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Wedding gifts with a difference

By: Lanette Stainbach


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?11,000 is now the scarily high average cost of a wedding. This makes planning and budgeting all aspects of the occasion more important than ever before. The recession is forcing aspiring young couples to be even savvier because overspending by a mere 10% will add more than ?1000 to the final costs.

Wedding planners, goes and soon-to-be married couples are become more creative in order to lower costs without cutting too many corners. Old favourites like the ''free bar'' may have gone but budget-friendly buffets are back.

Practicality is now the raison d''?tre behind most wedding gifts. Old favourites such as posh china dinner services and crystal champagne glasses are being replaced by modern toasters, microwaves and kitchen knives.

There has also been an increase in the giving of gifts that will be useful on the big day. Relatives that are a dab hand in the kitchen for example, are offering to bake the wedding cake. Friends that believe they are the next Fatboy Slim are proposing to work ''magic'' on the decks and be DJ for the night. Others are grouping together to pay for the flowers or the bride''s transportation to the ceremony.

Once reserved for a few select department stores, online wedding lists have now expanded their appeal and reach to all markets. The idea is simple, a bride and groom select items they want and need from a website or shop and thus create a wedding gift wish list. Wedding guests then log onto these online lists and pick a present based on price and personal choice.

Now there is a plethora of sites offering the same thing but also including things such as ''experience days'' for example rally driving or a hot-air balloon ride as well as personalised gifts for the home. By creating a wedding list, although the element of surprise is removed the happy couple won''t end up with things they don''t want and will never use.

Rife among recession-hit families at the moment is the phenomenon of ''regifting''. The University of Hertfordshire recently carried out a survey of 600 UK adults and found that almost 50% of those quizzed saw nothing wrong with passing on an unwanted present. The craze looks to become even more prevalent now Christmas is done and dusted and unwanted presents get left in boxes awaiting a new home.

However, if they are unwanted by one person, this could mean they will be unwanted by the bride and groom, however recycling is good for the environment and strapped-for-cash individuals that don''t want to show up at a wedding empty handed.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Lanette Stainbach is the author of this article, they like writing about wedding gifts. To find out more visit the Not on The High Street website.

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