Wedding Gifts for Third Time Married Couples
According to Diane Warner's wedding etiquette book published in 2008, 30 percent of weddings are encore weddings. That is, one in three weddings involve a partner who has been married before, whether that means they are on their third or 30th marriage. Although the encore bride or groom may have to adhere to vows considered universal to many wedding ceremonies, guests of encore weddings do not have to adhere to any hard-and-fast rules when it comes to gift giving.
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Gift-Giving Guidelines
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Deciding whether to give a gift for an encore wedding should be based on feelings toward the couple. Although etiquette dictates wedding guests are required to attend bearing gifts, no such rules apply when attending an encore wedding. Etiquette expert Miss Manners recommends that although guests should always express their congratulations and best wishes to the couple, it is not necessary to give a gift. This is especially true if the guests attended and gave a gift for the bride or groom's first wedding. Whether a guest gives a gift for an encore wedding should be based on the guest's affection for the couple.
Traditional Gifts
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Encore wedding couples probably already own a set of crystal glasses. If a guest should decide to give an encore wedding gift to an encore wedding couple, there a few gifts that tradition and etiquette dictate are off limits. According to The Knot's remarriage planning tips, gifts of silver, china and crystal should be reserved for first marriages. Regardless of etiquette, many encore wedding couples already own these types of items. Perhaps they received them on their first weddings. Being that encore weddings involve people who usually have already set up their own households before, guests have to think of less-traditional gift ideas if they choose to give a gift.
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Charitable Gifts
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Wedding guests could consider giving money to a cause important to the wedding couple. An alternative to buying a traditional wedding gift off a traditional wedding registry is to give a gift to a charity in the encore wedding couple's name. For extra meaning, guests could give to a cause important to the couple. For instance, if the couple loves animals, consider giving to a local humane association. Another idea would be to give to a health-related charities that may bear significance to the couple's lives, or guests could even give to the couple's church or alma mater.
Money
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Guests can't go wrong with gifts of money. Alternatively, encore wedding couples may be hoping guests give to their favorite charity of all: the wedding couple themselves. Monetary gifts can be used for a number of things, including paying down a couple's mortgage, saving for retirement, purchasing any household goods the couple may need to replace or simply going on a honeymoon. The amount given should be left up to the guests discretion, keeping in mind that a gift for a third or subsequent wedding isn't required in the first place.
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