How to Ask for Cash and Gift Cards in Your Wedding Registry
First things first, remember to be polite! Regardless of the specific reason, there’s no shame in knowing that liquid cash or gift cards are what you want as a wedding gift. Asking for money or gift cards instead of traditional gifts is going to need some tact on your end. You do not want to snub friends and family by bringing it up in the wrong way. They may be really excited to get you something off your registry, but we’ve prepared some of the best ways to ask for cash and gift cards in your wedding registry.
Can You Ask for Cash or a Gift Card?
Absolutely! Even though it is not the traditional item to add to the registry, it is a very acceptable way to ask for gifts and all your guests should understand. Your wedding is all about celebrating your union, and your friends and family should know that their gifts are meant to help you out in the best way they can. The flexibility of gift cards and cash make them fantastic gifts for any newlyweds.
Use an Online Registry
Online registries are amazing ways to organize your gift-giving and tactfully ask for cash and gift cards at your wedding. Online registries are the place for you to organize the gifts you want as a part of your wedding and are the perfect place for you to set the scene for your desire for money and gift cards over other gifts. The registry, as we will get into later, is also the place for you to provide a personal touch to monetary bins. There are a lot of excellent registry services available online, and you can direct your guests there with your wedding invitation. As we’ll get into later, you do not want to talk about the gifts you want in your invitation, instead keeping that on your wedding website.
How to Ask for Cash and Gift Cards in Your Wedding Registry
This is the crux of it all. How do you ask for cash and gift cards in your wedding registry? We recommend creating a number of bins in your online registry that are a number of different “funds” where people can donate to a variety of aspects of your life. If you want money for your wedding gifts, spend some time and figure out what that money is for. Is there a big purchase in your future? Are you planning a big honeymoon trip and still filling out the budget? Are you in the middle of a home project and require funds for the next stage? Many amazing and personal additions to your registry make a monetary donation more fun for your guests.
While the wedding is all about you, you don’t want to snub too many noses, and putting some extra effort in the registry to create a number of campaigns and giving each of them a fun story is a great way to make people as excited to give you a monetary donation as they would have to get you a gift off your registry.
We recommend something similar when asking for gift cards! Gift cards naturally limit the ways that you can spend the money and are a great midpoint between a conventional gift and cold, hard cash. You can create a campaign similar to asking for monetary donations but with specific gift card retailers instead. We recommend keeping an accompanying story that describes how you will spend the money and setting a goal, so people can contribute gift cards of any value that fill the campaign.
Customize Gift Cards with Gift Card Granny
To up the personal touch for gift-givers, Gift Card Granny has excellent customization options for gift cards. You can absolutely put a picture on a gift card when you use our site. The process is easy! Let’s run through it. We have a build-a-card feature with Visa cards and Mastercard. You can choose between $10 to $500 and the number of gift cards you wish to purchase.
After that, you can upload your picture! You can upload a file, and that will appear on the card. You can add the recipient’s name and a message for them that appears on the card.
Keep it Separate from the Wedding Invitation
We understand the desire to have your gift preferences front and center on all your wedding invitations, but registry information of any kind should be kept separate from your invitation. The invitation is meant to be a beautiful keepsake that people can put on the fridge or keep in a folder of memories somewhere. You do not want to emblazon “we want money!” on that little keepsake. Keep the salient details of your registry on your wedding website, and give out the information at a later date.
Have Some Regular Gifts, too!
If a few guests you know want to get you gift gifts add some regular registry gifts as well. They can purchase a lovely gift for you if they want to. You can say that monetary gifts are desired more than traditional gifts. As long as the majority of your guests are coming with gift cards, the last few being regular gifts can go a long way to soothe the few guests who might really want to give you a gift. They may have something they want to give you or something along those lines. It is possible, but we’d wager that most people will happily provide a cash or gift card wedding gift when reading your cute stories and different bins.
Do Stick to Physical Gifts at the Bridal Shower
In the excitement of the wedding and its parts, you may also want to ask for cash gifts in your bridal shower, but we do not recommend it. It’s better to steer clear of asking for cash and gift cards for the bridal shower because a big part of the bridal shower is unwrapping presents. If you still want it to be on the practical side, you can find ways to ask for consumables like food and drink or clothes and smaller household items.
If you really want cash and gift cards for your bridal shower, we recommend changing the party plans entirely. If your bridal shower does not have the gift opening baked into it, your friends will feel more comfortable giving you money or a gift card rather than traditional gifts.
Our Favorite Gift Cards for Wedding Gifts
When you plan out your registry, which gift cards do you want to add? Personalization is key when asking for cash and gift cards, as wedding presents and gift cards are a fun way to limit the ways in which you can spend the gift money given by your beautiful guests. While you may think that money is more practical than a gift card, the limitations set by a gift card are a nice way to ensure you spend it on something nice instead of letting it simply sit in your account and get spent on something like groceries or rent.
We love gift cards as wedding gifts, but it is up to you to choose which gift cards you want and how much money of gift cards you want. As you can see, our first pick for favorite wedding gift cards is Barnes and Noble, but, for instance, a total of $200 in Barnes and Noble gift cards is a little overboard. With the right online registry, you can set monetary goals next to the gift cards, for instance, $50 for B&N. That lets people purchase gift cards of any value they wish and add to the goal so they aren’t blindsided by an overabundance of one card.
Let’s jump into our top four gift cards for weddings!
1. Barnes and Noble
A new book for the honeymoon
Buy a Barnes and Noble gift card
If you or your partner is a big reader then a Barnes and Noble gift card is a great choice on the registry. Books are costly! Older paperbacks go for seven to twelve dollars, and new hardcovers can be over $20 each. Barnes and Noble is a calm sanctuary for book lovers.
They have such a diverse collection of books on their shelves that readers of all ages and interests can find a book that they enjoy. If, however, you know they are a fond listener of audiobooks, we put forward Audible as an excellent alternative. Audiobooks are a stellar alternative to reading and let people listen to their favorite book while up and about. This is perfect for the plane, on a hike, or drifting off to sleep.
Buy a Barnes and Noble gift card
2. Sephora
Get a gift card for a quality beauty product
Beauty products are very popular, and a Sephora gift card is the perfect gift to let you pick out some new products before your big honeymoon vacation. Sephora is a great choice because they are dotted all over the country, maximizing the chance that there is one nearby.
Are you a fan of Sephora? If not, there are a lot of other stores, and picking out your favorite supply store for beauty products is a great addition to your registry. Adding specific gift cards to your registry is an excellent addition to hard cash bins for stuff like your honeymoon fund, plane tickets, or a project fund.
3. Prepaid Visa Gift Card
A catch-all customizable gift card
A prepaid Visa gift card is an excellent gift for a wedding because it lets you take it and use it however you want. We like a Visa gift card as a gift card because is customizable. These gift cards are a safe bet to ensure that you put it towards a purchase immediately.
Weddings are a busy time. The last few months before the wedding with preparation, nervousness, and excitement.
4. Amazon
A staple for all
No surprise here. An Amazon gift card is always a safe choice because there’s always something to be delivered. Amazon is a great place for all sorts of miscellaneous materials for an upcoming vacation or a DIY project at home.
Buy an Amazon gift card here on GiftYa!
Earn Cash Back On Gift Cards for Weddings with Gift Card Granny
As a quick reminder, we’ve pointed out all of the retailers on this list that you can find on Gift Card Granny as of this writing. Gift Card Granny makes it easy to buy and send customized gift cards online and earn cash back while you do. Gift Card Granny carries thousands of local and national brands including Visa gift cards, Mastercard gift cards, and gift cards for many of the awesome spots on this list.
Text eGift Cards on GiftYa
Another popular gift giving site is GiftYa, which also offers customizable eGift cards! GiftYa lets you add custom photos or videos to all your gifts in the form of a virtual gift wrapper. A GiftYa can be sent by text or email so the gift is always delivered within minutes. You can also schedule the gift to be sent on a specific date, such as a birthday or holiday. With over 16,000 local merchants and 280 national merchants usable at over 230k locations across the US, you can find the perfect gift for anyone!
Asking for cash and gift cards at your wedding
This day is all about you and your partner, after all. A little bit of tact goes a long way, and we hope that your closest friends and family will happily gift you the gifts you desire in your wedding. Happy Wedding!