Wedding Themes by Tess Creative, Cost Effective Wedding Themes

My fiance does not want to do any wedding registries. We have lived together for 3 years now, and already have towels, dishes, etc. What type of things to people get for weddings? My mom said to make a donation box at the reception, but I think that is disrespectful. I would prefer to just tell people that they only need to show up, no gifts are necessary, but People may try to get us stuff anyway. Any Ideas?

I was in the same situation. We’d been together for 6 years and already owned our home so I didn’t think there was anything that we could possibly want. But, his family was very confused when there was no registry. So we ended up registering at a couple of places. Not too much and we did it in the comfort of our own home online and I would call my (now) hubby in and ask his opinion on certain things for the home.

If you don’t register, you will be amazed at the amount of, well, crap that you receive. I know that’s harsh, but some people need direction.

Short of putting on the invitation that if anyone feels the need to give a gift to donate to their favorite charity, people will bring gifts. Many people will give you a card with cash or check, and usually someone in the wedding party will have a discreet satin satchel that they will keep track of the cards for the bridal party (although I have heard of the ‘boxes’ and I don’t think they are such a bad idea, as it would typically just be on the table that the gifts go on and wouldn’t get lost).

Also, there may be out of town relatives or long lost friends of yours who hear the news and would like to send a gift to congratulate you (without even coming to your wedding). In this day and age, everyone just clicks on their computer and looks up your registry.

I’m not saying you have to ask for handouts, but I cannot express enough how confused my husband’s family looked when we said we weren’t registering and didn’t need anything. No matter what you tell some people, they will not show up without a gift in hand (or having sent one in advance).

And, when you register with most places you get a coupon for at least 10% off of anything off of your registry (and usually the whole store) after your wedding. I did this with Williams Sonoma and ended up returning things we didn’t need and got a couple appliances we’d been eying and then had the rest in gift cards…which we used to buy many people’s Christmas gifts that year!