Travis Kelce: The real reason behind Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s “no gifts” wedding policy and why more couples are doing the same
Guests invited to the wedding celebration taylor swift and Travis Kelce Don’t worry about choosing the perfect gift.According to the BBC, the couple adopted a “no gifts” policy, joining a growing number of modern couples asking family and friends to simply attend the celebrations rather than spend money on wedding gifts. Instead of the traditional gift registry filled with homewares, many invitations now come with a simple message: “Your presence is enough, but if you would like to give us a gift, please donate to our honeymoon fund.”For guests, replacing a gift list with bank transfer details often creates different problems. How much is appropriate to give?
Cash gifts are becoming more common
Wedding checklist service Prezola says couples are increasingly asking guests to contribute to specific experiences rather than putting money into a general cash fund.Instead of buying kitchen appliances or household items, guests can help pay for activities like romantic dinners, spa treatments or excursions during their honeymoon.According to the company, the average contribution per guest is around £116. The amount people choose to donate depends on their relationship with the couple, cultural expectations and how much money they have already spent attending the wedding.
Guests weigh their own affordability
Jonny, 34, said he and his wife Lottie would usually donate between £250 and £400, depending on how close they were to the bride and groom and their finances at the time. “We don’t have that many friends, so it’s good to give generously,” he said.When Jonny got married most of his close friends gave between £100 and £200. One couple donated £400, while his father donated £2,000 to the newlyweds.The money turned into cash for the couple’s 17-day honeymoon in Canada.Despite the generous gift, Jonny said he and his wife had budgeted for the trip “because it wasn’t worth the risk of relying on donations.”
QR codes replace wrapped gifts
Not everyone thinks wedding gifts need to cost hundreds of pounds.Hannah Rose-Thorn, 30, said she “always contributes £50 on a card”, which is the average contribution a guest makes to her own honeymoon fund.Instead of setting up a gift table, Hannah and her partner made giving simple.“We mentioned money on the invitations and created printed QR codes for people to scan at the bar,” she said.Their guests donated around £3,000, which the couple planned to use as pocket money during their honeymoon, which they had already paid for.According to UK wedding planning website Hitched, the average honeymoon for a British couple costs around £4,000.Even after asking for cash, Hannah still received traditional gifts.
How to choose the perfect wedding gift for a couple
“We got a lot of champagne and some flutes from our boss at work, which was nice, but we have a lot so it’s probably going to be re-gifted,” she said.Joni said some guests just prefer to give something that they feel is more personal.“They mean well but it may mean you get a bunch of John Lewis and M&S vouchers like we did, as well as some physical gifts,” he said.
“No one wants that random dish.”
Bride-to-be Chelsea Chivers believes cash gifts have become the new norm.“Some people think money is impersonal and find it embarrassing to give, but now that’s become the norm, so it’s either nothing or money.“No one wants that random dish.”Chelsea usually donates around £200 when friends get married, and more for close family members.She said the environment is also important. When a friend had her wedding in South Africa, traveling there had already cost her guests thousands of pounds, so she felt no need to give another gift.She also admitted that she and her partner rarely agree on donation amounts.“He would have donated £50 if it had been left to him,” she said.
Some guests still prefer personal gifts
Not everyone is convinced that transferring money is the best way to celebrate a wedding.Ollie Hickey, 28, donated between £30 and £50 to various honeymoon funds but said they felt “a bit impersonal”.“I like the idea that you can associate something specific with the person you spend your day with, rather than a jar of money,” he said.Although Olly isn’t engaged yet, he and his partner have discussed what they would ask for if they got married.As avid record collectors, they hope that guests will each bring a vinyl record that is meaningful to them.He said it would be “part of our special day”.
Wedding gifts are worth more than honeymoon
Cash gifts don’t always have to be spent during the holidays.Roxie Westwood got married in Ibiza and said she “wasn’t expecting any gifts”, but guests still donated around £100 per couple.The money was initially used for the honeymoon and was eventually used to fund in vitro fertilization treatments.“We had hoped to conceive naturally but we started trying long before the wedding and it never happened,” she said.When “reality set in,” using the money for IVF felt like the right decision.She said the donations paid for a large portion of the treatment and she remained grateful to friends and relatives who “played a role” in bringing her son into the world.
Honeymoon fund?
Georgia Finch, 26, also took a different route.Instead of asking for honeymoon donations, she asked for funds to renovate her loft.Around 80 guests donated £2,500, which she said was “fantastic”, and paid for around half the entire project.As wedding guests, Georgia prefers to donate money, especially if couples allow guests to pay for specific honeymoon experiences, such as scuba diving, a luxury breakfast, or a couples massage.However, she said her own budget is limited.“The most I would personally like to donate to the fund at the moment is £20 because money is tight at the moment.”
Culture can shape expectations
Wedding gift customs may also vary from country to country.Ewa Lewszyk-Howes said relatives from Poland usually donated between £250 and £400 at her wedding, while her husband’s British friends and family usually contributed around £100 per couple.“But that comes with different expectations,” she said.She explains that weddings in Poland usually include large celebrations with sumptuous food, open bars and accommodation for guests.“In the UK, guests are more likely to spend this money on travel, hotels, taxis and other costs to attend events,” she said.
