Wedding Gift Giving Missteps From Around the Globe
Weddings can be complicated things. The complication of your “garden variety” wedding can really become quite complex when one is unfamiliar with the social customs or norms. Navigating your way through the potentially rough seas of a wedding is never easy. However, don’t worry, help is on the way.
Etiquette for Wedding and Bridesmaid Gifts
1. When is a pre-engagement gift a bad idea? The answer is when you are in Malaysia, as it will be seen as a bribe.
2. When looking for a gift for a friend that is from India, you might want to skip anything made out of leather. In India, the cow is seen as a sacred animal, and this means that leather or a beef product is likely to create a very awkward moment or two.
3. If you are presenting a bridesmaid gift in the Middle East, please use your right hand. Failure to do so will be taken as an insult.
4. Pigskin footballs and alcoholic beverages might fill you full of wonderful Sunday afternoons in front of television set watching football, but if the person you are giving the gift to is Muslim, neither the pigskin football or the booze will go over well. Avoid the awkwardness and find some other gift.
5. In China, clocks are closely associated with the unpleasantness of death. Obviously, a different gift is in order.
6. The humble handkerchief might seem like a nice gift, but in much of the world it is frowned upon because it conjures up the notion of crying and sadness.
7. In Japan you always want to bring an uneven number of wedding gifts. This way the gifts cannot be divided between the bride and groom.
8. Knives are not the best choice for a wedding gift in China and Latin America. While your gift will be accepted, don’t be surprised if you receive a penny so that your knife is no longer technically viewed as a gift.
9. Make certain that you use both hands when giving gifts in Japan or Hong Kong. You should also deliver your wedding gifts or bridesmaids gifts in person as well.
Is it difficult to know what gift to give when you don’t know all the rules? Sure, but just take a little time and research the topic. If you have other friends from the same culture or country ask them for advice.
Make sure your wedding event is a smash hit. Frederick Smith gives advice all things wedding related such as wedding party gifts, wedding favors, bridal dress colors anything more then one man should know about weddings.
Tags: Bridesmaid Gifts, wedding favors, weddingstand