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Jennifer
Frequent user February 2024 Ontario

Cash only wedding shower

Jennifer, on June 28, 2018 at 13:34 Posted in Before the wedding 0 21
Hi ladies, little help here. I'm planning my wedding and was wondering about cash only showers, is this acceptable or not acceptable, tacky but harmless or just plain inappropriate?

I'm asking cause obv I would like cash to help with the wedding costs but can we really do this? Last month I got an invite to the bridal shower for my cousins fiancee who I have never met and when I asked if they were registered he said no it's cash only and then sent an email to all attendees saying no gifts please, cash only and sent another one to all wedding guests saying same about the wedding.

My mom says this is absolutely out of line, especially since they will be moving in together from their parents so will need classic registry items. But I'll be marrying a man I've lived with for a decade so we don't need the stuff.

So now I'm not sure what to do. I don't know how much cash I should give this girl who I don't know, and who has only been dating him for 4 months, and I like the idea of getting lots of cash for gifts but will people talk isht about me if I do something similar? What do y'all think?

21 Comments

Latest activity by Linda, on October 18, 2021 at 17:45
  • L
    British Columbia
    Linda ·
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    I'm planning a bridal shower for my niece, but she lives 3000 kilometers away. The event will be in here, in her hometown, but she can't realistically tote 20 toaster ovens on the airplane home. I want guests to only bring cash or gift cards. How do I articulate this? It will be mostly family, so I think they'll understand, but I do not want to offend anyone with the ask. Feedback welcome.

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  • D
    Newbie October 2019 Ontario
    Dawn ·
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    Hi. You can simply say one of two things;
    1. Monetary gifts accepted (I used this one) or
    2. Monetary gifts preferred
    If the people who you are sending the invites to already know that you live together, common sense will tell them that you do not need gifts. Hope this helps!
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  • Marleau
    Devoted October 2018 Ontario
    Marleau ·
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    Here’s my personal opinion on this matter as I just did a cash only shower... it’s 2018, if any one now a days finds that inappropriate or rude their welcome to decline. I have lived with my FH for over 4 years in a different province then we are getting married in. We have every household item we need and the last thing I want is items we’ll never use. If your family and friends don’t know or understand that then they really don’t know you or your FH.
    There are so many great ways now to address cash gifts and like 90% of people I know and have seen on Facebook groups have done this too. Plus no one wants to waste there time going to buy a gift, cash or prepaid cards are just way easier for everyone.

    The feed back from my shower was positive, not one person had an issue with the request for cash and everyone had a great time. I attached a picture of our shower invite and the card we included with our invites as an example for you.

    Good luck and have lots of fun!

    Cash only wedding shower 1

    Cash only wedding shower 2
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  • Bianca
    Master August 2019 Ontario
    Bianca ·
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    It's tacky. I don't think there's any nice way of asking people for straight up cash. I was having this conversation with my mother earlier this week and she agrees that so long as it's not stipulated on the invitation, she's happy to (and prefers) to give monetary gifts, but as soon as someone puts it down in writing, it feels a little grabby.

    To each their own tho! I've learned (thanks to Wedding Wire) that it's very acceptable in many circles to include a cute poem about monetary gifts preferred, but I'm just not on board with that. I'm also the kind of person who prefers to gift money no matter what, so maybe that's why I find it tacky.

    AH! Sorry about the run on paragraphs.

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  • Jennifer
    Super July 2019 Ontario
    Jennifer ·
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    I'm sorry. but that is so out of line of them.
    I don't know about where you are from. but cash is the norm as a wedding gift here. showers, you just usually don't give cash. the point of a shower is to help you set up your house, upgrade items etc. that's part of the reason i'm not having a shower. I've been on my own for 15 years. we have lived together for 3 years. there is nothing we need house wise.

    I am truly a firm believer that everyone does things how they want. but I know that if I got a shower invite that was "monetary gifts only" or something like (even with it worded all nice). my first thought would be I'm not going. maybe harsh. but I have issues when I think something is rude.

    If you are going to have a shower. I would register for some items at a store you like...say Canadian tire or home depot or maybe a travel agent. that way people have the option to give you useful gift cards.


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  • Tyanna
    Super June 2019 British Columbia
    Tyanna ·
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    So much this!! Its all in the way you word it, and we will be working ours very similarly to this!
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  • Carmela
    Devoted April 2019 Ontario
    Carmela ·
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    Our bridal shower will be monetary only, but I come from a Italian background where we don’t give gifts. I do agree with the other ladies here, your wording is key. Instead of cash you can say monetary gift only, I’ve seen invitations like that and it’s fine.
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  • Stephanie
    Master July 2018 Alberta
    Stephanie ·
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    Lots of people do it, but I still think it’s tacky to ask for anything, whether it be cash or gifts, as that is not what the day is about. Cash is becoming more common these days so I think most people will end up giving cash (although it does still depend on the crowd), especially when they find out there’s no registry. You could have the person hosting your shower let people know what you want; I think that’s more appropriate than announcing it yourself. Or wait for people to ask you and then it’s fine to let them know you prefer cash.
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  • Vinod
    Top August 2017 Ontario
    Vinod ·
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    Cash is different to give for showers. I would imagine gift cards can be a subsitute. Some guests may follow the registry and may choose to give cash or you to get what you want.

    The couple would want something thats useful to them and in this case cash. They are not out of line and i would certainly do the same on the invite.
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  • Peggy
    Super May 2019 Alberta
    Peggy ·
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    I think the way your cousin's fiancée did it was pretty out of line, as your mom said - that being said, we have a very tiny traditional registry and a honeymoon registry where we've requested various cash amounts for different things we want to do on our honeymoon - under 'Registries' on our website, we just included the Honeymoon one with the message "We have all the 'things' we need to fill our home; help us create memories to fill our hearts".

    Bridal showers are traditionally more gifts than cash, as they are meant to help her set up her new home. I would suggest leaving it at that for the shower, but on your wedding website, or as an insert in your invitations, let it be known you prefer cash - others have made great suggestions on how.

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  • Stephanie
    VIP May 2019 Ontario
    Stephanie ·
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    I think it's okay to ask for cash but cash only seems harsh? I agree with what others have said even if you are able to put together a small list of items it's the best way for all your guests!
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  • Amanda
    Super August 2018 Alberta
    Amanda ·
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    I would advise making up a small list of actual gifts for the shower.

    We did a poem asking for money instead of gifts for the wedding, but for the shower, I made a list of 20 or so things I wouldn’t mind having. I asked for things like some kitchen utensils, a wok, a pizza stone, and bath sheets. And even with asking for little things like that, I still had some people give cash or gift cards. We also got a couple original gifts, and they are by far my absolute favorite.

    As a fellow bride, I understand asking for cash. But I think it’s a little over the top to ask for it for your shower. Stick to the cute poem for the wedding.
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  • B
    Devoted September 2019 Ontario
    Bianca ·
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    Following. I’m doing half and half. We are having two Registry’s. One for wedding Shower (Registered at Bed, Bath and Byond, etc) even though we won’t really need anything. And then a second one we are doing a Honeymoon Registry for our wedding.
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  • Gina
    Super April 2019 Alberta
    Gina ·
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    I agree with you 100%!
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  • Jennifer
    Super August 2018 Alberta
    Jennifer ·
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    We’re doing this as well.
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  • Clarissa
    Expert October 2018 Saskatchewan
    Clarissa ·
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    I don’t think it’s appropriate for a shower to be cash only. The whole point of the event is for people to “shower” the person with things they will need for their new home and life. I completely understand and have no issues with not wanting more stuff or physical gifts but for me it does seem kinda rude to be emailing guests and dictating what they should be giving for gifts.

    If you want to have an afternoon with the games, food, celebration with the ladies I would advise calling it something else if that’s what you want (afternoon tea, celebrate the soon to be bride, luncheon, etc).
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  • Marcia
    Super August 2018 Manitoba
    Marcia ·
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    I think it’s fine asking for cash if you can word it in a cute way! Especially if you’ve already been living together for a long time. I had a registry for my bridal shower and wedding, but now I wish I had asked for cash on our wedding details card instead.
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  • Sara
    Devoted October 2018 Ontario
    Sara ·
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    I'm not including anything in the invitations regarding gifts, I'm just leaving it a the guest's call. If anyone asks me, I'm just saying we're not registered.

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  • Breanne
    Expert August 2018 Ontario
    Breanne ·
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    I mean, to each their own but I would definitely be a little turned off if I received this request for a bridal shower. For a wedding, I think there's cute poems like the one Tori posted but for a bridal shower, I honestly think it seems greedy.

    To me a bridal shower is more about showering the bride with nice, smaller, affordable presents (ie. new towels, picture frames, small appliances etc). Plus a good chunk of a bridal shower is opening presents - it would be weird to have only cards with cash in them.

    I just had mine and created a small registry of things we needed or already had but would like to upgrade. We are both in our 30s and have been together for 5 years so as much as cash would be appreciated, I think a bridal shower is more for presents.

    Just my opinion though....

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  • M
    Devoted August 2018 Ontario
    Megis ·
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    I think it's fine asking for cash. It will help with your wedding expenses and everything. I asked but in a polite way on our wedding invitations.

    wedding Invitation backCash only wedding shower 3

    Otherwise yeah it's the older generation complaining. Back in the day I think weddings and expectations weren't as bad. It may become the new norm. I didn't need a registry since we pretty much already have all the household items we need. There's also complaints about wedding registries that are too expensive.

    As for money for the bridal shower I think the price you would have paid for a wedding registry item would suffice.

    So it's ok to ask for cash but do it politely.

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  • Tori
    Top October 2019 Manitoba
    Tori ·
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    I think that it's totally fine. Usually it's the older generation complaining about how they don't like giving money but the younger generation (the ones getting married) know just how much weddings cost and completely understand. We will be asking the same thing because we will have lived together for over a year by the time our shower and wedding roll around. We will simply put the poem I got from Pinterest:

    Cash only wedding shower 4
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