cause they seem like good funny gifts.

If you're only friends with one of the couple really, is it bad etiquette to ask the guy what he'd want? Would adult shop gift certificates be ill-advised? Maybe I'll hide those in the Fasta Pasta Maker.