While we don’t expect gifts from anyone and are perfectly happy with your attendance and love, clearly a lot of people like to give wedding gifts. We plan to make our temporary home in Washington D.C. for the first few years, living cheaply in order to pay for our graduate school and travels before moving to Washington state to buy a home and start a family. Therefore our living space will be small in the forseeable future. While we welcome any gifts from any of our guests, we’ve come up with some other practical alternatives.
One option that would be very helpful to us is to contribute towards larger wedding gifts, such as our honeymoon to Hawaii or tuition fees for the studies we each plan to complete. We are committed to paying for our wedding ourselves and in cash, so any help for our future endeavors is greatly appreciated.
Another option is donating money to one our favorite charities. We’re supporting Trees for Life (working to restore the Scottish Caledonian Forest), The Rainforest Alliance (putting pressure on companies and governments not to exploit the world’s greatest natural resource) and St. Baldrick’s (a fund-raising organization for child cancer research through volunteers shaving their hair off). Justine actually shaved her hair off in March 2009 for St Baldrick’s and raised $610 from family and friends.
If you really want to send us a physical gift, please send it to our physical address in Alexandria, VA (check out your wedding invitation for details). Please note that because we are flying to Hawaii straight after the wedding and then back to Virginia, we will be unable to carry any gifts with us in our limited suitcase baggage. And for those who know Justine’s family…you don’t want it to end up in her parent’s garage! We may never see it again : ) Love you mom and dad! : D
Ultimately we want you to feel comfortable, so we’re offering all these options. Whether you give us only a hug, a physical gift, contribute towards a larger one or help charities close to our hearts, you have our sincerest and heart-felt thanks for sharing our special day with us.