<p>To clarify: I thought that a gift table with gifts on display was prior to the wedding. Friends and family could and would come over to see who had given what…thank you Spencer Tracy. But a gift table at the wedding…done all the time. </p>
<p>Since the Ellebuds are cohosting a wedding, I went and looked at the venue spacing and saw…a gift table for gifts that were brought to the wedding. It will be decorated (no candles) and a security person will be there for a myriad of reasons. </p>
<p>As for the white silk purse to be carried by the bride…no. If someone wants to give a check…and there will be…we will discuss that just prior to the wedding.</p>
<p>Aside from that…if anyone happens by…you will know this Ellebud. I’ll be dancing all night.</p>
<p>Umpteen years ago, I was one of the HS pals assigned the task of opening the presents, putting little numbered stickers on them, and noting the giver on the appropriate line in the wedding guest book. I remember thinking what a pain it was going to be for whoever it was who would have to get all that unwrapped stuff out of the VFW hall, andback to the bride’s mom’s house late that night.</p>
<p>^^^ You opened the wedding gifts?? That’s seems a little odd. We opened ours when we were back from our honeymoon and could write down who gave what, etc.</p>
<p>Opened them and set them around on the fancy table. Nightmare. But evidently it was local custom. And we weren’t even bridesmaids. It was a task just one step up fromserving the punch.</p>
<p>While I don’t know if this is still done, but when I was of age that my friends were getting married in Texas, another popular custom was to have girl friends of the bride, who did not make the cut of being a bridesmaid, be a part of the ‘house party’. They usually served cake, poured punch, and did other little things like that. I think I remember being a part of two house parties. These were weddings with only a couple of bridesmaids I think, so it was a way to have one’s friend ‘involved’ but not a bridesmaid.</p>
<p>^^^ Ha ha!!! I just did a quick search in the online Houston Chronicle (since that’s where I grew up) to see if, in the wedding announcements, they still listed members of the house party (meaning, they are still a part of the custom), and they do! The whole wedding announcement thing is like reading a novel.</p>
<p>In Indiana in the 1960-70’ and maybe backward and forward families had a room that had a fancy tablecloth on it and cards that said who had given what as the gifts were opened and displayed. As a kid and teen I thought this was so cool.
Now, most of the couples I know have a family brunch the day after the wedding and open the gifts then.
And no more “leaving for the honeymoon” and such after the reception.
In Oregon now and, mostly, NOTHING is formal in the traditional sense.
terwit–yep, know what you are talking about! If you could not be a bridesmaid you could run the guest book…</p>
<p>Am I the only person who just opened gifts as they got sent to the house and wrote my thank-you notes? I don’t recall that opening them was any kind of event. (Showers are different.)</p>
<p>^^^ My oldest did that–just opened gifts as they arrived.
Registry gifts came to our house–D changed registry address when she realized that UPS and Fedex just left gifts outside the door.</p>
<p>Yes, I did this too, but the gifts that were brought to the wedding we opened after the honeymoon together.</p>
<p>[Shudder] the idea of people opening the gift I selected and displaying it makes me a little nervous now! I try to buy appropriate presents, but I had no idea they might be in a line-up with other people’s gifts!!</p>