Cards on the table – quite literally, it seems these days – I am sick of being asked for money as a wedding present. The riskiness of leaving a card stuffed (okay, maybe not stuffed) with notes lying around a venue, or the brass neck of ‘here’s our wedding invite… and our bank details’ never sits well with me.
We get it. You’re skint and can’t afford your dream honeymoon. You want to convert the loft. You’re worried you’ll end up with endless crystal-encrusted knick-knacks that’ll look terrible in your Scandi-styled flat. Aren’t you lucky, then, because there’s a wedding list out there that gives you what you want, without aggrieving bitter spoilsports like me.
The all-rounder
If you can’t find something you love out of the 30,000-plus products on Prezola’s website, you probably should seek help for chronic pessimism. There are top brands like Bang & Olufsen, Dualit and Jo Malone London, but you can also have a honeymoon fund, charitable donations and even cash contributions. We reckon it’s the best thing since sliced bread (but, in the event it’s not, it has the most gorgeous Wüsthof Classic Ikon bread knife – slice it yourself).
The quirky one
After the big day, opening your pressies is one of the best ways to combat post-bridal blues. If you hear ‘candlesticks’ and think ‘Cluedo murder weapon’, you might think your eccentricity can’t be accommodated by a trad wedding list. That’s why you need to register with Etsy. Now your only worry is choosing between the ‘gator head planter or the decorative taxidermy rat dressed up as Heisenberg. Decisions, decisions!
The DIY one
Home renovations are one of the most excusable reasons for asking for hard cash instead of a present. But why not go one step further and share the project with your guests? Set up a B&Q gift list and this will give your guests a connection to your home improvements. You never know, your friends might be so excited about your dining-table restoration project that they’ll buy the semi-gloss gold shimmer paint and offer to slap it on for you!
The funny one
Despite it being utterly commonplace, if the awkwardness of asking for cash is putting you off, The Reverse Wedding List is the one for you. It’s the brainchild of Gemma Daborn, who, together with her H2B, felt that rather than needing stuff for their home, they could do with getting rid of a few items! Coupled with struggling to save for a honeymoon, she cracked it: a tongue-in-cheek website where you sell your old stuff to your guests (although they don’t actually have to take the items – you can donate them to charity on their behalf).
The cool one
The Mint List has long been a go-to website for fans of hip interiors, but its wedding list is accessible even if you don’t know the difference between an Anglepoise and an angle grinder. Restored vintage pieces mix with creations by independent artists in this marketplace, so if you’ve ever dreamt of having your own custom-made neon sign, look no further – you can commission one from LoVe NeoN for £1200.
The honeymoon one
With Buy Our Honeymoon, your unique link takes your guests to a personalised profile page where they’re told how the list works and what you have planned for your honeymoon. Then comes the best bit: individual listings for activities you’d like to do while you are there. Pick something for all price points – so if you’re heading to New York, for example, your skint student cousin can afford to shell out $10 to buy you pretzels, while your uni pals could club together $200 for Wicked tickets.
The charity one
It’s never a hard sell asking guests to donate to charity on your behalf, but why not crank up the fun factor with an Oxfam Unwrapped gift list. See your donations come to life with options such as a chicken (which the new owner can use to rear chicks or have eggs to sell; it costs just £10), teacher training, life-saving mosquito nets to protect against malaria, or our fave: a wedding goat couple, which can breed and help sustain a whole community.