What’s the Difference Between a Gift Registry and a Wishing Well, and Which One Should You Choose?

The custom of giving a gift to a newly married couple on their wedding day is known and acknowledged across the world, transcending countries and cultures. Historically, wedding gifts were primarily related to the exchange of money (in the form of a dowry etc) rather than the celebration of a couple’s love. But these days the focus is on gifts to set a couple up for a successful happy life together. This can be through gifts for their home or experiences and activities that they can do together and create memories as a newly married couple.

A Gift Registry

A gift registry is a list curated by the wedding couple selecting specific items that they might like to receive from their wedding guests. Although couples typically live together before they get married now, a gift registry usually includes a selection of homewares, linens and accessories. Although they even include experiences such as a meal for two at your favourite restaurant or a class of some kind. There are a number of fantastic gift registry companies who you can register with and curate your dream shopping list online. Don’t forget to include a link to your registry on your wedding website via Say I do and on your wedding invitations for ease for your guests.

A Wishing Well

If you’re already struggling to think about what you might include on a wedding registry because you have everything you need, or you feel that requesting and accumulating more stuff around your wedding is a little unnecessary then you may prefer to set up a wishing well instead. This can either be in the form of a physical box or basket that guests can drop cash or cheques into, or you can do this digitally through a number of wishing well / gift registry sites. You might appreciate the cash injection for the honeymoon of a lifetime, or maybe you’re saving for a house deposit? There are many reasons why a couple might prefer to receive cash instead of physical items to celebrate their marriage and move into the next chapter of life together, which explains why it has become such a popular request.

In fact, we asked over 2000+ Say I do couples from predominantly Australia, the UK and Canada about the gifting plans for their wedding. It wasn’t surprising to learn that 29% said they were opting for a wishing well. We know that many modern wedding couples favour experiences over material items, and many go on to use the money from their wishing well for skydiving trips, or cooking lessons, and memory-making holidays that they might not be able to afford otherwise.

Other results from our poll told us that only 6.9% were having a gift registry, 7.6% were having a mix of both, 9.2% weren’t having either and 21.6% of the couples we asked weren’t sure. These results just go to show how wedding traditions have shifted over the years.

As much as you might find asking for gifts, cash or donations awkward, the giving of a gift at a wedding is a wonderful gesture recognising your special day, and one which the majority of your guests will want to participate in. We know that your guest’s presence is much more important than a gift so remember to choose your wedding invitation wording wisely. Include a personalised note explaining what a gift registry / wishing well is, and if you’re requesting cash donations, just explain that this would be in lieu of a gift and note what you plan to spend the money on. This ensures no one spends more than they can afford and only contributes if they are able to. Plus sharing this information will make your guests much more comfortable in contributing and happy in the knowledge that they’re donating to something truly special to you both.