Gift Opening the day after?

DaniC26

I've noticed on the boards people talk about the day after brunch and stuff, but I was wondering if anyone else does the gift opening the day after?

I'm just curious,as that's what everyone does here and I haven't really seen it mentioned here very much so I was just wondering if it's more my area type of thing.

skippylouwho

My DD and her FI are leavintg on their honeymoon the day after the wedding and won't open gifts until they get home. Most of us will probably eat brunch in the same location the next morning but we're not doing an organized event. Just show up, the brunch at our hotel is fabulous.

The weekend they get back we are planning on having his family come to our house as the gifts will all be there. We'll have dinner, hear about the honeymoon and they will open gifts.  It's not a "see who gave them what" but more a  "look at the nice things people gave them" afternoon. 

I know some people frown on having people watch the couple open gifts (why is watching them open wedding gifts considered tasteless by some but watching a bride open shower gifts in front of a crowd considered correct?)   Anyway - we're just excited for them, want to see what they got - not who it came from.

It will also give us time to hear about their honeymoon and just to see them and be around them - both families enjoy each other and we all want to spend time with our newly weds so we think this will work well.

danieliza1127

We did open our gifts at my parent's house the day after our wedding when we had people over for a cook-out.  I don't think it's universally accepted though, but if it is in your area and people usually do it where you're from, go ahead if you want to.

preciosa4

We're doing it at my sister's house the next day, probably over lunch.

whitneykaye87

We're leaving Monday after our Saturday wedding for the HM, and I doubt we will open gifts until we get back.  Either way, I want to do it without other people around.  Especially if we want to take some things back, I don't want other people to notice which gifts we're keeping and which we aren't.

SuMmErKuTiE

It's up to you, we're having brunch the next morning with the friends and family who stay overnight at our venue, but then we leave for the airport in the early afternoon so we won't be opening our gifts until after we get back from the HM and that'll be done at our house.

MyNameIsNot

I'm fairly certain that inviting people to come watch you open gifts is a midwestern thing.   

If you really want to, it's fine, but I think most people prefer to do a brunch with your guests and then do the gifts in private.  Many people are turned off at the idea of their gift being opened in front of a crowd.

CA2MT4EveR

I would feel weird with a brunch the day after.  I think everyone but the B&G can get together and have a brunch, but I would 1, prefer opening gifts on our own and 2, not doing the "walk of shame" down to the brunch the morning after with all the looks.

DaniC26

Well, I don't get the "walk of shame" part, but I understand everyone else.

I honestly never even questioned it until I started reading threads here! It's really for the family to just get together and hang out and allows us to visit more with some of the family that we may have missed.

I'm not going to be too thrilled with everyone watching me, but hopefully it'll follow other ones I've been to and everyone kind of pays half their attention. And I'm obviously not opening cards.

Also, it's going to be basically family and bridal party not all the wedding guests.

skippylouwho

I figure everyone will pay half attention to DD and FI - we're not going to sit around in a circle right in front of them. I figure they will open a few, eat, talk to some people, wander back in towherever we've piled the gifts and open a few more.  Just whatever, whenever.   Neither side has a lot of family so it will be DD and her H, my hsuband & me, my DS and his FI,  my DD's MIL, SIL, and probably just 1 set of his H's grandparents.  Not a large crowd, probably no more than 10 of us, very casual.

MISSCOURTNEY20

The next day we will probably got to my mom's house and open gifts. She is going to take them to her house after the reception cause we are staying at the hotel.

LisaTyler1984

I hope the only gifts I get for the wedding fit inside an envelope. 

angela72023

We are only going to a hotel for our wedding night (Friday night wedding), then coming back home in time for a Saturday afternoon birthday party for my nieces (who live out of state and we've never been able to have a family birthday party for). Then we will go to church Sunday morning and will be back at our house Sunday afternoon after lunch to open gifts.

We are not announcing to anyone that we are opening gifts on Sunday, my  OOT (immediate) family knows (mom, brothers and sister-in-law), and my FI's brothers wives know. That way if anyone asks if we are opening gifts, there will be enough people who know that can tell people, in case they just have to see us open their gift. We will have leftover cake and beverages, but aren't serving food of any other kind. I would much prefer to open everything in private, but it is a tradition in both mine and FI's families to do this gathering.

One thing I WON"T do is announce what is in the cards we open. I have a sister-in-law that did that and counted the money after---seriously trashy! I haven't figured out how to handle the cards yet, but thought about opening them privately Saturday night and just having them set up either on our fireplace mantle or somewhere so anyone who comes over can read them if they want to (my family will) but we won't have the awkwardness of some tacky person asking what's in the envelope.

Either way, do what makes YOU comfortable