I find many of the card boxes that are available to buy or rent for weddings are an eyesore, in addition to being an atrocious waste of money. Personally, I'd just as soon use a decorative basket / box that I already have or could use again in my home.
However, with the exception of a few bird cage card holders, all of the card boxes I've seen are totally enclosed. At first, I assumed this was for security reasons to prevent theft from unwelcome 'guests', but then I considered that the reasons may be more etiquette based.
My question is this: is it considered rude to have an open receptacle (ex. basket, open topped box, etc.) for cards at a wedding? Is it perceived as a form of flaunting to have the cards in plain view until they are removed for safe keeping?