How to Ask for Money Instead of Wedding Gifts

A woman holding open her hands with a ball of cash in them.

What’s the secret to tastefully and effectively letting your guests know you’d like cash instead of traditional wedding gifts? Read on…

While gifts are now a familiar part of the wedding experience, the tradition of wedding gifts—usually essential items to help a young couple set up their new home together—is rooted in a time when women went straight from their parents’ home to their husband’s.

But if you and your partner have been living together for a while, you probably already have all the home essentials you need. So… maybe you’d prefer to ask for gifts of money rather than a new toaster or coffee table.

While the etiquette has evolved and it’s more acceptable than ever to request cash gifts, there’s still some concern that asking for money will be seen as rude or make guests feel awkward. There’s also the fact that some guests WANT to give a gift. Like, really want to.

So what’s the best way to politely and effectively convert those well-meaning wedding gifts to cash? Create a Cash Gift Fund on your wedding registry.

How does a wedding Cash Gift Fund work?

When you create a wedding registry on MyRegistry.com, you’ll have the option to set up a Cash Gift Fund. It will be displayed at the top of your registry as a gift option for your guests, making it a tasteful way to ask for money in lieu of those traditional gifts you may not have much need for. You can easily connect it to your PayPal account, and your guests will be able to contribute using their own PayPal account or a credit card.

What to keep in mind when creating a Cash Gift Fund?

Be transparent with how you’ll use the money

  • Guests will feel more comfortable contributing cash if they know where their money’s going. You can customize your fund’s name, then add a photo and a short note letting your guests know exactly what it’s for—a house down payment, honeymoon costs, even a nest egg for the future.
  • You’ll also have the option to set a Cash Gift Fund goal to let guests know exactly how much you hope to receive and how much you’ve received so far. This extra layer of transparency can build more trust among your guests and give them extra motivation to help you reach your goal!

By adding personal touches to your request, you’ll let your guests feel even better about contributing toward something they know you truly want and need.

But don’t completely skip the traditional registry

When it comes to wedding gifts, many people actually prefer to give cash instead of buying a gift, especially if they know cash is what the couple prefers. But there will always be some guests who are uncomfortable with cash, or even anti-cash. So it’s still a good idea to include some traditional wedding gifts on your registry.

Think of things you already have that could use an upgrade—things you might not need but could still use. Maybe you have some first-home pots and pans still hanging around, and while they work just fine, brand-new cookware would be nice. It’s your registry, your chance to choose. Since MyRegistry is a Universal Gift Registry service, you can add any gift from any store in the world, giving you truly unlimited options.

Register for “experience gifts” too

In addition to tangible gifts, you can register for experiences such as cooking classes, a wine tasting, or another fun couple activity. Experience gifts work the same way as a Cash Gift Fund, and they’ll also appear on your gift list, making it feel a little less like you’re outright asking for money while giving your guests additional options to choose between cash and traditional gifts.

It’s perfectly okay to ask for cash as a wedding gift, if that’s what you truly want or need. Just be sure your guests know that wedding gifts in any form are greatly appreciated!

Ready to set up a Cash Gift Fund? Create a wedding registry and wedding website in minutes, right here on MyRegistry.com.

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