Skip to main content

The End of Wedding Gifts?

 wrapped gift; wedding gift

Prompted by an interview for HuffPost Live, here are a few tips about wedding gift-giving and expectations.  

What is the etiquette pertaining to giving wedding gifts?

  • An invitation should not be a demand for gifts.
  • If attending, give a gift representing the relationship and within the budget.
  • It doesn't have to be something on a registry.
  • If given for previous weddings, another gift isn't necessary.
  • Ship the gift to the couple before the wedding.

What if the couple requests no gifts?

Even though this is a respectable expectation, especially in these days of divorces taking longer to finalize that the marriage lasted, this is never listed on any wedding correspondence.  

  • “No Gifts” may be listed on a wedding website.  
  • Use the rumor mill and ask others to spread the word.

Requesting cash as a gift?

  • Yikes!  This is not polite.
  • Never list this request anywhere, even on a wedding website.
  • Inform people of the cash expectation when they ask.
  • Use the rumor mill and ask others to spread the word.

More by The Polite One

Mom wants to sell tickets and isn’t paying for meals!

Do aunts host the bridal shower?

May we combine the bachelorette and bridal shower?

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Which Color is or is not Taboo for Wedding Attire?

  Learn what formally taboo colors are now proper to wear for a wedding and the one color that is not in this informative wedding etiquette article.   The Mother of the Bride wants to wear the lacy white skirt-suit she bought especially for her daughter’s wedding.   Is it appropriate?   Hmmm...   How about that spicy red number the Groom’s cousin yearns to don?   Hold onto your cummerbunds, we’re diving into the wedding attire info pool.   Wearing White Some still consider wearing white to a wedding as an insult to the bride, as if stealing the spotlight.   But it just isn't so.   A little white here and there is not an issue.   It is an issue if the outfit appears to be wedding attire .   Wearing Black Wearing black, especially as the mother of the groom, was once viewed as a symbol of her disapproval.   It was also viewed as a faux pas for wedding guests to wear black before 6 pm. Luckily, this is not the case today.   Black attire is viewed as trendy, cool, and st
Post a Comment
Read more

Wedding Guest Advice: How to Use a Gift Registry

Q & A With an Etiquette Expert As an etiquette specialist, I receive countless wedding etiquette questions.   Many of these questions concern the use of a wedding gift registry.   Even though this tool has been in place for decades now, many are still confused about how to use it.   What follows are a few of my answers to wedding gift registry questions.   Must I buy from the registry? Q : Must I buy a wedding gift from the registry?   If not, may I choose a gift I want to give?   For example, I like to buy all my soon-to-be-married friends a nice set of wine glasses.   The issue here is that my friend didn’t register for wine glasses. A : Many people do not know this, but a wedding registry is supposed to be a guideline as to what the couple wants and needs.  A wedding guest shouldn’t feel as if the items from the registry list are obligatory and the only gift choices. Guests may choose to give any gift they wish.  Consequently, give a gift of your choice that refle
Post a Comment
Read more

Anti-Clueless Advice: Wedding Guest Attire Decoded

  In the movie "You Again," Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver — as mothers of bride and groom – both wore red, off-the-shoulder dresses to the rehearsal dinner.   Yikes!   All eyes traveled to the attractive red dots floating around the room.   This, of course, isn't the best attire for mothers to wear to any wedding-related event.   But, what about wedding guests?   What is proper attire for wedding guests to wear to the wedding and how is it determined? Pay Attention to the Details The wedding invitation is our first clue to the formality of the wedding, and thus to our attire.   The heaviness of the paper, time of day, and the type of venue give us hints.   Usually, daytime weddings are less formal.   Couples use heavier paper for invitations for formal weddings.   Most often they will include the wording, "Formal" or "Black Tie" in the lower left-hand corner.    And, if the venue seems formal, the wedding usually is as well.   Of cour
Post a Comment
Read more