Wedding Gift List

Should we have a wedding gift list?

Having a wedding gift list for a wedding abroad is a matter of personal discretion.

We all know giving the bride and groom a wedding present is an accepted part of wedding tradition. However, for a wedding abroad many couples often question if it is appropriate or necessary.






Like some couples, you may feel the personal effort and expense your guests are going to to come your wedding abroad is well and truly enough and request they do not buy you a wedding gift.

The approach we took for our wedding was, “we value your presence not your presents”. However we were surprised that many of our guests still wished to buy us a wedding present and we had so many requests to set up a wedding gift list that in the end we did.

You may also find that some guests who are unable to attend your wedding abroad may still wish to buy you a gift and if you are having a small wedding abroad with a large party upon your return most people attending your party would expect to buy you a wedding gift.

Transporting Wedding Gifts

With this fact in mind it would be advisable to ask your guests not to bring wedding presents to your wedding itself.

Wedding presents will only add to your luggage allowance when you return home and may be difficult for you to transport.

Alternative Wedding Gift Lists

Particularly if you are having your wedding abroad, I think an alternative gift list such as travel vouchers or a honeymoon wedding list is a fantastic idea.

A honeymoon wedding gift list is where your guests contribute money to your honeymoon rather than buying you a traditional wedding gift. They are becoming increasingly popular and if you are combining your wedding and honeymoon in one I think they are a fantastic idea.

Guests who have travelled to your wedding will be able to see the gift they bought you first hand and guests who are unable be at your wedding will feel like they have contributed something special to your wedding and honeymoon.

Your honeymoon wedding list could be used for any number of things, such as flights, upgrading the hotel you are staying in, airport transfers, romantic dinners, pampering sessions in the beauty parlour, massages and sight seeing trips.

There are a number of travel companies who sell travel gift vouchers or will set up a honeymoon wedding list for you.

HoneyMoney have created what they call “The Ultimate Honeymoon Wedding List” and what I love about their service is you set up a virtual “wish list” of the various elements of your honeymoon that you would like to receive as wedding gifts. For example, on your list you put down items such as:

• Contribution towards your flights
• 5* Accommodation
• Bed in Breakfast

Your guests can then either buy a whole item or contribute towards buying you part of the item you have requested.

Next to each item you specify a minimum contribution price, such as £50 and the number of units that are needed to make up the total cost of the item. For example if the total cost of your flights is £500, you would request 10 units at £50 each.

Therefore if a guest would like to contribute £200 towards your flights they would buy 4 units. It is really simple and very fun – rather than thanking your guest for their gift voucher you can thank them for the 500 miles of blue sky you flew through at 28,000 feet!

The other thing I really like about HoneyMoney is you are not locked into using a particular company thereby giving you the freedom to use your money however you like or book your honeymoon through whomever you like.

Particularly if you are having your wedding abroad this gives you the type of the flexibility you need.

Click on the link below to take a look at HoneyMoney’s website and impressive offering.

www.honeymoney.co.uk

So they set about putting together a website where their friends and family could contribute towards the honeymoon. Once the excitement of their wedding and honeymoon had died down, it occurred to them that the site had been such a success that they just had to make it available for other couples in a similar situation.

Moneymoon has been designed as a unique interactive honeymoon gift list service, where your wedding guests can contribute towards your holiday of a lifetime.

Using Moneymoon's fun and user-friendly maps, you can plot your route around the country, continent or world, before inviting your friends and family to help send you on your way. They can then contribute to your journeys simply by moving you along your route on the map, letting them envisage exactly what their gift is going towards!

You can either plan and book your holiday totally independently, or use one of Moneymoon's highly experienced travel partners to help you book. Either way you'll benefit from very low commission rates and personal customer service.

Click on the link below to have a look at Moneymoon’s website.

www.moneymoon.net

giveit.co.uk is a non-profit making company. If you would like to do something different and use your wedding day for the benefit of others then giveit.co.uk could be the perfect wedding list for you. When you set up a wedding gift list with giveit.co.uk, your guests make a donation to charity as your wedding present.

If you are having your wedding abroad and have requested your guests don’t buy wedding presents but know they will anyway, giveit.co.uk is a brilliant idea. This way both you and your guests will be making a difference to the lives of people who really need it.

Click on the link below to learn more about this excellent charity.

www.giveit.co.uk