Apart from getting married itself, is there anything quite as exciting as making a list of presents you’d love to receive from your friends and family!? There are varying opinions on wedding lists. Some people think that the bride and groom should be grateful to receive whatever is bought them, whereas a lot of people do appreciate the guidance that a wedding list can give them. If you want to have a wedding list to ensure you get the presents that you want and your friends and family aren’t left scratching their heads, take a look at our advice below.
Gift list options
There are several options for your wedding list, some more suitable than others depending upon you and your partner’s personal circumstances.
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- A managed gift list with one store
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- A managed list with a specialist wedding list company who deal with various stores
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- A honeymoon fund
- Other options such as donations to charity, gift vouchers
The choice is completely yours. If you’ve lived together for some time, you will almost certainly own everything that you need so you might decide on gift vouchers, donations to a honeymoon fund or if you are being particularly generous donations to a charity you have an affinity with. We’re going to assume you’re going for option one or two for this guide.
How many gifts should you have on it?
This is really up to you but it’s worth doing a few sums first. Let’s say you have 100 guests coming to your wedding. Most of these will probably come in couples or more so that means you might think a selection of 60-65 gifts is enough. However, you are probably going to have gifts at a range of price points and some guests will be able to afford gifts more than others so it’s important to have a number of gifts at each price point. Therefore, you’re better having too many gifts on your list to ensure that any of our guests aren’t placed in an awkward situation or financial difficulty. And don’t forget that some people will buy there own gifts too, so enjoy the surprises you get that are not on your list!
When should you compile your wedding list?
As early as you can! You need to give your wedding guests enough time to get your wedding gifts. We recommend creating it about six months before the big day itself. This gives guests time to save up or club together to buy you the more expensive items on the list.
Should you manage your own wedding list?
You can do and many couples do. However, it can be extremely distracting, logging on daily to see who has bought you what (or hasn’t). It can divert your attention away from more important aspects of wedding planning so what many couples do is ask a relative to manage it for them. Not only does that take the pressure off you, but it also means that your gifts are a surprise on the day, which makes it so much more special.
Finally… don’t forget to say thank you!
Make sure that you know who bought you what and then send them a thank you note. This attention to detail will be really appreciated by your guests and is something that all of them are guaranteed to appreciate.