Wedding Gift

[guiseppewv]

Ladies and Gentlemen - do you prefer getting gifts from a wedding registry or more personal gifts?

Also, is it just me - are people being crass (maybe not the right word exactly but...) by putting a lot of $200+ (some above the $500 mark) gifts on their registry?

Thanks for the input!!!

[ray]

From my experiences, the newlyweds have put items ranging from $20 - $300 on their registries. For a single person, I don't think there is any reasonable expectation that they should be dropping $300+ for the gift. However, I have seen families or friends band together to give one large gift (ie: buying an item priced at $300+) and sending it as a group.

[renovation]

A lot depends on the couples lifestyle.

[uncledaddy]

What happened to the days of just being surprised when/if you received a wedding gift? As if a couple would not be happy if a more personal gift was received.

[avlena]

Ladies and Gentlemen - do you prefer getting gifts from a wedding registry or more personal gifts?

Also, is it just me - are people being crass (maybe not the right word exactly but...) by putting a lot of $200+ (some above the $500 mark) gifts on their registry?

Thanks for the input!!!

Sometimes those high priced items means the couple got trigger happy while picking out items for the registry. When we registered, the giddy fun of creating a wish-list kinda went to our heads - we registered for a meat grinder, a $200 trashcan (which, a friend actually bought for herself and still swears it's the best trashcan ever... which to me isn't worth $200), every type of appliance imaginable, etc. Then, when we actually received the gifts, reality kicked in, and we realized that a lot of the stuff on our registry had to be returned. Not only did we not need it, but half of it wouldn't even fit in our little apartment!

I actually prefer buying from a registry for a few logical reasons.
1) it solves the problem of the couple receiving 10 toasters
2) sometimes you don't really know what their style is - do they like stainless steel, or retro bright red? What's their decor?
3) if the couple changes their mind, most registry programs allow them to easily return/exchange it, as opposed to a gift that they're stuck with.

I've gone to weddings where I had to beg the couple to create a registry, so I could find a good gift. A registry isn't a demand for gifts - it's convenient for those who choose to give. I put my registry information in my invite for convenience, but told people they didn't have to give us a gift. Some guests only gave us a card with a sweet note inside, and that was fine by me.

[Memo]

I give personal gifts to someone who I am actually friends with. Something reasonably priced from a registry if it's one of those weddings where you just kinda have to go.

[oblongmelon]

Unless it's family, I try not to give a gift that's been asked for on a registry. Sometimes I just give money, and sometimes I give money and a gift that I take alot of time to pick out that I know will mean something to the bride and groom.

[ramazank2]

Registry all the way. Everything I received off the registry ended up at a garage sale at some point. Sure it seems nice that you put thought into and all, but chances are if they wanted it they would have put it on the registry.

[Napoleon54]

...chances are if they wanted it they would have put it on the registry.

That's without a doubt the wisest statement made in this thread so far. It seems kinda obvious when you put it that way.

I really dislike getting unwanted gifts, is there anything more awkward than that? Having to feign enthusiasm and gratitude, etc... bleh.

But on the other hand, for a registry to work properly the couple has to be responsible for choosing stuff that's within the guests' price range. If you wanna spend $50 but everything is >$100, I think you're fully justified in mutinying from the registry.

[guiseppewv]

Hey, thanks for the input everyone. And thanks for explaining why some large items get on registries. I still think gifts in excess of $500 are crass and I would never put one on my own registry, unless it was something so ridiculous that people would find it funny, but I do understand now that some people go a little hog wild on their registries.

Thanks, again!!!

[uncledaddy]

Sometimes those high priced items means the couple got trigger happy while picking out items for the registry. When we registered, the giddy fun of creating a wish-list kinda went to our heads - we registered for a meat grinder, a $200 trashcan (which, a friend actually bought for herself and still swears it's the best trashcan ever... which to me isn't worth $200), every type of appliance imaginable, etc. Then, when we actually received the gifts, reality kicked in, and we realized that a lot of the stuff on our registry had to be returned. Not only did we not need it, but half of it wouldn't even fit in our little apartment!

I actually prefer buying from a registry for a few logical reasons.
1) it solves the problem of the couple receiving 10 toasters
2) sometimes you don't really know what their style is - do they like stainless steel, or retro bright red? What's their decor?
3) if the couple changes their mind, most registry programs allow them to easily return/exchange it, as opposed to a gift that they're stuck with.

I've gone to weddings where I had to beg the couple to create a registry, so I could find a good gift. A registry isn't a demand for gifts - it's convenient for those who choose to give. I put my registry information in my invite for convenience, but told people they didn't have to give us a gift. Some guests only gave us a card with a sweet note inside, and that was fine by me.

Hmm...put that way, it makes sense.

[guiseppewv]

I agree. It did make much more sense after Avlena's post. Among other things, I would have never thought about a bunch of people banding together to buy a gift.

[ramazank2]

Also sometimes you get people that want to spend more money on you. We put a kitchenaid mixer on ours but sadly nobody got it for us. But a few weeks after our wedding I got a great deal on one through GA!!!

[redcolours]

two words: GIFT CARDS.

1) solves the problem of having to pick out a gift for the couple (hey, im lazy!)
2) the couple can use it to pick out what THEY want, instead of getting stuck with something they dont really need (10 toasters), or dont want (the ugly china).

home improvement store cards are the best, i think, if they have a house they just moved into.

i dunno, im being practical. i guess thats just me thinking if i ever get married, thats what i would prefer to get.
IF i ever get married.

[The Happy Squirrel]

Ladies and Gentlemen - do you prefer getting gifts from a wedding registry or more personal gifts?

Also, is it just me - are people being crass (maybe not the right word exactly but...) by putting a lot of $200+ (some above the $500 mark) gifts on their registry?

Thanks for the input!!!

you know its all relative

some families have money some don't


my mother side of the family wouldn't even think twice about spending $200 + on a wedding gift

my dads side of the family you'll be lucky to get a card because the only reason they show up is for the open bar



for m, really money means nothing, i have no problem spending a few hundred on someone if its something special like a wedding and its something that they really want. if there were not a specific item in mind i probably would go that far and as much something and like $100 GC to red lobster or something


but like i said its all relative to the situation.


a wedding is something that "theoretically" happens once a life time and should be view and celebrated accordingly, nut then again who knows.......

[guiseppewv]

I do realize that there are some people that wouldn't even think twice about spending that kind of loot and, to be honest, I have given way bigger gifts than that but they were to my sisters. In this case, a good 50% of the gifts are above $200 and I would say 10-20% are above $500, which is what made me ask the question. I didn't think of the pooling of funds by friends/family as one possibility when I asked the question.

Thanks, everyone, for your input.