donation to charity instead of gifts?

Do you know of anyone who had or are having their guests donate to charities instead of buying wedding presents?

This is something we are considering because we feel they are already giving us their gift by attending our DW. And I don't want it to seem that we are still expecting presents by creating a gift registry, so I thought maybe registering with charities that are important to us would give the guests the option of donating.

What do you ladies/guys think?

I think that's an awesome idea!!! I just told FH about it and he likes the idea too! We are thinking about having an AHR before we leave for our DW (because the weather will still be warm before and might be a little chilly if we have it after), but FH doesn't want to seem like we're gift grabbing to our other guests by having an AHR. This totally solves our problem. Thank you for the great idea!!! YAY!!!!

Hi there! Ya I just found out about this option at a recent bridal fair... we are thinking of doing a tribute to FI's grandma at the same time, who recently passed away from cancer, by choosing the Cancer Society as one of our charities. I thought it would give guests the option, but not feel forced at the same time. Yay, glad to have helped! Good luck with the rest of the planning!

HI! My fiance and I also plan on doing something like this! We have lived together for 7 years already so honestly we don't need anything, and if we do we go out and buy it ourselves! So we are both really into the enviroment and PETA or saving animals.. that type of thing.. so we are researching into what charity would be best for us to use as our "registry".. do any of you know of any good charities or organizations that you could let me know about?? That would be great!! Thanks!

I guess this type of thing is getting to be pretty popular:

Wedding Gift Registry: Charity, What More Engaged Couples Are Asking Of Wedding Guests - CBS News

Thanks for that article, will defintely check out Idofoundation.org

I am thinking of setting up a charity registry for our local SPCA as I love animals as well!

I think this is a great idea as well and we are doing it too...but a little differently.

As we are going to the Dominican Republic, we want to give back to the country in a way that demonstrates our faith and passions. So we are donating the bombonnierre money to a Christian Missions project in the DR. They seek to build a school facility, establish Sunday School and have meal programs for underprivileged children in Barahona.

We will just give guests envelopes that say we have done this as well as a pamphlet on the charity.

It's better than the small gift they would have recieved from us.

We often go through life not realizing how blessed we are and how much we have to offer those who are less privileged.