Scented candles, fans engraved with the bride and groom’s name… While traditional gifts are less popular, couples have found a new way to please their guests.
To thank their guests for coming to their wedding, the bride and groom are traditionally expected to offer them a little something in return. The most classic guest gift is a bag of sugared almonds, but these have recently become much more varied: scented candles, jars of honey, heart-shaped key rings, seeds to plant, reusable cups, etc. So many nice touches, but, it must be said, they are not always unanimous depending on the usefulness and tastes of each person. For the bride and groom, choosing a guest gift can therefore become a real headache: incense? The cousin can’t stand the smell. Chocolates? The grandmother is diabetic… Finding something that everyone likes is not so easy. So, some couples have opted for another idea…
This trend, deciphered by the New York Timesplans to set up a table or dedicate a room to gifts while giving the guests a choice. The various gifts are placed there: caps with the names of the bride and groom, frames stamped with the date of the day to slip a photo of the evening into, sweets, tea bags, jams, fans with the couple’s initials… When leaving the reception, everyone is free to choose one or more gifts that they wish to take away as a souvenir. Sometimes, some go so far as to allow their guests to customize their gift by setting up a dedicated table.
This allows the bride and groom to take the mental load off themselves, not having to decide between several gifts, but also to avoid waste and ensure that they really please their guests. To explain why this concept of a “guest gift bar” is becoming more and more popular, Cassie LaMere, event planner and wedding planner, says: “We’ve all been given a lot of things at weddings, and we don’t always find them useful. The gift of choice is the best gift.”. Another event specialist, Marcy Blum, adds that having a choice gives guests the feeling that “It’s like Christmas.”