Wedding gift advice

[Snowdrop13]

Hello everyone. I’m going to the wedding of a couple who will be setting up home in the NY area, but the wedding is here in the UK. Thinking about what to gift them- I don’t want to buy a “thing” as presumably transport might difficult and expensive. I was considering just cash but then I wondered if there are any big US department stores I could buy a voucher for instead? Any suggestions?

 

[MissGotRocks]

I think cash money or check is always welcome to newlyweds. I generally just enclose a check in a nice card.

 

[missy]

Cash is king with weddings imo especially for a couple setting up in NYC. New York is an expensive place to live and cash or check would be greatly appreciated. This way the money goes to what they truly need or want. Not what you think they need or want

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

I personally always defer to cash in these situations because even if you get them a voucher from a specific department store or brand they may not want anything from that brand particularly! Or they may want to save up for a house, or splurge on their honeymoon etc.

 

[lulu_ma]

Perhaps the couple has a registry set up with a US store? That would easiest course of action.

 

[dk168]

My go-to wedding present is a sterling silver photo frame, and the size is dependent on how well I know the couple. The better I know one or both of them the bigger the frame, if you know what I mean.

Edited to add I bought mine from an eBay shop based in Italy:
SEC of Florence

DK

 

[lala646]

Stick to cash. It's most flexible for the needs of the newlyweds.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Cash. Or Visa gift card.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

personally i hate cash and vouchers, its so impersonal and to my mind puts a value right out there on friendship -i know most will dissagree
but i also think its greedy to ask for cash or vouchers
again most will dissagree
i guess its a cultural thing

i used to love shopping for a wedding gift
but i know most people seem to want cash or vouchers
i hate vouchers becuase you have to be careful they dont expire before you use them, some people like to save them up to buy something bigger but i guess with a wedding they will be getting plenty of them

i realize times have changed and no one likes to have a lot of stuff anymore and also every one generally has everything they already want when setting up house as they are usually living together anyway

in NZ we dont even do checks any more -they seem so old fashoned to me these day, i cant even remember when they stopped them as hardly anyone was using them anymore, we had a check book in the drawer when we moved 7 years ago and it was about 10 years old with most of the checks still in it
most do internet banking here

 

[marymm]

I agree with your instinct to go with cash, particularly in this case

 

[MissGotRocks]

personally i hate cash and vouchers, its so impersonal and to my mind puts a value right out there on friendship -i know most will dissagree
but i also think its greedy to ask for cash or vouchers
again most will dissagree
i guess its a cultural thing

i used to love shopping for a wedding gift
but i know most people seem to want cash or vouchers
i hate vouchers becuase you have to be careful they dont expire before you use them, some people like to save them up to buy something bigger but i guess with a wedding they will be getting plenty of them

i realize times have changed and no one likes to have a lot of stuff anymore and also every one generally has everything they already want when setting up house as they are usually living together anyway

in NZ we dont even do checks any more -they seem so old fashoned to me these day, i cant even remember when they stopped them as hardly anyone was using them anymore, we had a check book in the drawer when we moved 7 years ago and it was about 10 years old with most of the checks still in it
most do internet banking here

I must admit that folks asking for cash for help with wedding expenses or honeymoon on a wedding website is inappropriate. Registries used to include China or flatware but those days seem long gone. There also used to be a loose rule of thumb that your monetary gift cover the approximate price of the dinner served to you and your guest. More extravagant wedding might mean a larger cash gift. I honestly don’t think that rule even occurs to anyone anymore. I give what I feel is appropriate and what my heart agrees with as well. Giving folks the flexibility to buy what they want or need is a great gift in my opinion. However, I can understand how some think of it as cold and unimaginative.

 

[canuk-gal]

I must admit that folks asking for cash for help with wedding expenses or honeymoon on a wedding website is inappropriate. Registries used to include China or flatware but those days seem long gone. There also used to be a loose rule of thumb that your monetary gift cover the approximate price of the dinner served to you and your guest. More extravagant wedding might mean a larger cash gift. I honestly don’t think that rule even occurs to anyone anymore. I give what I feel is appropriate and what my heart agrees with as well. Giving folks the flexibility to buy what they want or need is a great gift in my opinion. However, I can understand how some think of it as cold and unimaginative.

This. In the case where people are moving countries, I believe cash the most useful not to mention compact. If you run into an emergency, cash vs. dishes will be useful.