Monday, July 21, 2008

The Gift Giving Dilemma

That Groom likes it when I attempt to get excited about finances, so I subscribe to My Money Blog because I can send him links and impress him with my dedication to reading the posts. A few weeks ago the author wrote a post about how much a wedding gift should cost.


Image via flickr.

He suggested three factors to consider when buying your gift:
1. How close are you to the couple?

2. How fancy is the wedding?

3. What is your financial situation?
That Groom would say that #3 is the most important one, and he would be right. Yes, there are some couples who get a little bit greedy when it comes to gifts, but I think most couples are just genuinely pleased to see their loved ones show their support by coming to the wedding itself. Take what you can afford, and invest it in something off of their registry that you think will last.

If you are really stressed about what to get, talk to some of the women in your life who have been married for a long time now. Ask them what wedding gifts they are still using because there are definitely some things that last longer than others.

My personal plan of attack when it comes to gift giving is to buy the funnest looking item from the registry, and then take as many pictures as possible at the wedding. The photos won't be as pretty as what the photographer captures, but I don't think there was ever a couple that complained about walking away with too many photos of their wedding.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I know that buying off of the regisry doesn't seem quite as fun, but as a bride-to-be in the midst of wedding showers, registry gifts are GREATLY appreciated! These are things we very carefully picked out so that we can build our home together. They are functional and of our taste (and span all price ranges).

I'm sure this will come across sounding very rude, but so far I have cringed inside at every non-registry gift I have received wondering what we will do with it.

I can see going off the registry if you are VERY close to the couple, but if not...stick to what you KNOW they are looking forward to receiving.

Cate Subrosa said...

This is probably going to sound really weird, but I can't wait to see what different amounts people we invite give to us, just out of an anthropological interest in who will give us what. Not because I will be overly-pleased or disappointed with anything we receive (probably) but simply because it's fascinating!

Jess and Carl said...

Yay I love that I will now have a way to catch up on the wedding and keep up to date on it...

Registries I think really are smart! I know we ended up getting a ton of doubles and that was just a pain! So... it may not be as fun, but it is still fun because they are presents and they are all yours! :)

Oh and I loved all your other posts, if you haven't decided on your outfit yet #2 and #3 were my favorite! You are adorable! Love you!

Jonathan said...

Thanks for the mention! I got a kick out of that, I might just get along with your groom. ;)

I agree that having people actually go to your wedding (esp. if it requires travel time) would be the best gift from close friends.

I would also agree, though, with Miss X on "I can see going off the registry if you are VERY close to the couple, but if not...stick to what you KNOW they are looking forward to receiving."

If you have a big wedding, the non-registry gifts tend to be harder to return (say you registered for one thing and got doubles) and often re-gifts!

Best of luck with the wedding!