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Essential Guide to Buying Wedding Gifts

Other than watching the bride romantically walking down the aisle, proposing a toast and witnessing the couple’s first dance, giving of wedding gifts is also among the traditions of Singapore weddings. Although giving gifts is definitely a generous and thoughtful act, it can also be confusing and a bit pricey.

To enlighten you on this somehow confusing wedding element, here’s a compilation of the common concerns when buying gifts for the newlyweds.

1. “Is it okay to give something that’s not in the gift registry?”
It is absolutely okay to give gifts that are not included in the wedding registry. The items in the registry are just suggestions from the bride and groom themselves, not obligations. A wedding registry is a guideline as to what the bridal couple needs and wants. If you prefer purchasing something else, it is still advisable to view the registry to have an idea of the style or the type of items the couple likes to have.

2. “Is cash better than gifts?”
It actually depends on the couple, because there are some who would prefer cash. However, gifting cash can be tricky, since there’s no appropriate amount to give. The best you can do, if you are not comfortable about gifting cash, go for gift certificate to a store at which the bridal couple has signed up their gift registry.

3. “Is there a standard price for wedding gifts?”
There is no proper amount to spend on a wedding gift for any guest, even the principal sponsors, and no one is obliged to give a particular type of gift. And that belief that the guest should spend no less than the amount of his or her reception meal for a gift is just another myth. Let your relationship to the couple and your budget help you decide for your wedding gift.

4. “Do I need to buy gifts for both bridal shower and the wedding?”
Unfortunately, yes. That is part of your responsibility when you RSVPed for both events. If buying two gifts is too much for your budget, consider getting a group gift with other guests who are having the same dilemma as yours to help lessen the cost.

5. “How long do I have to send my gift after the wedding?”
One year, max. However, ideally, wedding gifts should be shipped to the couple’s house at least two weeks before the wedding day, so they have the time to adjust what to include and what no longer needs to be in the registry. If you end up purchasing your gift after the wedding, make sure to do so right away. Otherwise, you’re likely to procrastinate, forget and remember it five years later, feeling so ashamed that you have not gotten the couple, who are close friends of yours, a thoughtful wedding gift.

If you are clueless of what to give your newlywed friends, just remember to give something that they can use in their new home, may it be kitchenware, bedding set or any decorative piece.

How Wedding Forums Can Help Brides-To-Be

An online forum is a message board or a discussion site in the Internet where people, usually called as “members” or “users”, can engage in conversations regarding various topics. Online forums are quite different from chat rooms in that posts are temporarily archived. Chat rooms, on the other hand, happen in real-time. Meaning to say, the exchanging of replies and messages among the members occur in the actual time during which members are virtually present.

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Wedding Forums

Perfectweddings.sg, for example, is the wedding forum for brides in Singapore and is all about weddings to which they also have an online wedding forum. The website is an excellent source of information about the different facets of wedding. Aside from providing essential guides on wedding, it also has a wedding forum section.

Wedding forums are an avenue for brides and brides-to-be to meet one another and discuss certain topics regarding weddings. Members can ask for help or pieces of advice about their wedding concerns and anyone can answer as much as they can.

For example, a bride-to-be can post a new thread asking if somebody in Singapore ever held their wedding in a particular wedding venue. She posted this specific thread as she wanted to get some ideas about the place—its rates, ambiance, food and service, perhaps. Wedding forums have a lot of members who are joining in and participating in the discussions from day to day. With this, there is a huge possibility that other members can come across the thread and probably answer it with helpful and relevant information, which can help the bride-to-be in her decision making. Thus, there is an effective discussion that took place.

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What is in a wedding forum?

Members can discuss about almost anything in a forum as long as it is related to the general purpose of the forum itself. Usually, wedding forums intend to have different sections for different topics.

Wedding Planning, Wedding Vendors, Wedding and Banquet Venues

For example, there can be a Wedding and ROM Discussion section wherein members can exchange ideas about wedding planning in general. There can also be a section about Bridal Packages and Preparations in which members can read reviews about bridal boutiques, wedding photographers, videographers, and so much more. These reviews made by those Singapore members who have personal experiences can be of help to the brides-to-be who are on the lookout for wedding vendors for their own weddings. There can also be a section about Solemnisation Venues wherein everybody can talk about various Singapore wedding venues—hotels, outdoors, yachts, seaside venues, and much more. Moreover, members can also discuss about the rates and services of different wedding banquet venues in another section.

More Personal Concerns

Aside from those mentioned above, members can also discuss about their personal concerns. For example, they can talk about relationship matters in case they need a listening ear and some words of encouragement or advice. Members can also talk about anything related to home and decorations in case they need important tips about buying or renovating a house, for example. They can also share their travelling experiences in case there are other members who are planning their honeymoon.

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Online Marketplace

Usually, there is also a marketplace section where brides and brides-to-be can buy, sell or trade any wedding items as well as non-wedding items. Wedding forums are also a good opportunity for businesses to promote their products and services related to weddings.