Dopers,
A good friend of mine is a bridesmaid in a wedding coming up soon. She is really good friends with the bride, but is wondering if it would be tacky to get the bride a Target gift card (the gift card is on the registry). Could any of you etiquette experts weigh in on this? Thank you so much for your input!
If she gets the giftcard, I would recommend she pair it with a personal note/card, and possibly a small but personal gift.
Personally, I wouldn’t be offended at all, because the gift card means I can buy what I actually want and no have to worry about hurting someone’s feelings returning something.
If it was on the registry…it’s fine.
This is good.
It wouldn’t be wrong to just get the gift card, though. It’s on the registry, so she wants it and will use it!
I don’t usually bother with gift cards; I usually give cash, and always it’s a nice, fresh $100 bill (especially if I know there’s going to be an open bar at the reception!).
I think that’s fine, just put it in a card with a nice note. As a bridesmaid you have dozens of opportunities to, you know, express your sincere joy and excitement for the couple, you don’t need to do it again with a creative gift.
If it’s a shower gift then I think it’s nice to include something small to unwrap, but I think that’s just my thing, plenty of people around here just bring cards (with something inside) to showers.
We gave the (female) toast master at our wedding a gift card to a jewelry store, and the cool thing was that it came in a nice little box in the form of a small gold bar. I thought it was rather an elegant gift, being a “gift card”.
A gift card is always fine, if she’s asked for it. I would include a heartfelt note to the bride – that will mean more than any particular gift. JMHO (married Sept 2008, got a Trader Joes GC from my Maid-of-honor and a card that made me cry).
I gave my brother cash. No cards or crying was involved.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with giving a gift card. I do know that some stores will automatically include a gift card on any registry listing, and I think Target is one of them. But even if they didn’t consciously register for it, no doubt they will be able to use it.
I loooooooved getting gift cards for my wedding. The best was from my co-workers. They all chipped in and got me one for almost $200 for Linen-n-Things. Being the clearance/sale diva that I am - I walked out with a lot of cool stuff.
A month after I got married, it was my birthday. I gathered up all the gift cards (including a few restaurant cards), a couple of returns (can you believe I got 2 trifle bowls??), and spent the entire day shopping.
There’s no need to think beyond this. **breaking-reality’s ** suggestion of a nice card and small gift is excellent, but there’s no need to worry about something that’s on the registry.