Moving abroad immediately after wedding and can't take stuff with us....

catobel20

As the subject line says, we are moving abroad a week after our wedding and can't really take much with us, therefore we don't want any physical gifts for our wedding.  We really don't want cash either- we just want people to come to our wedding and have fun.  Anyway, several of our guests have contacted our parents to ask what they should do for gifts and our parents have gently told them that cash is probably the best bet.  Some of our friends have suggested that we should put together a "registry" on our wedding website so that people can have an idea of what we might be spending their cash on rather than blindly giving us cash.  For example, we came up with a list of a handful of appliances, bikes, and camping equipment.  Do you think this "registry" is trashier than just leaving it up to people to give us cash?  Is it nicer for people to have an idea of what their cash is going towards? 

Thanks!!!

MNVegas

You can tell people what you are putting the money towards when you write out your thank you cards. 

"Thank you for your generous gift. We will be putting it toward (fill in the blank)."

I would not put items on your website. What happens if someone actually goes out and buys you one of the gifts listed instead of giving you cash to go buy it?

LeiselEB

To be honest, I don't really care what someone uses my money for when I give a cash gift. 

If you made a "registry" like that, I would think you wanted people to actually buy you those gifts, and I feel like that could get really confusing.

Let people give you cash, if they need to know what it'll be used for, word of mouth can get around about it. Don't put anything on your website about what you want to buy with it. 

Also, I'd be prepared to get some physical gifts. Not everyone likes giving cash, so be ready to ship things.

Cortney1982

I would not put up a registry if you don't plan on packing it all.

I do not think most people have an issue giving cash as a gift without knowing exactly what it's going to be spent on!  You can always let them know what you put it toward in the thank you card.

If somebody gives you a gift that you don't want or cannot take with you, see if you can return it or give it to charity.

Avion22

Where are you moving?  Are you military, or civilian?

We moved from the US to the UK last year, and we actually are able to use a lot more than we thought we would be able to.   Obviously sheets, towels, plates, mixing bowls, pots, pans, and everything like that is fine.    Most electronics (like TVs, DVD players, game consoles) can be used with different voltages, and will only need a plug converter.    American TVs WILL work in most abroad locations as long as you have a TV with HDMI ports and get a signal that can be transmitted over HDMI (most cable boxes have HDMI outputs even if they aren't HD cable boxes).   

Things with motors or heating elements (coffee makers, mixers, vaccuums, stuff like that) can only be used with a a voltage converter, and those can get kind of expensive (a few hundred bucks a piece) but you may only need one in your kitchen and one somewhere else, and you can sell those to other American expats when you leave. 

 Also, there's an International Board on The Next (go to "Life Boards" on the left then scroll down to "International Nesties")...come over and introduce yourself:-)  We like new people.

melntaitt

Is there an address for you at your new location? Many places ship internationally so your stuff can meet you there.

[Deleted User]

Where are you moving?  If you have an address, there are registries that ship overseas.  My fiance and I decided to put lighter things on our registry but saying we would appreciate cash because it can get costly to ship everything over.  (Our wedding is in the States, but we live in Germany.)

BmoreBride311

My FI and I live in the UK but our wedding is back in the states. We didn't want to receive a lot of things we couldn't use right away (e.g. appliances), so we just did a small registry for things we could use over here. FWIW, I have already had several guests ask us if we'd be okay with receiving cash, given our situation, without us even hinting. I think most of your guests will understand your situation and use common sense, and give you cash for your general use. I agree with MNVegas that you should just let them know in the thank you card how you plan to use it.