Gifts are important to a wedding in many ways. There are gifts that you receive during the wedding day and then there are gifts that a husband and wife strive to give to each other throughout the marriage. Today we will break down the rules of gift giving for anyone attending a wedding, as well as address the 5 love languages as a gift within your marriage.
The Rules of Gift Giving
Everyone will be invited to a wedding at some point, and gifts will be expected. Weddings are a combination of personal and formal therefore finding the perfect gift can be a delicate dance. You want something that has personal touches, but that they will also use. Now is not the time for those silly, embarrassing gifts you would normally give them (ie. no gag gifts or singing bears). So thanks to The Knot, here are 5 rules to use as guidelines for gift giving.
1) Buy From Their Registry
The registry is a set list of things the couple has specifically looked at and said they wanted. Buying from the list is a sure way to know you got them something that they wanted, will like, and will get a ton of use out of.
2) Kitchen, Entertaining, Bed, and Bath Gifts
All of these are things that are very practical that a person may want, but also may not buy themselves. Sometimes they can even include things that they didn’t even know they would need. Trying looking at some of things you have that relate to these categories; if you can find something that you couldn’t live without, it may be a great gift idea!
3) Don’t Spend Less Than $50
Weddings are expensive, and a lot of times so are the gifts that you will want to give a newly married couple. A good rule of thumb would be to spend no less than $50 dollars. Spending around $50 will hopefully ensure that you are getting a gift that is high quality and appropriate for the situation.
4) Give a Big Group Gift
Going in on a big group gift is an easy way to alleviate some of the costs of those bigger gifts that you may want to get. Group gifts can be great for when you still don’t know what to get someone. They can also take off the pressure of personalizing a gift as well as the fear that they make not like something you pick out.
5) Buy it Within Two Months of the Wedding
Nowadays, a lot of gifts that you purchase for someone you get online. That means that often time you have to wait for delivery. People understand this and if you don’t have the gift on the day of the wedding that is fine, but you should at least make sure that you have gotten your gift to them no longer that two months out from the wedding. Anything longer than that will look like a lack of effort and caring.
Love Languages in a Marriage
Love is the most important gift that a couple promises to give one another when they get married. After the wedding day they are constantly striving to build each other up and to uphold the vows that they set out for themselves. Understanding the five love languages and what your partners is can really help the success of a marriage. The five love languages are:
- Words of Affirmation
- Quality Time
- Receiving Gifts
- Acts of Service
- Physical Touch
Each love language is important and it is even more important to understand how each one connects to the wedding as well as what it may mean to your spouse if it is their top love language.
Words of Affirmation:
Words of affirmation are really important in a marriage. After all, the whole idea of what a marriage is based off of are the vows between husband and wife. Words are important in making the commitment as well as continuing to remind each other of that commitment and the steps you are taking to ensure you don’t break them. Words of affirmation can also become important later in a marriage. Often times spouses need to know that their partner still cares for them and for those whose top love language is words of affirmation it is very important tell them “I love you” often.
Quality Time:
Quality time is another really important one. It is one of the most important factors in getting to know the person you are dating. Where as, it doesn’t have much place in the wedding itself (except typically the absence of it the day before the wedding so that when you are reunited at the alter it is all the more special), it has a huge place in the success of a marriage afterwards. Spending time with your spouse without any distraction allows you to truly focus on one another. Often times in marriages schedules get too hectic and you stop taking the time for one another, not having that time however can really hurt a marriage.
Receiving Gifts:
We have already largely discussed this one in terms of the wedding day, but if it is also your partners top love language then little gifts here and there may be important. Something as simple as getting her flowers could remind her that you care and are still trying.
Acts of Service:
Acts of Service is simply just helping one another. Helping each other with whatever tasks present themselves is important. Plus it is through these tasks that you can grow closer together both before and after the wedding. Someone who has acts of service as their love language doesn’t want you to do everything for them, but they do want your support through their tasks so they have a way of knowing you care about what they are doing and moving forward in life together.
Physical Touch:
Physical touch is also a very important love language when it comes to marriages. This most often times doesn’t have to be anything major, but instead small touches on the arm or kisses on the forehead can make people feel safe and really connect a couple together. The biggest example of physical touch at a wedding is the first kiss. This is obviously visible to everyone but for the couple it signifies their bond as husband and wife and the presentation of themselves as a married couple. If physical touch is your love language then it will most likely be important that these small gestures are included in your marriage everyday.
Featured Image by BattershellTactical on Pixabay
Image 1 by BlickPixel on Pixabay
Image 2 by Fuze Magazine on Google Creative Commons
Something Borrowed, Something Blue 