help needed 'buying' a wedding gift

[liskeardjane]

What is it with weddings these day? we got married with friends and family, had lunch in a restaurant, the photo was of us signing the register and outside the register's office - lunch was a whip round and it would have been cheeky to ask for presents as we'de lived together for years and didn't need anything. We had some nice cards and we put them in our album with the photos - I suppose the wedding costs about a thousand pounds, which we saved long and hard for as we wanted new clothes and for our friends to have something nice to eat and drink. We did have a honey moon and had a lot of snogging etc in a tent in france and we still go there now - 18 years later!!!

[citizentwiglet]

See, that's the kind of thing we have in mind. Registry office, late afternoon - then, to the pub! Bit of a buffet, much drinking and merriment. I'm not bothered about cars, or a cake, or a reception - even a honeymoon. We've been together 10 years, and have two small boys - more than anything else, the stress of organising a big bash would be too much for me to take!!

The gift thing. I think most people attending a wedding would like to take a gift; and I do see the sense in doing a wedding list, so that people know they are buying something that will be loved and not wasted. But there has to be a limit on what you ask for, price-wise; and a good choice of gifts to suit everyone's pocket. There's nothing worse than a wedding list where everything is 'fashionable' (i.e. the dinner service you've helped buy will be hideously out of date in two years, and probably shoved in a corner somewhere), and hugely expensive.

I went to a wedding recently where they put on their invitation 'We request your presence, not your presents. However, if you would like to buy a gift, you can find a list here; or you could donate money to one of our favourite charities (and listed those)'. None of the gifts on the list cost more than £20.00. (Mind you, they were minted, and probably had most things they needed!).

Or, as we can't afford a honeymoon, I might suggest that donation gifts could be anonymous and would be used for the family to go on a camping holiday - no nights of 4-poster bed sexual abandon for me, LOL!

[citizentwiglet]

CrowsAshes....you MUST go as a Ghostbuster. Please????????

I'm nearly wetting myself just thinking about it.

[crowsashes]

yeah i might do, at least theyd remember it! maybe not for the right reasons but it would be well remembered by all! i could dress my little monkey as slimer too! oh how i loved that film growing up!

im actually looking forward now to the possible eastenders action, with the fact so many peeps in my family dont get on ( well loathe each other ) its bound to happen! im taking a camera jsut incase