Gifts from the Guests
Now let’s take a look from the wedding guest’s viewpoint. For the first time bride and groom the range of gifts is huge. Just look on the Internet and you’ll see you have 3,830,000 items to choose from. Another ‘rule of thumb’ (for the couple in their first time marriage), when wedding invitations are sent out, wedding gifts are generally sent to the bride to be right away and not taken to the wedding. If you have been invited to engagement parties or wedding showers it is appropriate for you to still send a wedding gift. In fact, you are expected to give a gift for each wedding shower you are invited to. You may want to share the cost of a gift with someone else who has been invited.
The key here to not being invited to so many parties is to have a very few friends! For those entering into their second wedding it is socially acceptable to give a card if you happened to be invited to the first wedding and gave a gift then. However, social etiquette would probably suggest giving a gift. You could give a gift of money or donation to a charity in the couple’s name. For those entering their third marriage or more, a book on ‘How To Be Happy Though Married’ might be helpful
