Sara Margulis, CEO & Founder
Wedding Gift Etiquette FAQs
Get ready for a big surprise: According to traditional etiquette, gifts of any kind should never be expected. That's why it's uncouth to include any mention of gifts with your invitation—it comes across like you're expecting a gift.
Reality check! As we all know, most guests will choose to bring a gift. After all, they are the people that love and care about you the most. They'll want to honor your special occasion by giving something you really want.
Read more about wedding gift etiquette for guests.
You might be thinking, \"If gifts are not required, why should we go to the trouble of creating a registry?\" Simply put, it's a courtesy to your guests. Your registry makes it easier for them to pick out something they know you'll love. Read our tips for creating a great wedding registry.
If you're the kind of couple that would rather not receive gifts at all, you'll find that requesting no gifts is tougher than you think. Any mention of gifts on the invitation is against etiquette, even requesting none. Most guests want to honor your special occasion by giving something. That's why a Honeyfund is such a great idea. You can easily set up a cash registry where guests can give you something you'll really use and enjoy, and you'll avoid accumulating more stuff. Learn more about how to ask for cash instead of gifts.
By and large, the answer is \"Yes!\" Honeymoon registries and cash registries are much more common these days.
And, since Honeyfund allows guests to purchase a piece of your honeymoon, home down payment, or anything else you are saving for, guests have the feeling they are contributing toward something exciting, something you really want and need, as opposed to the impersonal gift of strict cash.
Learn more about how to ask for cash instead of gifts.
Guests should never pay a transaction fee to give you the gift of funds. Some cash registry sites justify their high fees by saying it is \"less than tax and gift wrapping on a traditional gift.\" This may be true, but we still find it uncomfortable to charge someone to give you money. For this reason, Honeyfund offers free, offline payment methods. And, if you choose to accept online credit card payments, we offer you the lowest transaction fees available. Guests never pay a fee.
In all our research, we've only found one answer to this question: No! Never mention gifts or gift registries on anything associated with your invitation. You can however provide the website address of your wedding website, which you can link to Honeyfund.com and your other registries. If you don't have a wedding website, see the next question.
Read more about wedding registry wording.
If you don't have a wedding website, Honeyfund can stand in! Since you can use Honeyfund to provide guests with wedding details like the date, location, accommodation info and other gift registries, it is acceptable to notify guests of your Honeyfund page when you mail the invitations (download inserts here).
First, be sure to setup your Wedding Details here.
See the previous questions for how to handle registry information in your wedding invitation. Read more about wedding registry wording.
Also, make sure your bridal party and close family members are helping to spread the word and answer questions about your Honeyfund gift list. Word of mouth can be very effective.
We recommend you create at least one conventional gift list for the traditionalists on your guest list. This way, your guests can choose from a wide range of things they know you'll like.
Read our full article on wedding registry etiquette tips.
Note: There's one more benefit of a traditional gift list: Many department stores entice you to \"complete\" your list after your wedding by offering you up to 20% off remaining items. So if there is anything you've been eyeing for your home, put it on your wedding list. If no one purchases it, you can get it later at a discount.
Here are some resources we found on the topic:
