The latest request at many weddings these days hasn't been for presents at all. With the average ages of brides and grooms today at 27 and 29 respectively, many have all the dishes and bedding they need. So instead of asking for china and crystal, Joseph Renzi, CEO of OurWishingWell.com reports, couples are asking their guests to donate to charity. When John and Mary got married in October this year, they were actually excited that half of their wedding guests did not buy gifts. John explains, "We had sort of tried to, in planning for our wedding, to get the basics that we needed. Sure, maybe we didn't have sort of all the toasters and silverware and plates etc, which one might need. But, our general thought was that we could buy all that stuff along the way." Instead, this Sydney-based couple asked their friends and family to donate to their favourite charity Make-A-Wish Foundation. Mary says, "The thought was to start a fund for Make-a-wish foundation, which supports terminally ill children by granting their wishes." And they're not the only ones to forgo presents for charity. The trend has grown in the last few years, with a number of high-profile celebrity couples, including Billy Joel and his wife, Katie, setting the example. Joseph Renzi, creator of online gift registry OurWishingWell.com says, "We have seen an exceptional increase in the number of couples who are creating a charity wishing well. At the start of 2007, we had a few couples registered to donate their money to a charity, now that figure has rapidly increased. This is money that did not currently or before exists in the charitable pipeline. This is money that was being spent on cutlery and household goods. Now, it's being used for children's health or for community development, things like that. I think it's just icing on the cake, really." Experts say it makes sense that this trend is on the rise with couples waiting longer - and until they're older - before walking down the aisle. Renzi says, "I think now because we have more couples who have been living together before they get married, they just don't need the gifts that would end up on a traditional registry, or they may live separately, and so, they might end up with two sets of everything when setting up their home." For couples like John and Mary, who are tying charitable giving into the day they tie the knot, they say it makes all the difference. "I think it made our wedding better," John says. "There was much more interaction with all of our guests before the wedding. It wasn't they just went to a Web site and bought a gift and that was it. It was: How's the fund doing? Where are you up to now?" And Renzi is hoping that more and more people think of those less fortunate while planning for their own futures. Renzi says, "OurWishingWell.com's vision is really that in 10 years, when someone comes back from a wedding, people will say, 'What did the bridesmaids' dresses look like? Who was the best man? And what was the couple's charity?'" |
