http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/sex/kim-kardashian-divorce-etiquette-should-she-return-the-gifts-2606930/In an eerie twist of Halloween fate,
Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries listed the wedding date on their gift registry as October 31, 2011, the exact day Kardashian actually filed for divorce, according to a story in the
New York Daily News. Perhaps it’s not so surprising their marriage turned into more of a horror story than the fairy tale it was set up to be.
What’s really a nightmare is the mountain of gifts Kardashian is required by etiquette to personally return with a handwritten note (no tweets allowed). According to the same story in the Daily News, Kardashian and Humphries registered for over $172,000 of swag at the luxury Beverly Hills boutique Geary’s. Their blinged-out gift requests included a Baccarat crystal vase valued at nearly $8,000 and $38,000-worth of place settings by Buccellati.
We consulted two etiquette experts, Lizzie Post, Emily Post’s great-great granddaughter and co-author of “Emily Post’s Etiquette, 18 th Edition” and Sharon Naylor, author of over 35 wedding-planning books including “The Essential Guide to Wedding Etiquette” on whether or not Kardashian should return her wedding gifts and other thorny issues surrounding brief marriages. It seems Kardashian has already broken rule number one: tell your close friends and family of the split before you broadcast to a wider circle. And might we add, best to announce it to your hubby before the media (Humphries says he learned of their breakup the same way the rest of the world did, from TMZ). However, now could be Kardashian’s chance to redeem herself if she handles the remaining post-marriage triage with care.
Both Post and Naylor emphatically believe that after a short marriage, the wedding gifts must be returned with a brief, polite, and heartfelt handwritten note. Naylor says that if the bride is too distraught to write the notes, members of her immediate family or bridesmaids can help her (finally, a chance for sisters Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian to pull their weight). Post suggests that the bride return the gifts from her side of the family and the groom return the gifts from his side. She also points out that monogrammed or used items should not be returned.
As for for Kardashian’s 20-karat engagement ring, there are no hard and fast rules except that heirloom pieces from the groom’s family must be given back. “The engagement was followed through upon,” says Post. “The marriage happened and the engagement ring is hers to do with what she wants.” Naylor agrees that the engagement ring legally belongs to the bride, but that brides should consider their “karma” and think more about their “dignity than the goodies.”
The aftermath of short-lived marriage can be a painful and embarrassing time for the bride, the groom, and their respective families. Our experts admonish bride Kim and groom Kris as well as their close family and friends to squelch gossip and refrain from bad mouthing each other whether to other friends, the press, or via social media.
The next few months won’t be much fun for Kardashian, but don’t pity this TV princess. Her lavish fairytale wedding earned her an estimated $17 million, so we suspect she’ll be able to spin her divorce into gold too.
Just FYI, this is what I was always taught. And by short, most people would assume less than a year, IMO.