According to Etiquette, What Is the Way to Say 'No Gifts' on a Wedding Invitation?
Most experts on wedding etiquette agree that a wedding invitation should not mention gifts at all -- even if the intent is an unselfish one. In issuing the invitation, a polite bride should be thinking of nothing except her joy in the upcoming nuptials and her wish to share her happiness with guests. Gifts, in theory, are unrelated, even if most guests will offer them. In spite of arbiters' opinions, however, some argue that a couple can convey a no-gift request if they tread carefully.
Other People Are Reading
-
Invitation
-
A proper wedding invitation should never contain a gift registry list. Similarly, it could be said that an invitation specifically requesting no gifts -- however well intentioned -- implies that a gift is the usual admission price for attending a wedding. Guests who like to bring presents as a way of adding to the celebration might feel slighted as well. To lessen these effects, that same request might be reworded to replace the prohibitive feel of "no gifts," with a positive slant emphasizing the sentiment of the occasion and the couple's appreciation for the guest. A common phrasing: "Your presence on our big day is the only gift we need."
Word of Mouth
-
Instead of including awkward phrasing on the invitation, the couple could ask immediate family and close friends to spread the word discreetly. Whenever a guest asks the mother of the bride what the couple might like as a gift, she could cheerfully respond that the bride and groom don't need a thing. In fact, they will have two of everything once they combine their two households into one. They require only friends, family and good wishes for their day to be complete.
-
Charity
-
Bride and groom could select and even register with a favorite charity to which guests could offer donations in lieu of presents. Wording as much on an invitation might prove awkward, however, so close family and friends could spread word of the charity suggestion to anyone who asks for gift ideas.
Unorthodox Registry
-
Knowing that some guests will insist on bringing gifts regardless of any efforts to convince them otherwise, the bride and groom could register for inexpensive items. Maybe they could play up a relationship or ceremonial theme by asking the wedding party to suggest gifts that invoke laughter or sentiment: planks of wood to build a new deck on their home together, candles for romantic dinners, photos of the bride and groom, happy wishes written on note cards to be combined into a keepsake collection, or some other token that meaningfully celebrates the day and the couple's relationship.
-
References
- Photo Credit Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
