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Receiving wedding presents is the easiest part of getting married, right? Not necessarily! After you register for your gifts, there are several extra things to take into consideration, including bridesmaids gifts and when to open your presents. We compiled three big questions related to these issues to help you unwrap with ease!
My fiancé and I already live together and own all of the things that a bride and groom would typically ask for. Can we ask guests for money to put toward our honeymoon instead of gifts?
Registering for gifts is de rigueur, so you probably should register for a few items (surely you can use another carafe or picture frame?), just to give your guests the option. Wanting cash is fine, but banks don't offer cash registries yet. Instead, have friends direct your guests to sites like honeyfund.com and honeymoonwishes.com, which allow you to register for your big trip. Don't forget to share pictures when you return!
We've started to receive some wedding gifts in the mail — is it appropriate to open them before the wedding?
Not only is it totally fine to open wedding gifts before the big day, it's actually a good idea to do so. Opening the presents as soon as you receive them in the mail means you can get a head start on handwriting your thank-you notes, which usually becomes a daunting task for newlyweds post-wedding. For gifts sent before the wedding date, you should ideally send a thank-you note within a few days of a gift's arrival; thank-you notes are not only an expression of gratitude, they're also a way to confirm that 1) you received the gift and 2) it didn't get misdelivered or stolen from your doorstep. Believe it or not, some friends and family can get a little anxious about whether their wedding gifts were received. So try to send a thank-you card within a few days of receiving the gift. But if that's simply not possible, mail the note within three months of receipt (and no, you don't have a year to send your thank yous — that's a total wedding myth!).
Do we have to give our attendants gifts?
There's no wiggle room on this one — your friends are contributing their time and money, so it's only fair that you and your groom show your appreciation with a present. It doesn't have to be expensive — but some token of appreciation is definitely needed.