The great wedding “gift list” debate.
Such a bone of contention we often find. Do you even want one? do you just want a contribution towards your honeymoon instead? is it rude to ask for money?!
And what’s the point of a more “traditional” gift list if you have been together for yonks and pretty much have everything anyways?
These are questions we hear time and time again.
Well then, if there are a whole bunch of lovely things you would like but they happen to be from well….about a hundred different shops and not just the one, AND you fancy adding some other bits and bobs that might be out-of-the-ordinary then Prezola provides a one-stop gift registry solution.
And before we go on to tell you all about them, founders Dom and Ali are actually HERE right now awaiting all of your gift list questions. They’re experts in this area you see so if you want to drop a question in the comments section, they’ll respond with some useful advice.
Founded in 2010 by husband and wife team Dom and Ali Beaven, Prezola provides a unique, one-stop gift registry solution. The impressive online directory features more than 30,000 products and experiences handpicked from 100 of the UK’s favourite high street and online retailers including House of Fraser, M&S, Notonthehighstreet, Selfridges, Liberty, Heals, Cath Kidston and The White Company. From traditional home and garden products to once-in-a-lifetime experiences, Prezola offers an unrivalled collection of desirable gifts enabling couples to create the ultimate bespoke wish list to celebrate their special day, eliminating the need to have more than one gift list ever again.
Setting itself apart from other gift list registries, Prezola guarantees complete peace of mind for couples and guests alike, with all transactions securely made through its major retail partners. The service is completely free to use and fully automated, enabling couples to access their gift list anywhere, at any time of the day.
With over twenty years experience in the media industry and running an interior design consultancy, Dom and Ali Beaven are perfectly equipped to offer insight and expertise to even the most style-savvy couples. The Beavens, together with a team of personal shoppers (all with previous interior design experience) are on hand to provide inspiration and guidance throughout your selection process, ensuring the shopping process is a truly tailor-made, seamless experience.
So if you fancy adding a vintage e-bay find to your list, or asking for cash to put towards a deposit for your future marital home (yes this has been a genuine request before) then Prezola is the option for you.
Dom and Ali: Each year at Prezola we manage thousands of wedding gift lists, so we get to peak at what our couples are choosing for their lists and what their guests love to buy. Our team of Personal Shoppers are constantly scouring the market for new and exciting gift ideas and, unlike any other wedding gift list service, you can add any item from any website to your list. So, literally anything goes.
Armed with the latest stats from Prezola.com and feedback from our Personal Shopper team, here are our top five tips for creating your gift list….
Have One
It may sound mad, but almost half of us choose not to create a wedding gift list, and for your guests that can present a real problem. Family and friends will almost certainly want to buy a gift and the wedding gift list has been an established British tradition for centuries. It would be rude not to, and we’ll panic of we don’t know what to buy you!
Make It Personal
Your list should reflect you and your style. Your wedding will be bespoke and so should your gift list! It should bring a smile to guests’ faces as they think “that is just perfect for them”. Make sure you can add a personal message to thank guests for looking at your list, and that they can add a gift message to you when they buy something!
Give Plenty Of Choice
Some guests may have very traditional views while others will be happy to give cash contributions towards your honeymoon if that’s what you really want. Try to cater for everyone who might be buying a gift. And keep an eye on your list to see if you need to add more to it. 90% of our couples underestimate how many gifts they’ll receive and how much people spend!
Create Your Own Heirlooms
After the confetti has settled and the honeymoon tan is fading your wedding gifts can stay with you for the rest of your life. They will become your family’s heirlooms, which is really special. Choose wisely and in twenty years time your children might be using them!
Delivery Options
Do you want gifts at the venue on the big day? While it’s traditional to do so, you’ll need someone to take charge of getting them home securely. If you’d rather not have gifts at the wedding, look into services that can offer delivery to you at home as gifts are purchased, or all in one go on a date to suit you.
If you have any questions ask away, Ali and I are here all day to help you conquer any gift list concerns!
So what are you waiting for you gorgeous lot you – get typing!
Big I Want That Grey Conran For M&S Chair Love
Charlotte xxx
Ooo I was talking about gift lifts just a couple of days ago with my wife to be, and although she likes the idea there a quite a few family members who don’t do computers or the Internet. How do we best cater for them in terms of the gift list?
No debate for me – I’m a no list gal…
When I got married last July, H and I were both adamant we didn’t want guests to bring gifts. We have everything we need for our home and both of us would feel very uncomfortable with cash (I accept that for some cultures cash gifts are absolutely the norm)…
I also think wedding guests are often spending a lot of money to attend the wedding, whilst they can choose not to buy a new outfit if times are tight, they very often have to splash out on accommodation unless they live very locally and at a minimum they have to lay out taxi fares. I read somewhere a few months ago that the average spend by a wedding guest is over £250 and that can be tough for some people to find especially if they’re of the age where it’s the summer wedding season and they have several weddings to attend in a few months.
So we added a para to our info sent with the invitations to say no gifts, we want your presence, not your presents. My Mum and sister felt free to ignore that instruction which was fine and my best friend organised a plate signed by all our guests as a gift. We had a couple of other people say it didn’t feel right so they bought us small gifts which were lovely, I guess we had about 4 people who did that.
For me it depends on family circumstances and personal choice. Yes I get that some of the gifts will be kept for many years and be a reminder of the day but I have the memories of the day itself for that, I don’t need a glass bowl – but that’s just me, I get that it’s different for others.
As a wedding guest I certainly don’t have any objection to receiving a list, it can be helpful if you don’t know what people have/need. But for me as a gifter it does feel a little detached to buy a plate for part of an expensive dinner service although I get that as the recipient, it’s nice to think the dinner service came from lots of different guests…
Tricky subject!
Mine’s a bit of a tricky one. We are English but live in New Zealand, and are having our wedding in the UK. We don’t know what to do in terms of a gift list because not only can we not take any gifts back to NZ with us after the wedding, there is a total absence here in NZ of a decent wedding gift list site, or even the equivalent of a John Lewis type store. Do the UK-based companies like yourself do deliveries abroad or am I dreaming? Or what’s your advice? Some people have suggested we ask for contributions towards our honeymoon but the idea doesn’t really appeal to us. Thanks!
Hi Charlotte – Yes they’re fab aren’t they. Even better, they’re in the sale at the mo…
http://bit.ly/WwSZS7
Hi Gracie. At Prezola we take telephone orders as well as online, and our order line is printed on your personalised gift list cards. We get surprisingly few calls actually as most ‘olds’ are far more web savvy than we give them credit for!
You say that the retailers standard delivery charges apply, who pays for this please? Is it the guest at the time of purchase? Thanks.
Hi Polly – Yes, guests buy direct from major retailers and so all of their usual policies apply, including delivery charges, returns etc. You can choose whether to have gifts sent straight to you as they’re purchased, to the buying guest to bring along to the wedding or Prezola’s “Premier Service” where everything is sent to us to be checked and delivered in one go on a date to suit you. In reality, lots of our partners offer free delivery!
Hi Ellie. We arrange overseas deliveries!
Our “Premier Service” option sees all gifts delivered to Prezola where they’re checked, packed and dispatched for £39 within the UK. With international deliveries like yours we talk to you about your list, how many gifts you might receive and then set the delivery charge. It’s usually about £100 for New Zealand. And we advise you not to have too much glassware!
Email james@prezola.com if you’d like to know more. He manages our logistics!
Hi Nicola
I think you’re right that sometimes a gift list isn’t appropriate. If guests are paying lots to travel abroad and stay in hotels for instance. And every couple knows what’s right for them; we Brits seem to have an inbuilt ‘pushing-my-luck-ometer’.
As a gifter myself though, I just can’t resist it, so I’d have been one of the three or four people who did buy you something!
@Prezola Ali – Don’t tell me that! Oh no…now I might have to buy one
Charlotte xxx
Hi
I see from the end of this month you will be adding the ability to ask for honeymoon contributions – how will this work?
We really want to be able to ask for this more that house stuff – we have lived together for over 7 years now so have a hell of a lot of stuff already! – but one set of parents is not happy with the honeymoon idea so this may appease her concerns.
@Charlotte – armchairs look ace – although I can’t stop staring at the gorgeous Kitchen Aid!!! One day it WILL be mine!! haha
xx
Mmm… interiors! Those chairs are amazing.
Personally, we’ve gone with ‘give us some cash for the honeymoon’ thing. We’re getting a lot of work done on the house just after the wedding and right now im not sure what we want in it or how we want it to look.
@Prezola Dom & Ali you’ve really turned my head with this gorgeous images now and my head is filled with too many thoughts of gorgeous soft furnishings! xx
Hi Rebecca
Yes, from next month you’ll be able to add a cash contribution for any purpose to your gift list at Prezola, and you can completely personalise it! I’ll get the small print out upfront, which is that we charge you (the recipient) a 4% transaction fee. So, on a gift of £50 from a guest, £48 is passed on to you. Unfortunately we have to pay credit card fees!
Guests check out at Prezola and make their contribution along with a gift message to you. And then we pass the cash on to you! It means that you can have your cake and eat it! Some traditional gifts on your list for those who want to buy them, and cash contributions for those who are so inclined!
Thanks Dom
By the way, fab website! Although it is making me want too many things!! haha
x
Thanks Karen! We’re an interiors directory as well as wedding gift list service, so feel free to pop in to Prezola whenever you need inspiration!
Ooh wish I’d known about this 3 months ago – we were torn between which department store to go for and ended up with John Lewis, purely because they were the nicest to us at this wedding fair we went to at St George’s Hall (we get arbitrary with our decisions, the lorry driver and I!). I was initially really torn about having a list at all, and one of my pet peeves is those little poems some people pop inside their wedding invitations (eg, ‘So what do you get/For the Bride and Groom/Whose house has things/In every room?
/When shopping for a present/Please, don’t be rash/As the option is there/to just give cash’ – flinch!). So by way of a compromise to settle my sweaty etiquette dilemma, we’ve done a John Lewis wedding list but not mentioned it at all on the invitations – we just waited for people to ask if we had one (which several have done, and I know some of them have also passed on the details to other guests too). Both of us had a wedding in the family last year and we understand that most of our families seem to be cash/cheque givers so we’re assuming that will stand firm for our wedding too (although trying not to count any chickens prior to hatching!). I think out of all the wedding dilemmas I’ve had to deal with, this one was the hardest – I just kept being reminded of the episode of South Park where Cartman is having a birthday party and tells each of his friends exactly which toy he wants them to bring him as a present!
3 weeks and 1 day to go…aarrrrgggghhh.
This is perfect timing as I’ve been wondering how we’re going to work our guest list.
We were firstly going to ask for honeymoon contributions as if we’re honest this is what we would really like. All the weddings we’ve been to recently have done this (even though some have yet to have a honeymoon 3 years on hmmm) It’s a little tricky though as we’re having a minimoon after the wedding and hoping to have a big honeymoon later in the year or next year which we would like contributions to but as we haven’t booked or planned anything yet it’s a bit tricky.
However, when I told a certain Grandparent this I think their words were ‘Why would I want to pay for your honeymoon?’ Nice huh?? So we thought maybe we could do both so those who wanted to buy us a physical gift could, can you do this on your website?
To be honest, I would really like to do the same as @Nicola, them being there will be gift enough for us, but some of them seem quite intent on it!
Sorry ramble over!
Xxxx
A common dilemma Lou! Whether it’s Prezola or one of the department stores, the nice thing is that lists can ‘go viral’ if you don’t want to push it too hard! Guests tell each other, and these days they’ll just send each other the link if its an online list.
Good luck for three weeks time. You may have snow! How romantic
@Lou only three weeks and a day to go?! Excited? Nervous or a mixture of both?
I so wish I’d known about Prezola for my wedding as I had not one, not two but three separate gift lists. I know what you’re thinking – greedy or what?! But as with many of you I’ve lived with the boy for a while and wanted to invest in more substantial pieces rather than a dinner set. It so happened that the pieces we liked were scattered far and wide hence the three lists.
I know some of you think that cash can be crass but about a third of our guests preferred to give us money and actually this came in very handy for our honeymoon.
Hi Guys,
Love this idea, we were going to go with John Lewis, but if we can add anything from their website anyway then this would be a wonderful option. Is there any way of you guessing how much the premier service delivery would be to Dublin??
Thank you!
xx
Fab site, and service options looks great. Funnily enough i was debating the ‘gift list’ situation last night whilst sleeping. As I do with most elements of the wedding with three months to go. So perfect to read this this morning and realise i can really get a bit of everything without producing lots of different gift list numbers, which my family and friends are already asking about the gift list so I best register pronto! xx
@Prezola Ali – thanks! Loving your concept and I’ll definitely use it next time I get married!
I’m torn on the snow question – on one hand, it would look lovely on the pics – on the other hand, I’ve got suede shoes!
@Lolly – excited/nervous/keep staring at walls like a stunned mullet mumbling ‘I’m getting actual married…how the flip did that happen?!’ Multiple lists is a good idea too, we didn’t think of that – we’ve lived together for a couple of years but a lot of our stuff is either bargain-bucket things from Ikea and Asda or hand-me-downs (ie, our mums took the opportunity for a good clear-out and donated the rejects to us!), so we’ve taken the opportunity to pop a few nice things on the list to replace bits that are at the end of their lives. I don’t have a problem with cash gifts per se, it’s just I can never think of a polite way of asking for it – but any contributions will be directed to our US road trip fund, woo hoooo!x
Wow – lots of honeymoon dilemmas! What’s interesting for us is that we see the guests’ reactions to wedding gift lists, and they fall into two distinct camps. The ‘thinkers’ and the ‘skimmers’ .
‘Thinkers’ really want to give you something quite personal, that they like themselves and that they hope to see in your home (they may even go in search of their gift when they visit!). They want you to know they’ve given it some thought. They’re less keen on giving cash.
‘Skimmers’ are quite happy for you to have whatever you like. They turn up at Prezola with a budget in mind and, frankly, don’t really mind what you have. And cash is okay.
Cater for both audiences are you’ll be fine!
Thanks @Amy, and you’re in good company. Amy was our most popular ‘Brides name’ in 2012 (Dom likes his stats!).
@Lou St Georges Hall, are you a Liverpool Lovely?? Hiya!
I must say I had a wave of nausea at that poem, but each to their own of course
We’ve gone for just a nicely written request. We dont feel like we’re asking too much or patronising our guests with it and i’m quite comfortable with it. We’ve said:
“Sharing our special day with you, the people we love is the best
gift we could receive. However we know some of our friends and
family wish to buy us a wedding gift. Thank you so much.
We don’t expect anything, but we would love to make our
Honeymoon a real trip to remember, and you can help us do that.
So, a monetary gift, which allows us to enjoy our break to the full,
making our Honeymoon truly magical, would be very much
appreciated.”
I reckon that’s okay!
This post has definitely got me thinking about our wedding list. My husband to be wants to put Apple products on the list. I’m hoping he is kidding but I worry he is not. Top of my list so far is cake forks so I have the perfect excuse to eat lots of cake!
Hi,
again weve been together for 7 years (the day after we get marrried!), so we have a lovely house full of lovely things!
We are planning an EPIC honeymoon, well I hope it will be, we get married in August but are delaying our honeymoon until December. It really will be a trip of a lifetime for us, and we’d love it if our guests would contribute to that.
I’ve just read through your details about charges etc. Do the guests know that there will be a ‘service charge’ as such and that the couple effectively dont get the full gift? I hope Im not being rude but I think if I was a guest and I put money in and then found out that some of it got taken on a charge Id be a bit dissappointed!
P.s. How are people asking for contributions?!
Hi Sarah. You’re our perfect client! We’ve got lots of Apple products on the site as well as Xboxes, rucksacks and other husband-to-be type additions. We hide them away on a department called ‘Bespoke gifts’. I’ve just taken a quick look and on the first page we have a Barbie (really!) and a drum kit. These are things that the Personal Shopper team have added for clients!
The lovely thing is, you can add what you like. Whether anyone buys it or not is another matter.
@Sarah – haha, I love the optimism of some boys! My lorry driver wanted to add a ginormous flatscreen tv to ours, I had to put my foot down with a firm hand!
@Karen – hiyaaa! *waves* Absolutely Liverpool, we’re at the Racquet Club on 02/02 – if you walk down Chapel St around 4pm you’ll see us outside freezing our bits off in the name of photography! Your request sounds really nice actually, it’s polite and grateful without expecting presents. Never seen it done like that before – it’s usually either poems, or once I got a wedding invitation that just said ‘cash gifts only’ at the bottom!x
@Karen – I might steal your wording – do you mind?!x
Hi @Hels Bels. No, you’re not being rude, its a really good question!
We don’t make a point of telling guests about transaction fees, but the information is all in our T’s & C’s on site. Sadly we have to pass on the bank charges and we deliberated long and hard about who should pay; and I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this.
On one hand, if I buy you a gift for £40 from John Lewis, I’ll pay £43.95 for it because of the delivery charge. So my whole spend isn’t coming to you. Suggesting that the buyer should pay.
But then, it’s the couple that have chosen to use the service, so perhaps they should pay.
Tricky!
We have mentioned to close friends and family that have asked us, that a contribution for honeymoon spending money would be lovely. For everyone else we’ve gone for the traditional option with a John Lewis gift list because although we live together, it’s rented and nothing belongs to us. We don’t own a knife and fork between us!
We have to pick things for the list by mid Feb but I’m not sure what is an appropriate price range to put on a list. We really need a vacuum cleaner but h2b says a gift worth £300 is too much and we should just do small things. I’m also not sure if certain things are acceptable to put on a list, like an ipad mini or other personal items rather than household. I don’t want guests thinking that we are being cheeky!
Hi @Carys. Add some gift vouchers to your list at John Lewis and add a comment to them that you’re saving up for a few bigger items! Guests love to default to gift vouchers when they’re not sure what to do. You can then spend them on vacuum cleaner and an iPad mini!
@Hells Bells – steal away! It’d be cool to combine some nice wording with the Honeymoon list from the lovely Prezola folks!
@Lou – HOWL at ‘cash gifts only’ …talk about blunt! Aaah, I love the Racquet Club, it’ll be gorgeous!!! Not long to go at all… you must be really giddy. If I’m out and about I’ll come and stalk you like a massive wedding pervert!
xx
Hi all!! I’m loving this discussion and it’s interesting to hear all the different dilemmas that the wedding gift list poses! Where I’m from in Ireland it seems to be the trend that the older guests like to purchase an actual gift and then the younger guests know that the couple would probably prefer cash so they put cash in a card. I was surprised when we started attending weddings how much the going rate was per couple – £150 cash (basically covering the cost of your wedding meal)!! is it the same in England? I have a couple of English friends getting married this year and I have absolutely no idea if It’s arounf the same!
Hi @Helen – We see all sorts of budgets at Prezola, but our average guest spends around £78 and that’s often from a couple or whole family. £150 in cash sounds quite toppy to me!
@Carys If it helps we put some ‘larger’ items on the list with the option for people to buy vouchers to contribute towards the larger item if they wanted to. For example we opened a gift list at Baileys Home and Garden where I wanted a chair and the boy wanted a Fire Pit. Lots of our guests bought vouchers (which were also available on the list) which we combined to buy said Fire Pit and I ended up opting for a school bench in the end. We love the fact that some of our gifts were bought by a collective of guests and they love the fact that they helped contribute to something we really love.
@Helen I’d say it totally depends on how much you’re able to spend and how close the couple are to you. I’ve had weddings where I’ve bought a fairly sizeable present because the bride means the world to me and other weddings where I’ve bought a smaller token gift. Give what you feel is right for you.
Thanks – I think we’ll go with £100 per couple! we’ve our own wedding in 2014 and sooo many weddings to attend in the interim that it would be impossible to spend 150 each time! We’re getting married in Italy and I’m struggling with whether or not to say that we appreciate their attendance and don’t expect a gift etc. My Mum reckons don’t say anything in the invite and just let people ask if we have wedding list or not. We won’t be living together until after the wedding so one of your wedding lists would be perfect for us! Out of interest – if the respective companies have a sale on do you apply the sale to your listed items?
This is a really useful post. We have lived together for five years and our flat is bursting at the seams! So we really don’t have room (or the need for) traditional gift list items. I spoke to someone a while ago who had her guests contribute to a piece of art which I thought was a lovely idea – having something which you can treasure forever. The trouble is, I’m not really an expert when it comes to investing in art and don’t know where to start. Is this something Prezola could help with?
Hi @Helen. Ooh Italy. Wel Jel!
At Prezola guests buy direct from our retail partners, so whatever the price is that day is the price they pay. So, yes sale prices apply. Our system is updated twice every day to keep prices and availability up-to-date.
Lolly – yea I think thats logical – I just had no clue what the average is your side of the pond and didn’t want to be too excessive/too mean.
I also agree that you can have larger items on the list – I know a lot of friends and families that club together so that they can purchase a large gift for the couple! I have heard one person rant about a pair of trainers that a groom had put on his list so I guess gift vouchers are the perfect way to disguise a cheeky personal item!lol
@ Ali – No don’t tell me that I’m trying to dissuade him from his Apple obsession. Also if the average guest spends around £78 do you have a price range you suggest to put gifts in?
Hi Jessica. The big thing about Prezola is that you can add any item from any website to your list. You get your own Personal Shopper when you register and you simply send them links to things you like and we’ll add it to your list. When a guest looks at your list we’ll then connect them to the relevant site. So, if you see something you like in a gallery, we’ll add it for you.
We don’t offer investment advice as such, but our Personal Shoppers are all interiors experts and know where to look. They love a challenge!
@Sarah. Every couple is different, but basically go with your gut instinct on budget range. You know your guests, and you’ll have a good idea of what everyone will spend. Basically, it should be the things that i) you’d really love and ii) you think there’s a good chance that you’ll get.
Friends and family often club together for bigger items, and work collections can result in big ticket items being purchased. I recommend plenty between £20 – £100 and then a few more ambitious items. You can only ask!
If you’re a footballers wife / city trader and so are your guests, you’ll know how much they’re likely to spend! Create a list that reflects your audience!
Another quick question @Ali – what happens in the instance that an item that was on your list is no longer available from the given store?
Morning all
This is a really great post (and an awesome website!). We’re a bit torn on the gift situation. We’re getting married in France and I’m really conscious that guests will have to pay for flights and hotels at a time when loads of other friends are also getting married so don’t want to expressly ask for a gift. My fiance however is more of the “lets get all we can and put a giant TV on there” variety. Jokingly, I think…I hope! I know that practically its helpful for guests to have a list but I just wonder if its a bit presumptious to include reference to a list with a wedding abroad. Like @Lou I considered having a list but not mentioning it on invite but not sure on that either. We’ve lived together for a while but always in furnished rental flats and will be buying somewhere post wedding so I’d actually prefer gifts to cash. Know its old fashioned but love the idea of traditional set of wedding plates that comes out for all the big occassions in the life of a family!
Any advice?! xxx
Excellent – a techy question from @Helen. Our system checks everything twice every day to keep prices up to date and check availability. If it’s out of stock, you get a message in your account, but guests don’t see the item on your list (so they don’t click through to something they’re unable to buy). Often your Personal Shopper will spot it, and if it’s available from a different retailer we just swap it to the new supplier!
Thankfully, its all automated! So you don’t need to do it.
Thanks Ali – seems pretty straightforward! I have another one if that’s ok – can you have a couple of different options re delivery? Can you sign up for the Express option but if some of your guests would prefer to have the item delivered to them then they can opt for whichever they prefer?
Hi @Daphne. I would have a list, but not include gift list cards in your invitations if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. Your list will probably ‘go viral’ anyway and it sounds like you’d be more comfortable that way. Be sure to tell a couple of people that’s what your doing though!
Have you decided on the dinnerware you like yet? Need any suggestions?
Yes @ Helen. If you choose our ‘Premier service’ account guests are advised that you “suggest” that gifts are delivered to us to be included in one consignment. (So much more polite!). This leaves them free to decide for themselves, although most follow your “suggestion”!
Great, thanks Ali. Good advice! Would love suggestions for dinnerware. Haven’t thought too much about it – probably white, classic with a hint of detail/something original…
Thanks very much Dom. It’s less about having something that we can sell for a profit in a few years time and more about having something we will love (and actually like) forever. Would be great to get some help in knowing where to start looking, so Prezola could be just what we need!
Thanks @Ali and @Dom – I am in love with your site!! how clever are you guys! some of the bespoke gifts are hilarious – roller skates and the isle of Anglesey!!
Another question – if you have an item on your list but then change your mind before it’s been picked can you amend your list?
Prezola seems to be the answer to my prayers! I had set up with John Lewis but was disappointed with the selection and the open/close window for guests to purchase. I also love notonthehighstreet so it’s great to see those goods available too
Firstly… getting married in less than 9 months dear lord i have to pull my finger out!!
Were going with the contribution towards the honeymoon thing. One becuase weve been “living in sin” for so long that we have everything we need/dont have room for anything else! Secondly we’d just really like a cracking holiday. We cant really afford a good wedding and holiday.
My issue is that while most people appreciate that traiditions have changed they still feel uncomfprtable with cash gifts. I quite like the idea of it being a cash/honeymoon list but dressing it up as a gift list. Eg purchasing this will buy the couple a meal on the beach or and elephant trek in the jungle. In reality you dont have to use the cash on this but it makes the guests feel like theyre getitng you a proper gift.
Where can I get this???
Hi @Helen. Yes – you can add and subtract from your list at any time! The roller skates were the first thing to go on that list. And Angelesey is on our spoof birthday list for Kate Middleton. Check it out here…
http://www.prezola.com//wishlists/10125966
Hi @Jessica.
Check out our Art department when you get a minute. Personalised prints from NotOnTheHighStreet are always good…
http://www.prezola.com/c/gifts/home-accessories-16/wall-art-23
Or for something more original, try http://www.artgallery.co.uk. We’ll add anything you like to your list!
Thanks @Lizzy. I love NotOnTheHighStreet too. You can see everything from them here…
http://bit.ly/ZBr9WT
Hi @Clare. I may be a bit biased, but that would be Prezola. Your Personal Shopper will create a gift item for anything that you like for your list. So, you might have a picture of a fab restaurant and a £50 contribution for “A romantic moonlit dinner on the beach”. If the £50 gets spent on duty free, no one is really the wiser. Guests love the idea of this, and its much more palatable than cash!
Also just realised I want everyone of those pictures to be my house… making an entirely grey house. hmm is there any self help I can get for this grey addiction??
Some dinnerware suggestions for @Daphne
At the cheaper end of the scale is the “Verve” range from Viners. Really nice plain white with a nice embossed detail. Great value and half price in their sale at the moment. http://bit.ly/XpM4gb
More expensive but quirky and fun is Keith Brymer Jones from Amara Living. http://bit.ly/VPy9ir
My personal favourite, but pretty expensive is anything by Kate Spade. I would love a “June Lane” dinner service in my life! http://bit.ly/ZBuTb8
Thanks @Clare. I can assure you it doesn’t usually look that tidy! We’ve just produced a wedding gift list magazine which is going out with all of the wedding magazines next month and these are the photos from that. There were tears from Ali when everything had to be sent back to our retail partners!
You might have already answered this – i havent had time to read all commments and have to get back to work! What happens to things that go wrong or break, like electrical items? Do they get returned to you or do they have to go back to the specific store? Thank you
xx
Hi @Lucy. The nice thing is that guests are buying direct from major retailers, so if there’s a problem you can sort it out locally!
Thanks @Dom – i love the site – i will definately have a proper mooch over the weekend! x
@Clare – I hate to be the bearer of bad news pet but no, there is no cure for a grey addiction.
I advise to just embrace it – I do.
Charlotte xxx
Hi @Rachel. Sorry – I’ve only just spotted your earlier post so hope you’re still around. Premier Service for Dublin is usually £59.
@Charlotte Your right i think it maye be too late for me.
xx
Not so much embracing but diving in head first. Driving the H2B totally an utterly insane with it.
Last quick question – are you able to start setting up a gift list with one of the free options and then decide to upgrade to premium? (obviously decision would be made before gift list went viral)
Thanks,
Top 3 department stores for gift list services are House of Fraser, John Lewis and Debenhams, but I found out that House of Frazzles give you a ‘personal concierge’ and you can get discount cards and loads of beauty treatment freebies if you just go in and enquire!
Hi @Rebecca. Yes – you can upgrade at any time!
Fab! Thanks
Hi again – how does it work with getting the gaurantees and gifts receipts etc. in case of anything that needs to be returned?
Also how long before the wedding do you recommend setting up the list?
@Clare – Our conversations go something like this:
Me: I bought a new top today
Mr O’Shea: Let me guess, it’s grey right?
Me: Um…yes…but this one’s a special kind of CHARCOAL GREY, so much different to the other 56 shades of um…grey I currently own….
Hi @Helen. Everything is purchased direct from major retailers and their standard returns policies will apply. If you have gifts sent to guests, they’ll have the receipts as usual, or if gifts are sent straight to you they will be included in the parcel from the retailer. With our Premier Service we check everything for breakages before it comes to you, so that shouldn’t be a problem. And we send you a pack with all of your receipts when your gifts are dispatched!
Oops. Also @Helen, when to create your list depends on when your invitations are being sent. The list should be ready just before you post your invitations, but you can still add to it or change your mind right up until the day of the wedding! Register as soon as possible so you can add anything that catches your eye whenever you see it, plus its a tick in the wedmin box.
The only tricky thing on timing is that retailers change their ranges a couple of times per year. Start too early and you may find that your list is out-of-date by the time you send your invites, which just means that you need to choose more things. No real hardship!
@Charlotee HAHA ours are more:
Me: Ooo I really like that
MR: Let me guess it would be better in grey
Me: I was not going to say that!
Mr: Are you sure?
Me: uhhh maybe. Ok no it would be better in grey *sigh*
Thanks Ali I’m going to recommend your site to everyone
Just for you @Charlotte and @Clare…
http://www.prezola.com//wishlists/10125414
Thanks @Helen.
You say you can add any item, I was wondering what the strangest thing you’ve ever had on a list was? A friend of mine wanted to adopt an Elephant for a wedding present a few years ago!! Thanks Prezola X
@Prezola Ali – I need that Conran sound system like I need air.
Dramatic I know but….
It is so beautiful.
@Charlotte – I know. I keep asking nicely, but no joy yet. Hopefully Sir Terence in is watching and will look nicely upon us!
Hi Maria. Elephants? We’ve had a couple of pandas adopted at Prezola but elephants is a new one on me.
Until this morning my stock answer for strangest item listed has been tattoo vouchers (which sold out really quickly by the way).
But this morning we had a full-size, potted pear tree delivered to the Prezola warehouse for a Premier list. Apparently we need to water it until the wedding in March!
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Where is that rug from on the main photograph please?. I love it but can’t find it anywhere!!! I have got to have it!