Scented candles, fans engraved with the name of the bride and groom… While traditional presents 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 the bag of sweets, but recently these have become much more diversified: scented candles, jar of honey, heart-shaped key ring, seeds to plant, reusable cups. .. So many nice touches, but which, it must be said, 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 that easy. So, some couples opted for another idea…
This trend, deciphered by the New York Timesplans to set up a table or dedicate a room to gifts while leaving the choice to the guests. Various presents are placed there: caps with the names of the bride and groom, frames stamped with today’s date to insert a photo of the evening, sweets, tea bags, jams, fans with the couple’s initials… When leaving At the reception, everyone is free to choose one or more gifts they wish to take 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 remove a mental burden, to not have to decide if they are hesitating between several gifts, but also to avoid waste and to ensure that they really please their guests. To explain why this “guest gift bar” concept is becoming more and more popular, Cassie LaMere, event organizer and wedding planner, says: “We’ve all been given lots of things at weddings, and we don’t always find them useful. Giving choice is the best gift”. Another event specialist, Marcy Blum, adds that having a choice makes guests feel “It’s like Christmas.”
