Gifting Etiquette for Weddings

As the summers filled with blossoming trees, vacations and parties come along, so does an important activity of the season: Weddings. Most couples choose summers to take their vows and solidify their commitment. This means you have to come up with wedding gifts you are obliged to get them. Here are some thumb rules every guest must follow when buying a present for a couple:

Resources:

From an engagement gift to a bachelor/bachelorette party gift and all the way to the wedding gift, it can get heavy on your bank account. Hence, it’s important to use your financial resources wisely. As per the experts, you should spend twenty percent of the allocated budget money for the engagement gift; twenty percent for the bridal shower; and sixty percent on the wedding gift.

If the wedding is of a distant friend or a co-worker, it is appropriate to spend around $75-$100 on the wedding gift. If it’s the wedding of a relative or a friend, the budget must go up to $100 to $150. However, if it’s a very close relative or a friend, you may choose as per your wishes (but nothing less than $150).

Registry:

A lot of couples register at their favorite stores or use universal gift registries. Normally, the love birds spend a lot of time choosing the items to put on their list. Hence, buying a present from the registry is always a safe bet. Typically, the catalog includes several different items to select from. Some of the items on the list may include bed and bath needs, kitchenware, décor items, luxury items, and the like. If you buy the present directly from the place where the newlyweds have registered make sure proper store procedures for the registry purchases are followed. This ensures that the item is "marked off" from the list so that no one buys the same present. Similarly, if the couple uses a universal gift registry, make sure you follow the system for "ticking off" your gift.

Today a lot of couples choose to have nontraditional ceremonies. This can be for numerous reasons such as, a second marriage, being socially conscious or due to unbearable expenses of a wedding. Hence, your wedding gift must always be in conjunction with the requests of the couple. In case they haven’t specified a registry, discuss the matter with the couple or a family member. In case the pair has asked for no wedding gifts, a charitable donation to an NGO in their name can be appropriate.

Don’t wait too long

It’s best to send the gift close to or at the wedding, or within three months of the wedding. Basically, make it as early as possible. Also, in case you miss the 3 month deadline it’s always advisable to still send the couple a gift than to never send them a present at all.

Regional etiquettes

Several times, gift etiquettes can also be region centric. It's very common to see guests giving cash in the tri-state area, while other regions of the country such as the southern area or the Midwest, registry items or other physical gifts are more common. Also in case you have been invited for a destination or an out-of-town wedding, it is normally OK to give a gift that’s not very expensive. But it’s important that you offer something. Attendance is not enough.

Weddings might be governed with pomp and show, old-fashioned rules, and propriety, but they’re actually just run by good manners and common sense. If you’re attending someone’s wedding, just make sure you offer them a thoughtful present that touches their heart and makes their union a little more special.