All About the Card

Sometimes it’s easier for guests to give a gift card. And that’s perfectly fine

By Lindsey Romain
CTW Features

Image courtesy Gift Card Lab

For the couple who has it all, or for the wedding guest wary of standard gift giving or that cash might be too impersonal a gift, a simple gift card can do the trick. Just be sure it’s an idea that will gel with the bride and groom.

“I would talk with either the mother of the bride or the wedding host to make sure a gift card would be well received,” says Lizzie Post, etiquette expert and co-author of “Emily Post’s Etiquette, 18th Edition” (William Morrow, 2011). “It really depends on the couple.”

Post suggests giving cards to stores the couple registered at or to stores that have classic wedding gift items. She mentions a story of a couple she knew who were moving after their wedding and asked for gift cards to furnish their new home. Even without a specific justification, guests can take a move-in approach to selecting gift cards. Post suggests looking into cards at department stores like Macy’s or homeware stores like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.

Guests also have the option of gifting “money” via general credit-card gift cards. Visa gift cards, for example, can be personalized them with wedding-based themes. On the website GiftCardLab.com, shoppers choose the design for these multipurpose cards, with anything from stock photos of wedding rings to cartoon images of a bride and groom with the words “just married” emblazoned on them.

For anyone nervous to have the amount they spent on the card in plain sight for the bride and groom, Post says not to worry.

“A wedding guest should never feel like they have to spend three digits or anything more than they can afford,” she says. What a guest chooses to spend is totally up to his or her own personal budget. “They should always spend what’s best for them and what they’re happy to give.”

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