The wedding world has most certainly moved on since your parents got married (as they might well have told you!) and happily, lots of the old wedding clichés no longer apply. We’ve said goodbye to drunken stag parties on the night before the wedding, formulaic photography and wedding presents that were always toasters and spice racks. Now, thanks to bright and brilliant companies such as The Wedding Shop, your gift list can be as personal as the rest of your wedding and today, they’re joining us to explain why creating a gift list is a great idea and to share some ideas to make yours perfect…
If you’ve not yet met the gift gurus at The Wedding Shop, do take a look here and then let me introduce you to this fabulous team and, most importantly, their huge collection of products and more. The Wedding Shop is home to over 35,000 products from 350 brands so there’s definitely something for everyone.
Plus, on the off-chance that they don’t list a product you love on their website, you can add any item from any store to your list. So, there’s no need for multiple lists or guest confusion!
Firstly, let’s start with the BIG question and that’s whether or not to have a gift list. I’ve been reading lots of comments in the Love My Dress Facebook group and I know that some of you are worried that putting a list together and publicising the details might look a little bit pushy. However, all of us at Love My Dress absolutely agree with Anne-Marie Jenkins, Managing Director at The Wedding Shop on this one:
“Guests will want to buy you a gift regardless so opting to provide them with a gift list ensures that they can choose from a wide range of items that are meaningful, useful and something you really want or need. Creating a list allows you to pick a really broad selection of items to cater for all price brackets and personalities.”
Price is always a consideration and The Wedding Shop really does have something for everyone. Products listed on their site start from just £5 and there’s also the option for guests to contribute to a fund that allows them to play a part in gifting a larger, or more expensive, item.
“The funds we offer allow guests to pool together to raise the funds needed to purchase larger items such as garden landscaping, home decoration, new bathrooms or even a house deposit for would-be homeowners. With denominations from £25, guests can contribute to life-changing projects that many newly-married couples battle with financing on their own.”
As you might have gathered, aside from the wonderful gifts available, The Wedding Shop also offers plenty of cool alternatives including honeymoon funds and charitable options.
“There’s a growing trend in charitable donations as wedding gifts and it’s both personal and touching for guests to be able to contribute to a cause carefully chosen by the couple. We list 126 charities on our website grouped into categories such as ‘Humanitarian’, ‘Health’, ‘Animal’ and ‘Environment’.”
“Honeymoon contributions have been a popular staple of gift lists for some time and we expect them to remain popular on gift lists,” explains Anne-Marie. “Our honeymoon funds allow couples to use funds for the more traditional items such as airfare and room upgrade to bamboo rafting, cocktail making and elephant trekking. We hold the funds in a ring fenced account and they are released to couples whenever they need them after their wedding day. We find guests love to feel they are giving couples memories that will last a lifetime.”
Of course, if a more ‘traditional’ gift list full of fabulous tangible products is more your style then The Wedding Shop will make sure that you’re spoiled for choice so I recommend setting aside quite some time to browse their products. Current favourites include coffee machines from the fabulous Nespresso range and gorgeous photo frames from The White Company (perfect for displaying all those wedding photos!).
Le Creuset cocottes have been on The Wedding Shop’s top sellers list for over 20 years whilst city-based newlyweds are falling for this garden set that’s perfect for romantic outdoor dining. If you’re not sure where to start then browse the ‘Starter Collections’ that are broken down into themes such as ‘City Living’ and ‘Country Escapes’ to build your own list. It’s gift list heaven!
Anne-Marie from The Wedding Shop recommends completing your selection before your invitations are sent out and it seems that lots of guests log on to their website when they receive their invitation to browse your list. And, whilst some come back later to buy, lots like to make their selection straight away to get their choice of gifts.
HOW to tell your guests about your list is quite often a concern but, once again, The Wedding Shop is here to help:
“Inserting one of our discreet cards into the invitation is the best way to notify guests and be assured that it’s fairly common practice now for guests to receive details of the gift list at this point,” says Anne-Marie. “In our experience, this also reduces the admin for the bride, or traditionally the mother of the bride, in fielding calls from guests looking for gift details.”
“You can also add a few words on your additional information sheet where you can highlight any parts of your list that you would really love. For example, a simple sentence such as ‘we’re saving up for a new kitchen and would love you to help us cook up a storm’ or ‘it’s been our dream to travel to South Africa for years and thank you for helping us to make this possible’ are perfect. This will help to draw your guests to the items on your list that you most desire.”
And then, with all of that done, you just need to sit back and await the delivery of your wedding gifts, chosen with care by the people that you love.
For more information on The Wedding Shop, including details of the 10% lifetime discount you’ll be entitled to on all purchases made after your wedding day, just take a look at The Wedding Shop website and enjoy window shopping to your heart’s content!
You can also find The Wedding Shop on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and, of course, if you’ve got any questions, The Wedding Shop team would love to hear from you on 020 7384 8400 where one of their experts will be more than happy to help you.
Love Tamryn x
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Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
