Registering for your Wedding Gifts?
Consider being among the many couples asking their guests to give charitable donations
With increasing numbers of couples choosing to marry later and many choosing to live together first, the average bride and groom have already accumulated the usual wedding gifts of kitchenware and bedding. Couples are therefore looking for alternatives to put on their gift list and, with the move towards a more “socially responsible” society, many choose to ask their wedding guests to donate to charity.
Asking for a donation to a favourite charity also sidesteps the uncomfortable feeling that many couples have about having a gift list in the first place. Although a long-standing tradition, it can seem, in our affluent and must-have society, somewhat distasteful to ask people to dig deep to add to your list of ever-increasing material possessions.
But the fact remains that most guests do want to celebrate the marriage of much-loved family or friends by giving a token of their affection.
Rachael Miller and Devon Richards got married in the summer and were initially against having a gift list, but when a close friend suggested charitable donations as an alternative they instantly knew that this would be the perfect solution. “We have always given as much as we could to charities that are close to our hearts and we were excited that the people closest to us could do the same.”
One of the most popular reasons for couples to move towards donations is down to the fact that they have everything they need and are unable to see the advantage of registering with a conventional wedding list such as those provided by large department or online stores.
Susie Goodwin and Joel Flannigan, who have been living together for the last ten years, married in February of this year. “We already had everything we needed and felt that we wanted to do something a little different and a bit more meaningful. Our friends and family all seemed enthusiastic about what we had decided to do and we encouraged them to give to whichever charity was important to them knowing that they’d give more to a cause that they were passionate about.” Susie and Joel’s wedding raised a considerable amount for a large variety of charities and, following their lead, a number of their friends have decided to ask for charitable donations instead of gifts.
Darren Watson and Sarah Moorby wanted to give their guests the option of buying a gift or of donating to charity. “We didn’t want people to feel forced into giving to charity. That’s why we picked a gift service where we could list normal gifts and charity donations.”
Penny Parrott is the owner of e-weddinglist.co.uk, an online gift list service that allows the happy couple to list anything they like, from the usual mix of gifts to honeymoon donations and charitable gifts. Penny has noticed that there has been a noticeable increase in couples opting to request donations for their favourite charity or foundation. “It is a very positive move. Our customers like the fact that e-weddinglist allows them to list any number of charities alongside other gifts. Like some other sites, we do not charge commission on donations; all donations go straight to the charity.”
It is common for couples to incorporate some act of charitable giving during the course of their wedding, from donating excess food to shelters too giving flowers used during the ceremony to hospices. For couples like Rachael and Devon Richards giving something to others makes all the difference “knowing that our wedding was also helping others made our big day feel more special, and we know our guests felt exactly the same way.”
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