What To Give The Happy Couple
As couples are getting married at an older age, the traditional gift registry options are experiencing a shift in popularity.
Along with the pressure of what to wear to a wedding, how to get there and where to stay overnight, guests also have the pressure of working out what to give as a gift to the bride and groom. This gift is a token of congratulations as well as contributing towards a happy start to married life. Luckily, the question of ‘what’ to get is largely taken care of these days, as couples often opt to provide details of their gift requests amongst the wedding invitations. Here are some of the most popular options available for brides and grooms along with the correct etiquette in asking for them!
Gift Registry
The US department store Macys opened its gift registry in the 1920s and this has since been a popular option for betrothed couples who are setting up home for the first time. The idea is that instead of receiving 8 different toasters, 11 crockpots and 2 ice cream machines, couples make a list of the items they require from a particular department store, so that they end up with a sensible number and range of gifts to equip their married household. Many department stores in the UK offer a gift registry along with online wedding sites and digital services such as Amazon. Placing gift registry details in amongst your wedding invitations may seem a bit presumptuous, but actually the vast majority of guests are pleased to be guided with purchase options.
Honeymoon Fund
In the past, the groom’s parents would foot the bill for the honeymoon, but as more and more couples fund their own weddings, they’re left short of cash when it comes to booking the perfect post-wedding getaway. Enter the honeymoon fund, where couples come up with a list of activities, accommodation and methods of transport to their dream destination and ask guests to contribute towards these activities. In the past decade, this has become much more of an acceptable practice, and John Lewis alone have seen a 375% increase in requests for their Kuoni honeymoon list since 2011. To stay connected to the guests who have chipped in, you can take photos and send postcards from each section of your honeymoon to let them know how much you appreciate your kindness.
Asking For Money
Possibly the most debated option for wedding gifts is to ask your guests to donate cash. This may sound a little crude, but the idea behind this request actually makes a lot of sense. For opposite-sex marriages, the average groom is now 37.8 years old, whilst the average bride is 35.5 according to the Office for National Statistics . Many of these couples have been cohabiting for a while, and as such they’ve already set up home, so don’t have the same requirements for a traditional gift list. They also might find an extravagant honeymoon unrealistic too if they already have children. Under these circumstances, it’s entirely understandable that couples would like to ask for cash instead. Including a polite message in your invitations is an accepted way to let your guests know your wishes. Essex wedding venues are happy for you to bring along a secure wedding postbox so that your guests can safely post their cards and cash to be collected by your coordinator or a responsible member of your wedding party!
Whatever you decide to ask your guests for, remember to include polite wording in your invitations and follow up with a thankyou card shortly after your wedding!