Of course it depends on personal circumstance. No couple would expect their guests to rack up debt to buy them something pretty (at least, we hope not) and, truly, money isn’t everything – but if you buy from the budget end it probably won’t go unnoticed. Most couples now operate their gift list online, logging on multiple times before the wedding to see what their guests have bought, and post-wedding, they’ll receive a printed list detailing everything purchased, by whom and for how much. Looking back on wedding presents past, that’s a thought that scares me a little bit – does it you?
Of course, couples (at least for the most part) don’t invite people to their wedding in order to receive presents from them, and the gift list is, at best, merely a guide. It may sound like a minefield but if you’re really important to the couple getting married they won’t care whether you buy them a television or a teatowel. For us, the wedding is all about spending the day with our nearest and dearest, and the all-too-common idea that some couples have of getting back what they’ve spent per head is, frankly, laughable.
Asking for money towards the honeymoon (or, increasingly, some undefined purpose) may be growing in popularity but we wanted something with a little more longevity – and so we hope to receive candlesticks from Auntie Joanwhich will grace our dining table for decades, perhaps a casserole dish from Cousin Florencefrom which we’ll serve her Sunday lunch in years to come, and maybe even a set of dining chairs from Uncle Bertie* which he’ll sit on every Christmas from now on.
