Gone are the days when the only option for a Wedding gift was a registry complete with toasters, microwaves and saucepans. These days, asking for money, whether it be for your ‘honeymoon fund’ or for a piece of furniture or art you’ve been eyeing off, has become more acceptable.

But, the million-dollar question is – how do you ask for cash without sounding rude or greedy?

Here are some fail-proof tips from real Weddings.

1. The Wishing Well and Money Tree

The most popular way for couples to ask for cash is to have a ‘Wishing Well’ or a ‘Money Tree’ at the Wedding. Brides and Grooms can choose to let guests know of their gifting request by including a cute poem on the invitation like,

More than just kisses so far we’ve shared,
Our home has been made with love and care,
Most things we need we’ve already got,
And in our home, we can’t fit a lot
A donation to our wishing well would be great
But only if you wish to participate.

2. The Honeymoon Fund

When asking for money, we recommend letting your guests know what their monetary gift will be spent on; and most people will be very happy to give the Bride and Groom cash to spend on their honeymoon – who doesn’t deserve a trip away after all the stress of planning a Wedding?

To save you from looking, shopping or buying,
Here’s an idea we hope you like trying
A honeymoon adventure is what we’re after,
That will bring us joy and lots of laughter
So if you wish to participate
A monetary gift would be just great.

3. The ‘No Boxed Gifts’ Approach

Another way to let guests know that you’d appreciate a cash gift, is to write ‘no boxed gifts’ on the invitation. However, this one comes down to where you live and the culture, because some guests may not understand what it means and you’ll be fielding questions like – “so, I buy the toaster and just bring it without the box?”

4.  Delegate

Although we don’t recommend this one, some Brides and Grooms will have a contact number instead of a gifting description on their invitation. This contact will then be instructed to tell guests that call to ask about gifting that the couple would prefer cash gifts. It’s a whole lot more time consuming, but means you won’t have any awkward wording on the invitations. For example, the invitation would have a space that says ‘Any Wedding Related Questions, Please Contact <insert Bridesmaid/friend/relative>’.

5. Say Nothing At All

If you don’t include any gifting information on the invitation, most guests will assume this means you don’t have a registry and they’ll just bring money anyway. Leaving the gifting open to interpretation is always risky, but if you’re concerned about offending anyone, this might be a good option.

Main image from Daniel and Natasha’s Wedding. Photography by D’amico Photography.