TIPS: Wedding Gift List
The wedding gift list: Do you need/want one? what should you have on it? What alternatives are there if you don't?
Honeymoon Contributions are very popular
Traditionally the wedding gift was the dowry that came when the bride wed her husband, be that land, money or other types of wealth. Some years later this evolved into the marriage chest, where the bride collected, or made, any linen items she would require for her new home, which was placed in the bottom drawer of the chest (hence the saying "for your bottom drawer"). The groom would provide the top part of the chest which would hold the crockery and glassware for the couple. In more recent years, a wedding gift list was created where gifts were given by friends and family to help the couple set up their home, with towels, crockery, electrical items and decorations. These days though, most couples live in their own homes, either apart or together, meaning they often have all the essentials for a home together. This begs the question, what should a guest give to a bride and groom on their wedding day?
Gift post box - Gift Registry is a way to save on double ups
Some people like to upgrade their household items, or get matching sets of things. For this John Lewis provide an excellent range of high quality items. You simply sign up to their wedding gift list service, then a few weeks before your wedding go round the store scanning items that you like the look of! Click to find out more about John Lewis Gift List
If you don't want to be tied to one store, then take a look at an online wedding gift list. There are various websites that offer this, some allow you to add items you find online direct from their website, others have links with multiple shops and allow you to bring everything together in one place.
Honeymoon contributions are becoming ever more popular, and what we chose to do for your wedding. We knew we had everything we needed for our current house, but wanted a dream holiday for our honeymoon. Our friends & family were very generous and we had a lovely time in Maritius. These contributions can be made direct to you, or through your chosen holiday company.
EBM Photography Gift vouchers
You could also ask your suppliers if they do gift vouchers that will allow you to upgrade their services. EBM Photography offers gift vouchers that can be redeemed against a package upgrades, put towards an album upgrade, or to purchase prints or wall art with images from your special day. Click find out more about these Gift Vouchers.
Some people find it difficult to ask for money as a gift, but there are lots of fun poems available online that can help with this, such as:
"We’ve lived together for quite a while, with all our pots and pans,
And as we don’t need homely gifts, we have another plan!
We know it’s not traditional, but it’s easier that’s for sure,
To have no wedding list at all, your attendance means much more!
For those of you who do insist, we have a savings pot,
A small gift to add to this, would really mean a lot!"
It is usually best to state what you intend to use the money for, be it for a honeymoon, towards a deposit for a house or any other items you choose, so that your guests know what they are contributing towards.
Whatever you decide with regard to your wedding gift list, I hope you have found this useful. If you have, be sure to sign up to receive EBM Photography's newsletter which includes more tips as well as special offers.