What to add on your Wedding gift list and how to actually ask!

The Wedding giftlist….another task on the Wedding to do list that you may be putting off! Traditionally, couples would be wed prior to starting a home together so guests would gift useful items to help set up, such as toasters, kettles, irons etc etc. Nowadays, a large percentage of couples getting married either have their own homes or already have a home set up together, so these gifts just aren’t needed! This makes it now even harder for guests to decide what to gift the newly wed couple. For the couple, it can be so hard to decide how to actually ask for gifts, some couples find it extremely difficult to know what to ask for and how to actually ask! We are here today to help with both of those questions!

What to actually ask for?

So what can you actually ask for to avoid receiving numerous Mr/Mrs related champagne flutes, coasters and memorabilia! We actually discuss the gift list in depth on your full planning services, which you can enquire about here.

1. Cash for the honeymoon

One of the most popular choices for couples is to ask for people to gift money either towards booking their honeymoon, or give your guests your location and they can gift you currency to take with you on your travels. A little extra in the honeymoon pot means more fancy meals, cocktails, trips and excursions while you are there! You could even put the cost towards upgrading your flights or for brand new luggage to travel in style!

2. Items for the house

I’m sure there are definitely new decor pieces for the house you have seen pop up in magazines or on Instagram that you just haven’t got round to yet purchasing for yourself, so why not add them to the list? Websites such as https://www.weddingshop.com/ and https://prezola.com/ offer a giftlist service where you can add items from various stores, or you can create a giftlist direct with a store such as John Lewis.

3. Vouchers

Why not have the flexibility of being able to go shopping after your Wedding day at your favourite stores? Many couples are unsure about asking for gift vouchers as it can seem a bit of an ‘easy’ gift, but guests would much rather you have exactly what you want!

4. Cash towards your Wedding album

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Many photographers now will offer services for your day with your images on an online portal, with the option to purchase beautiful albums and other items such as framed images after you have received the images and chosen your favourites. Why not ask your guests to put money towards then purchasing these after your day.

5. Donation to Charity

Decide on a charity as a couple, speak with the charity directly for the best way to set up a funding link, then ask guests to donate to this cause. You are best to ask them to do this prior to the day, instead of on the actual day so people know exactly what you want. It may be that you already have your Honeymoon booked and don’t have any gifts in mind that you would like, so this is a great way to support a cause close to you.

6. Nothing!

Instead of asking for gifts or cash, encourage your guests to stay at your Wedding venue or a local luxury hotel of your choice, so they can really make a weekend of it and enjoy brunch with you the following day! Just beware to state that you then want no gifts at all, or you may still end up with the Mr/Mrs memorabilia we mentioned before!

How to Ask?

There are so many ways now to ask for what you actually want once you have decided. It is best to add a note within your invitations, but if you are struggling to come up with the words to ask for this (it can be difficult to ask!) you can use a poem instead. You can hire someone to do this for you! A writer, poet or copywriter, many of whom now offer Wedding services for your invitations, speeches etc. Don’t forget, as we said at the start, guests are finding it hard nowadays to know what to purchase, so this will actually benefit them! It isn’t you telling them they to buy you something, if they don’t want to, they won’t but if they do, at least they have options!