You’re getting married and you and your fiancé go and register for gifts; a coffee maker, dishes, silverware and all the necessary household items.  But what if you could get what you really want; MONEY to get a house, a bigger apartment or a great honeymoon.   But is money an appropriate gift for a wedding?

Well, technologically speaking “NO”, money is not an appropriate gift.  But the question that I ask you, is “WHY”

Yes, asking for cash as a wedding gift is TACKY but what if you could do it in a polite, hip and cool way. “It’s not rude to request money as a wedding gift,” says Peggy Post, author of Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette.  “However, it’s extremely important to ask politely. 

There are some cool and innovative ways to incorporate monetary gifts into your special day. The very popular Money Dance is a great idea.  The guests pay a dollar to have a dance with the bride and groom.  This is a great way for the couple to interact with guests at the wedding.  

Another is having a money tree or money/card box .  This is a great option because some people really don’t know what to get, especially if they have homes, are coming together and already have everything.  

Honeymoon registries are also very common.  This is a wonderful way to get a great honeymoon.  A honeymoon is set up by the couple, the guests are informed about the registry the same way as others, by word of mouth, guests can then go and pay for certain aspects of the honeymoon.  They can upgrade the room, add excursions, breakfast in bed or chocolates and champagne.

There are also some great resources out there for getting monetary gifts for down payments for mortgages.  If a couple is in the process of buying a house this is a great idea to help get the down payment together.   “A Perfect Wedding Gift.com” is an amazing website that allows a couple to register and then guests can go to the website and purchase a monetary gift for them.  The money goes into an established account for the couple for a down payment.  Another great site is Bridal Downpayment.com. and SunTrust Mortgage also has a bridal registry available.  

The main thing to remember is that asking for money or unconventional gifts is not bad, just be mindful of how you are doing it.  Make sure to always ask politely and in the right situations.  You should never put any information about registries and wanting cash for gifts in invitations.  This should be information that guests get through word of mouth. 

 
Happy Planning,

Shafonne Myers
Making Your Event Special