The Tricky Web of Wedding Gifting. What's your gift personality?

Land grab or thanks, but no thanks?

Possessions have historically been viewed as extensions of the self and consumption as expressions of the identity. In this new age of more meaningful identity that isn't just about stuff, how you shape your gift wedding registry, or even if you have a gift registry at all? Especially as it signifies the start of your consumer identity as a married couple.

Historically registering gifts for your wedding guests to purchase has just been ‘the done thing’. Then gift registries appeared for christenings and birthdays and it all got a bit obscene rather quickly. There are a lot of options around for wedding gifting.  So to help you hone your thoughts, here a little game you can play. 

This game is called +++Which Consumer Profile or Green Alter Ego are you?+++ 

Consumer Profile A

Yee Haa!!! The gift registry is our chance to CLEAN UP! We am going to go crazy with a digital land grab and click on as many items as we can for our David Jones online gift registry. 

Greener Alter Ego A

We have decided to offer the antiquated and questionable device that is a single store gift registry, but to make our gifts more sustainable, we’ve selected a particular store with high eco-credentials, such as eco-certified products. 

Consumer Profile B

We have everything, but still feel we need to have a gift registry because people will WANT to give us things. We’ve been living together for so long and have our is house completely set up to the point of Belle Magazine photo shoot readiness.  We even held a housewarming party – another opportunity to accumulate stuff. God knows we don’t need it, but still, people will be angry if they can’t give us gifts, won’t they?

Greener Alter Ego B

Nope, we don’t need more stuff and nope our guests aren’t dying to give us gifts. We’re ditching wedding gifts altogether. 

Consumer Profile C

We have just Konmarie’ed our entire lives. How do we make sure any gifts received will spark joy without organising our own very contrived registry?

Greener Alter Ego C

How can we expect our guests to know what gifts will spark joy in both of us on such personal level? Instead we will register for objects or services that will help us live a more sustainable lifestyle, such as solar panels for our home, a water tank or a shade house to grow food.

Consumer Profile D

We are into experiences over things. Instead of paying for gifts that we really don’t need, maybe you could fund our honeymoon including first class airfares and designer yurt at Burning Man Festival via our Honey Fund page?

Greener Alter Ego D

Thanks for helping to fund an experience rather than contributing to more stuff. In the interest of keeping our wedding and honeymoon low carbon footprint, and so we don’t contribute to overtourism, please see our honeymoon goal page on The Gift Collective. You can help pay for rail and boat fares for our low impact walking holiday in Tasmania.  Donations are entirely voluntary – no judgement!

Consumer Profile E

We had a Zero Waste wedding with the smallest carbon footprint possible. We did the right thing – don’t we deserve to turn a blind eye on non-eco friendly or unsustainable gifts since we’ve been so mindful about the planet already?

Greener Alter Ego E

We achieved a carbon neutral wedding but why stop there?  We had the ability to carbon offset our wedding and others might not be so lucky. In lieu of gifts please buy more carbon credits to counter for the all weddings who aren’t mindful of carbon use.  A sort of pay it forward scheme if you will. 

How did you go?  Which Consumer or Green Alter Ego are you?  Whatever your ego, please consider eco in the choices you make. 

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