Bridal Shower Gift Questions

[Deleted User]

I had my bridal shower on Saturday and I have a few questions-

1. I received a few duplicate items without gift receipts.  Should I return/exchage them now, or do I wait until after the wedding? 

2. Are we allowed to use the gifts now, or do we wait until after the wedding?  I have been told two different things, and would like to know what you all think.

3. I would like to send my thank you cards right away, and am wondering who I address them to.  I only had women at the shower, but if the gift was from someone in a relationship, or that is married, do I address the thank you to the couple or just the woman that came to the shower?

Thanks for your help!

[Deleted User]

One last question I forgot to add-

Do I add my fiance's name to the thank you card, or do I just write it from me since he wasn't at the shower? 

Thank you!

J&K10910

1.  Return them now.
2.  Wait to use them until the after the wedding.  The reason:  if for whatever reason the wedding was to not happen, the gifts would need to be returned.
3.  Address the thank yous as the card was signed.  If just the woman signed the card, send the TY to just her.  If she signed it from both, send the card to both.

Maggie0829

1)  I would return/exchange them now.

2)  Typically you do not use the gifts until after the wedding because, God forbid, if the wedding is cancelled the gifts should be returned to the giver

3)  Address the thank you to whoever signed the card attached with the gift.

ETA:  Sign the thank you cards from just you.  The shower was for you, not for you and your FI.

Meegles4

1. I waited to return mine (so approx. 2.5 months between shower and return date). It was fine.

I did this because I didn't use any of the gifts pre-wedding, and thus just stored them away. I also wanted to get most of our wedding gifts so that I'd know what wasn't purchased off of the registry and could then exchange the duplicate gifts for things we still needed. So, I wanted to wait until the wedding actually happened. This way, I was able to sort/unpack everything post-wedding and make one big exchange trip instead of making a few trips before and after the wedding.

Agree with PPs on everything else.

J&K10910

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_bridal-shower-gift-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:988eb3db-3faf-4354-a5d8-00d4ea1a7ae2Post:f7fbae61-f2d4-43b0-9513-7a6719cf0347">Re: Bridal Shower Gift Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]1. I waited to return mine (so approx. 2.5 months between shower and return date). It was fine. I did this because I didn't use any of the gifts pre-wedding, and thus just stored them away. <strong>I also wanted to get most of our wedding gifts so that I'd know what wasn't purchased off of the registry and could then exchange the duplicate gifts for things we still needed.</strong> So, I wanted to wait until the wedding actually happened. This way, I was able to sort/unpack everything post-wedding and make one big exchange trip instead of making a few trips before and after the wedding. Agree with PPs on everything else.
Posted by Meegles4[/QUOTE]

This is a good point, and dependingo n where you're registered could work out fine.  BBB?  Probably no problem.  Somewhere with a less generous return policy?  Not so fine.  Check the return policy, and if in doubt, you can always exchange for store credit or cash (if it was paid for in cash).

[Deleted User]

Thank you all for your help.  I really appreciate it!  Now I have some Thank you's to write