Yes, a wedding comes with stress for the guests as well! What about the gift?! Wondering about wedding gift etiquette? Our simple list of do’s and dont’s is a great place to start when it comes to narrowing down what you should get the happy couple. In this day and age, the internet is such a helpful wedding planning tool. We love recommending websites like Zola. Here you can create a free wedding registry. Which can include a honeymoon cash fund, travel packages as well as features like price matching and group gifting! Sounds pretty foolproof right?!

Should you stick to the registry? Well Duh! The registry is not only a tool to ensure the bride and groom get gifts they actually want but also a way to make gift buying easier for their guests. Win-win? We think so! If you feel like you are closer with the couple than just choosing an item off the registry, try adding a personal touch to one of the items or bundling a registry item with something sentimental. But, the couple chose all the items on the registry for a reason, because they want them… so we say make your wedding gift buying life easier and use it!

First of all, a wedding gift is completely optional! So, don’t let this stress you out, remember the couple is just happy you are celebrating their special day with them and would only want you to spend what you can afford. Especially, if you are attending a destination wedding in Hawaii like most of the guests we cross paths with are. The bride and groom are just thrilled you took the time and made the effort to come all the way here for them. When making the decision about how much to spend, take into account your relationship with the couple. For example, a coworker would likely spend less than say an Aunt or Uncle. 50$ is a great starting point. If you are attending as a couple or bringing a plus one, you may also want to take this into account when deciding how much to spend. Lastly, don’t be afraid to reach out to other friends or relatives attending the wedding to go in on something together!   

Who doesn’t like getting cash? Money can be used to go towards something like their honeymoon, a travel package, a bigger household item, or even home renovations the couple may be saving up for. Don’t want to send cash or check by mail or even bring it to the wedding? No problem, sites like Zola have a cash fund as part of the couple’s registry so you don’t have to worry about it. Feel like money is too impersonal but not sure what else to get them? Then head to the registry, or think of a personal/sentimental gift to accompany your envelope. Plus you can always fall back on a nice bottle of wine to pair with your check, no one ever said no to that.

We know what you are thinking, there is so much going on on the wedding day should you even burden the couple with one more item to take home and keep track of at the end of the night? Well, you might be right. Couples will usually specify on their wedding website or registry page if they would like gifts sent to them or if there will be a gift table at their wedding. Cards are usually always accepted on the day. So, if you decided to get them that expensive juicer (you know they will only use it once and then put it in the cupboard) from their registry you may want to have it sent directly to them to save someone the trouble of bringing it home from the reception. And if you are sending a gift, do it close to the wedding date.

See, wedding gifts don’t have to be such a stressful topic… Just follow our do’s and don’ts and check out these great ideas provided by Zola!