I had a bride email me the other day to ask if it was okay to include gift registry information in with the invitations. Apparently Bed, Bath & Beyond is telling their wedding couples that it is all right to include little cards (given to the wedding couple courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond) in with your invitations. Since when?
When did it become acceptable to ask your guests for gifts? Not in any etiquette books, classes, literature, or talks have I ever been to is this practice all right to do. NO-NO-NO!
I will repeat it as long as I need to---NO-NO-NO!
It is not okay to ask your guests for gifts, cash cards, money or donations to any household or honeymoon collections or anything of the like. An invitation is just that---an invitation to a celebration. It is not a "Come all and bear a gift" command.
The only one profiting from such a practice is Bed, Bath & Beyond and that is deplorable.
Your guests will undoubtedly bring you a wedding gift, but it will be because they want to give you something, not because they were commanded to by a little card. If you want to get the word out about where you are registered or where donations can be made, then start the grapevine rumor mill through your friends and family--not on an invitation.
Bless the bride's heart---she knew the practice was wrong, but still wanted to double check in case the rules had changed. They haven't. Society (for the most part) still operates under etiquette and social grace. We hang on by a thread sometimes, but still care about what is right and wrong.
Kudos to weddings couples who choose to do the right thing despite what the big box retailers are telling them!
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