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Five practical wedding gifts for these times (no oven toasters in this list)

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Aneth Ng-Lim

<p>Many couples are rushing to the altar now that more and more venues are opening up and welcoming a greater number of guests.</p><p>Before you run out and buy another oven toaster after getting your latest wedding invitation, why not take a pause and consider the needs of the couple exchanging vows. </p><p>These days, many wedding invitations now come with those polite notes that in essence says, cash gifts are preferred. I admit I found it a bit distasteful at first. But the more I think about it, the more I realized I wish I did the same many, many, many years ago when I got hitched.</p><p>The morning after, I did not know what to do with a half a dozen oven toasters, 7 flat irons, 3 steamers, and dozens of bakeware. I did not know how to cook, had no interest to learn and have survived over 20 years of being married not cooking. Most of these gifts were given to family members, or re-gifted.</p><p>So before you RSVP to your next wedding party, consider practical gifts that will help the newlyweds look forward to better days ahead.</p><div><strong>#1 Shop their Wedding Registry</strong></div><p>Most couples apply for wedding registry and considering the time they invested in picking out what they like, I suggest you do not look elsewhere and just stick to their list. If the items are a bit pricey for your budget, try to approach other guests and you’re your funds together.</p><div><strong>#2 Store credit is good too</strong></div><p>No luck with a pooled gift? Consider store credit instead. Buy a gift certificate with your budget from the same store as the couple’s wedding registry. They can use your gift to shop for other items in their list and just add to cover the difference. A store credit will give them the flexibility to get what they want that is missing from the pile of gifts that came their way. And now that gift certificates do not expire, they can take their sweet time deciding.</p><div><strong>#3 The more shopping options, the merrier</strong></div><p>Not all gift certificates are created equal. Given a choice, I usually get one that has several partner stores, so the couple can have more shopping options. For example, the SM gift card will be honored at the couple’s wedding registry (assuming they signed up with SM Store, plus in other retailers covering everything from appliances to furniture to clothing.</p><div><strong>#4 How about an investment for their future?</strong></div><p>For close family members or if you are one of the godparents, the gift expectation is usually higher. Consider the gift of investment that will help secure their financial future. This one may require you to engage the couple. If you wanted to gift them an insurance plan, most likely you will only cover the first year premium so they need to agree to paying the rest. Or you can open a time deposit for them, or choose a unit investment trust fund. The key here is that your gift will open the way for a discussion on the importance of saving now for their future, and that is surely priceless.</p><div><strong>#5 Cash is almost always, the best</strong></div><p>I saved the best for last, and that is a cash gift. Some couples who plan to move to another country soon will ask this of all their guests. In that case, guests will likely understand. Then there are couples who will move in with their parents, so they really have no need for all those oven toaster and flat irons. But even couples who will stay in country and move in to a new place will no doubt find cash to be a practical option. It can help pay some of the wedding bills, or help them start their married life with a nice stash of savings. </p><p>At the end of the day, the best rule is to gift unto others what you want others to gift unto you. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/14/20/civil-wedding-vs-church-wedding-comparing-the-costs">Civil Wedding vs Church Wedding: Comparing the costs</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/21/19/important-wedding-preparation-costs">Important wedding preparation costs</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CgPKLeYHQYE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Many couples are rushing to the altar now that more and more venues are opening up and welcoming a greater number of guests.