Question on gifting!

marycs

Okay so I'm at the age where all my friends are just starting to get married and I'm my own guest and bringing my own gifts yadda yadda. Help me out with this one, it is probably a really stupid question!

At the last wedding, I had like five gifts wrapped separately in matching paper, but they were removed from cocktail hour to the reception hall and mixed up and scrambled. I know that a lot of brides like to know who got them what, especially for when they write thank you cards. In the card I gave them, should I have written what we got them since they weren't all in one big box or bag? (We got them like 4 large items, so attaching them together was out of the question) So not obvious but just like, "We hope the X Y and Z we got you get you started in a wonderful life!" Or should I have literally placed a "To: From" Sticker on each box?

Is this a pet peeve for brides? I want to get it right next time, though maybe I'll stick to just one gift haha.

baystateapple

If this bothers you so much, next time you could just mail the wedding gifts to the couples' home.  I wouldn't write out everything on the card, usually the card is opened before the gift and that could potentially spoil the surprise.

MyUserName1

I always tape gift receipts to the box (under the wrapping) and if I give more items than I have gift receipts for (like, two items on the same receipt, etc.) I put a little "Love the Munis" note on the box (again, under the wrapping)

ETA: That's for things like showers, where I bring a package.  For a wedding, I mail ahead.

AzRunner

Rachers, that's a great idea, re: the cards.

I would also suggest a gift bag if it wouldn't weigh a ton.

We had something similar happen and the only gift that was mentioned in the TY note was the one that the card was taped to, so I figured they got the other one.

The major pet peeve of mine is when we gift money and we get a TY note saying "Thanks for spending our special day with us!" with no mention whatsoever of the check/cash.  Irksome mainly because I don't know if they got it or if someone stole it, etc.

The super duper judgey part of me gets annoyed because you know they just tore open all the cards and piled up the money without thinking to write down who gave what. 

Meegles4

Yes, brides definitely want to know who got them what, so it's difficult for them if packages are scrambled up. It doesn't really help if wrapping paper matches, because, well, multiple people could have used the same paper.

I think Muni and Rach make good suggestions on what to do in the future.

pkontk

I second the gift bag.  My FI, his brother, and I, went in on a gift for their cousins' wedding about a month ago.  (They drank beer all day in the middle of Burlington, VT and I got to go shopping for fun presents).  I got a really big gift bag for everything, and wrapped individual items in tissue. 

funandfreckles

Me personally? I wouldn't have given gifts that couldn't be attached together.
I also write on the back of the cards when I give a wedding or shower gift.
If you're going to continue to give large gifts that can't go together, I'd make note in the card that there are X boxes, or put to/from stickers on each box.

Avion22

I try to send the gifts ahead of time to the address listed on the couple's registry or the address that the invitation was issued from.   It's easier for me to shop online, I know it will go directly to the B&G, and it will have my name on it (I usually click the box to include a gift tag.  

Plus, I've always heard it's more polite to have gifts sent ahead of time so the B&G don't have to worry about transporting gifts home from the wedding.  Also, some people I know have had gifts and cards stolen from their reception, so if you send it ahead it won't get stolen.

brommel

Didn't find it annoying when they wrote on the inside of the card - it made it easier for our "stenographer" (aka one lucky cousin who gets to write down gift & giver during the "opening of gits") to stay on track.

Regardless of how many gifts you give, definitely attach something on the inside of your gift - people do do crazy things (card swap, for example), and sometimes cards just fall off (we have a float-y gift right now that we can't figure out who gave it).  If you want put the card all the way inside the box/present so you won't "ruin" the surprise.

Kudos for thinking ahead!

hoffse

Etiquette says you're really supposed to send the gifts ahead of time because it's a PITA to haul that many large boxes home.  All that said, in my circle full gift tables are the norm at weddings, so we make sure to attach the card to the box or do a to/from tag if there is more than one box.