Q&A: Late bridal party gifts?
Posted by: robbie1975c / Category: UncategorizedQuestion by blhenne: Late bridal party gifts?
I know this is against all etiquette but unfortunately I don’t have the luxury of doing everything by the books so I want an honest, from your heart, answer.
We are stressing about the final payments for the wedding. We’re 8 weeks out now and the person who originally offered to pay for the wedding lost his job and now we’re stuck fulfilling the contract we signed last year. One of the things we were thinking of doing was waiting until after the wedding to give the bridal party gifts. Would that be ok with you?
Yes, we are aware that no one says yes to being in a wedding cause they will get a personalized flask. We want to give our friends something meaningful and not something just out of a catalog. We’ve found a few good ideas but all of them are expensive and with 8 bridesmaids, 7 groomsmen, 2 flower girls, 1 ring bearer and 4 parents, this is going to be a good chunk of change.
So I ask you, if you were in a friends wedding, would you be ok with getting something a little nicer and a little more personal after the wedding (within a reasonable time frame of course) or should we stick to etiquette and get them something to give out at the rehearsal and have it be something small because that’s what we can afford?
I’m having a hard time with this but if it comes down to bridal party gifts (even $ 10 each is over $ 200) or the balance of the wedding….. help!
Best answer:
Answer by life coach
I think if I was your bridesmaid ,this would not matter to me in the slightest. It does not have to be nicer ,either. The pleasure of you friendship is all that is needed.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Tags: Bridal, gifts, Late, Luxury Gift Catalogs, Party
July 8th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I think that if someone does have a problem with a late gift (or none at all, for that matter) then they are not truly the best of friends. I think that you might want to write each of them a personal note thanking them, and then maybe mention that due to unforseen circumstances, they will receive a token, but it will be later than you had hoped.
July 8th, 2011 at 3:44 pm
I agree with life coach on this one. I never gave bridal gifts. I sent out personal thank you cards. You have these women there because they are family or friends. If they agreed to be apart of it than they should understand. We all are in the same boat when it comes to money.
July 8th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
I don’t think that would be a bad idea giving your bridal party gifts later.
You could always wrap up a picture of what you were planning on getting them if you want them to be aware that they have gifts coming.
Good luck.
July 8th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
I think that it is fine to give it to them a bit later, and to not spend a lot. Honestly, a heartfelt note of thanks would be much more pleasing to many than a gift card or piece of jewelry.
July 8th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
When I was in my best friend’s wedding a year ago, I knew that money was tight for her (since her fiance and her had to pay for it themselves) so I didn’t even expect a present of any sort. Like you said, I didn’t agree to be in her wedding because of a gift. When she did give me a gift (a month or maybe a little more after the wedding) I was surprised and totally okay with it.
So, my two cents is that you should wait to give the gifts. If they’re your true friends, they’ll understand and be 110% okay with it/supportive of your decision.