Say hello to the new bridal gift trend that's unique (and free).

Image: iStock

When it comes to wedding gifts, the trend continues towards the unique and personalised.

So we’re not hugely surprised that an emerging gift idea for brides is to give them an email address in their new married name, according to Mic.com.

You could give your soon-to-be-wed buddy the new email address written in calligraphy, on beautiful paper, with her own questionable adorable password too (such as TrueLove4eva). Wrap it up with a box and ribbon, and boom! You’re done.

It’s certainly easier and much more useful than trying to hand-sew a quilt made from Instagram photos of the happy couple printed onto antique fabrics. Plus, email addresses don’t cost a thing — something you can’t say for many other bridal shower gifts. However, we’re not sure the couple will appreciate this in their wishing well.

See all the beauty products used by Sophia Vergara on her wedding day. (Post continues after video.)

Obviously, this isn’t an option for women who opt to keep their own surnames. However on the whole, women in Australia and the US are continuing to take their husband’s after marriage.

A study by Swinburne University in 2012 found that 64 per cent of married people in Victoria had the same surname, and that around 98 per cent of those women had taken their husband’s surname.

Meanwhile, a poll in the New York Times found around 70 per cent of married women had taken their husband’s surname after marriage.

Furthermore, now that our digital lives are firmly intertwined with our “real” lives a woman’s name change extends beyond the standard driver’s licence and passport. (Post continues after gallery.)

The process of changing one’s name over email and numerous social media platforms can seem like a never-ending hassle.

So the gift of a new email address is not only thoughtful, but useful — it can be one more thing for a bride to cross off her mounting “to-do” list with ease.

It’s especially helpful if you’ve experienced the pain of trying to secure your unique email address, only to have “jane.smith87979712384739874834974@gmail.com” suggested back to you by a soulless robot.

From this image, one can only assume Lara and Amal’s trusty bridal party also gave them this creative wedding gift, seeing as their Gmail monikers were already taken. (It was worth us trying, though.)

Just a word of warning: make sure you ask the bride first if she intends to change her surname. Because if she’s keeping her own surname, then…you’ve just given her a very awkward, stingy gift.

What would you like to receive as a wedding gift?