How to Tactfully Request Money as Wedding Gift

Anyone with a sense of etiquette knows you should never mention money or gifts on a wedding invitation or any materials sent to guests. It is just plain tacky. So, if you have all the material things you need and would love some cold hard cash, how do you ask politely? Here is how to tactfully request money as gifts from your guests without making a major social faux pas.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Create a small registry of items that you would like to have even though you really want money. There will always be a few guests who feel that giving money is improper and will want to buy you a material gift.

2. Ask your family members and the bridal party to spread the word when asked by other guests. They can simply say something like 'They are registered at [store name], but they are really trying to save up money for their [honeymoon/house].'

3. Edit your responses to certain friends and family members when asked if you are registered. Some close friends and family members won't bat an eye if you tell them you are hoping for cash, but others may think it is rude, in which case you should mention your registry only.

4. Consider using an online honeymoon or mortgage registry. These companies allow you to list out specific line items such as dinner on the beach or parasailing, so you guests can choose to pay for special parts of your trip. This still treads the line of tacky, though, and you may end up with guests who feel offended anyway.

5. Place a birdcage, basket or other container on the gift table at your wedding reception and put an empty, addressed card inside to let your guests know what it is there for. They will place any monetary gifts inside.

Resources

• TheBigDay.com to Create a Honeymoon Itinerary

[LondonGirl]

on 11/14/2008 We registered our UK Wedding gift list with www.JusttheThing.co.uk and it worked brilliantly. We were given a free wedding website with one page dedicated to our Gift List. We created items which we would like to put cash donations toward, friends and family "bought" what they wanted, then we got sent the cash. Couldn't be happier. It's been a brilliant solution for combining charity gifts with honeymoon wishes & the very few items we needed for the home. Because it looks like an actual gift lists, guests weren't offended at all that it was, in reality, a cash registry.