I never thought this could or would happen but at my daughters wedding on October 30, 2010, the card box was placed at the gift table. It wasn't close to the door or anything. Even I noticed a young tall blonde man talking on his cell phone while pacing back and forth in front of the gift table. We didn't see it but he was removing cards little by little and placing them on the other gifts on the table. As he paced, he would pick up a card or two and put them in his jacket pocket. He was dressed like a guest and fit right in. No one gave his a second thought. He was on his cell phone and fidgeting with the gifts on the table. Since he was on his cell phone everyone just thought he was nervous and fidgeting while talking. The hostess at the reception hall FINALLY came and got me. She told me she SAW him pick up the box twice and SAW his hands in the box. Even if he was a guest there was no reason for him to be touching the gifts OR the card box. The hostess failed her job in not stopping this thief or letting me know asap. My suggestion is to have a locked box in a secure place. The box can disappear so securing it to a table is a good idea. Hinesight, I wish we would have placed the box at the head table in full view. There are 20-30 cards missing containing thousands of dollars. Another thing I learned is that I'll ALWAYS write checks just in case. Most of their cards contained cash. I've made it my mission in life to tell alert everyone that this can happen. I've also notified the photographers in case this thief shows up in a background shot, we'll have his picture. We're making a police report and I will do everything in my power to see him arrested. I'm sick because I saw him by the table and I should have thought it strange. Please be aware!!!! This happned in St. Charles within the city limits. Again the description of the THIEF: young tall blonde male that used his cell phone as a distraction. He was dressed like a guest. We hope the photographers got him in some of the shots so watch the local news because I'll be all over it with this story to warn others. In a previous posting someone asked me if the hostess was a friend or guest...she wasn't she was an employee of the venue. If you are REALLY interested in WHERE this happened, please let me know and I'll give you the exact name of the place.