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A wedding guest is not obligated to send the married couple a gift. Neither should
the special couple feel obliged to send an invite to the wedding as a ‘reward’ for
receiving a gift. It has become normal practice and polite however for most guests
to give the couple a gift and donors of wedding gifts to receive an invitation to
the wedding party.
It is respectful to send wedding gifts to the couple as soon as you have received
the news of the forthcoming wedding, rather than waiting to receive an invitation.
It is now very popular for couples to set up a wedding gift list, to avoid receiving
duplicate presents and to make selecting a gift easier for the donor. It is essential
that the list covers items at all price levels, so that the donors can select an
item that is affordable to them. An example of a successful way of providing a price
sensitive wedding gift list is to decide on a particular design/brand of crockery,
whereby people can select from the cheaper items up to the more expensive pieces.
Traditionally, the bride’s parents give the couple bed linen for their new home
as part of the trousseau.
The most popular and favourite form of wedding presents are gifts for the new couples
home. Homeware gifts can be enjoyed by both the bride and groom and are gifts for
their future life together.
If possible, the wedding gift should be posted or delivered well in advance of the
wedding date itself. If the gift is taken to the church or reception the couple
should avoid opening the gifts, as gift tags often fall off in the excitement of
opening them and the couple will not be clear on who to thank for the gift.
Ideally, on receipt of each gift, the bride should send out a thank you note as
soon as possible. The note should suggest that each present was gratefully received
and the gift was exactly what the couple had hoped for (even if this is not always
the case and you had not hoped for a hundred toasters!)
At the reception, the couple’s gifts should be exhibited on a table for the guests
to take a look at. If a gift is too large to display then a card should be placed
on the table in its place, describing the item e.g. a refrigerator from Mr & Mrs
Laporte. If the couple has been given money as a gift, then the amount should not
be shown and the card should read 'Cheque from Auntie Leanne'.
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