Hello Lisa!
Your invitations can be worded to convey a fun, relaxed atmosphere with something along the lines of:
Grab your sunglasses!
Kick off your shoes!
No suits or little black dresses needed!
You're invited to our wedding at _______
[details given]
We hope you'll join us!
The last line can mention something about an activity you have planned, like volleyball. "It'll be wedding vows and volleyball, and then drinks at sunset"
That gives everyone the tone and style of your wedding, plus the thrill of not having to wear heels and stockings.
As for your second question, this is a common etiquette problem. You want to tell your guests not to bring gifts, and that's completely commendable. Only the things is that some guests have been raised to ALWAYS bring a gift when they attend a wedding or go to someone's home. So putting 'No Gifts Please. All We Want Is Your Presence' will work for some, but then you'll have people showing up with wrapped gifts anyway while those who followed instructions feel awful. So with that in mind, some couples are solving the dilemma by putting on their invitations: "No Gifts Please! We Won't Accept! In lieu of gifts (since we know how wonderfully giving you are), we encourage you to make a donation to your favorite charity." That gets the point across and puts into motion something that guests can do to give back. This only works if your crowd is of that mindset, though.
Etiquette-wise, the rule states that you really shouldn't put anything about gifts on your invitation. But this is a new day, and people do mention their No Gifts request. You could leave it that way, and let guests make up their own minds: many will bring a bottle of wine or bouquet of flowers, perhaps a dessert, the usuals for this kind of situation. Just put the gifts away, and don't unwrap in front of others.
|
2 Questions
Linear Mode
