We all love presents, and happily, your wedding is one occasion when you are going to receive more presents than you could ever imagine! There are engagement and wedding gifts, presents for the bridal party, and sometimes even an exchange of gifts between the bride and groom!

• Engagement gifts

  If you’re having an engagement party, etiquette dictates that your guests will bring you an engagement gift. So if you feel you are going to be spoiled enough with all the presents you’ll receive on the actual wedding day, you need to specifically put “No presents please” on your engagement party invite.
• Another idea is to use the engagement party as a way to raise money for your favourite charity – ask guests to make a donation in your name instead of bringing you and your fiancé a material gift.
• There’s no need to create a gift registry for your engagement party – it’s a bit over the top! Instead, let your guests decide for themselves what they’d like to give you for this occasion. Engagement gifts are usually far less extravagant than wedding gifts – say, a cookbook as opposed to fine china, or a board game instead of a sound system.

• Gifts for the bridal party

  It’s customary to give your bridal party a present as a token of their involvement in the day and to thank them for their special contribution. Usually bridesmaids and groomsmen are an invaluable help to the bride and groom, and often they have outlaid a fair bit of cash to be part of your bridal party. So be generous with your gifts – think perfume or jewellery for the girls, and engraved items such as beer mugs or a very decent bottle of wine for the guys.
• Don’t forget to accompany each bridal party gift with a personalised note to show how much you appreciate your friends helping you become Mr and Mrs!

• Gifts for guests

  Bomboniere – or favours – are a small present for each guest to thank them for being part of your special day. They can be packaged up in a cute box with ribbon and placed at each guest’s place setting, with the bonus that they add to the stylish look of your reception tables!
• Ideas for favours might include mini boxes of chocolates, a small photo frame, or scented candles. Take the chance to attach a short note to each favour, with words such as: “Thank you for being part of our special day. Love Megan and Chris.”

• Wedding gifts

  Thank goodness for wedding registries! They are a godsend for guests, who will want to give you something you really want, and that will suit your décor and taste. And for you, it’s a great way to ensure you don’t double up on gifts.
• There are loads of options when it comes to registries. You can choose to register with a department store, an online wedding registry, a travel agency (to contribute to your honeymoon fund), or charity (whereby guests contribute to the charity on your behalf in lieu of presents). Just don’t forget to include the registry details on your invitation! Here’s a list of gift registries to get you started.
• If you don’t like the idea of a wedding registry, you can always make an informal list of items you would like, so when guests ask for suggestions, you have some firm ideas prepared.

• Gifts for the bride and groom

  Some couples like to exchange presents between each other to mark the occasion of their wedding, however, this is not mandatory! It might seem like another expense you can do without, especially as you are about to receive a ton of joint wedding presents from friends and family.
• But if you do want to give your partner a special reminder of the day, you might like to invest in something they can wear on the day, such as a dress watch for him, and jewellery for her. Include a love note that your fiancé or fiancée can open and read on the day as they are getting ready to marry you. It’ll make them even more excited to see you at the end of that aisle!
• Check out Wedding Central for more wedding tips, advice and invites!