Wedding Invitations

Sometimes we receive gifts that we just don’t know what to think about. Sometimes we receive gifts that may come across as insulting. With this in mind, let me share some stories…

Story #1
A dear friend of mine often puts together a gag honeymoon basket as a creative wedding gift, for her friends and family. Some of the items are very useful, while others are meant as a joke and not really intended to be used. (Although, the couple can if they want to). The main gag gift was often handcuffs. Everyone thought it was hilarious until the last couple she gave it too. Apparently the bride had a traumatic experience in the past and the gift triggered an anxiety attack. That was a lesson to my friend and all of us, to be extremely careful when choosing a gag gift.

Story #2
In this next story, Becca and her husband had received a belated wedding box filled with little gifts from her parents (his in-laws). The little gifts each included clever little phrases that went with it. Unfortunately the comments on his gifts seemed to be written with bitterness and insulting. For example, the tape measurer said something along the lines of “measuring up” to his in-laws expectations. For most people, it would sound cleaver, but it was no secret that his in-laws disapproved of him. So this came across very critical.

So as gift givers, if you choose not to get something from the recipient’s gift registry, a big wedding etiquette must is to stop and think twice about how your gift may be interpreted.