10 Wedding Gifts You're Not Registering For, But Should

Wedding costs

If couples are going to make the guests flinch anyway, they may as well get some freebies out of it.

For couples willing to press the issue and test guests' comfort levels, Naylor suggests asking them to chip in and cover wedding costs as a gift. Couples can announce on their personal wedding Web site's registry page that they welcome gift cards to their photographer, videographer, floral designer and beauty salon. Whether this gambit actually works and reduces the cost of the wedding by any degree is in question, but you don't get an open bar tab covered without trying.

"These gift cards can cut down your wedding expenses and allow you to get those extra things you wanted added on to your order down the road," Naylor says. "Guests don't have to get you these -- so you don't have to worry about anyone being offended -- they're just there with your traditional gift lists."

Charitable causes

If all of the above seem like the most self-absorbed solutions imaginable, that's kind of the point. Your registry is perhaps the most inherently selfish portion of your wedding and the one time in life people won't shake their heads at you for trying to shake them down for gifts.

Then again, it doesn't have to be all about you if your heart is all about something else. Charity wedding registries such as those set up by the I Do Foundation either donate a percentage of all gift purchases to the charity of your choosing or substitute wedding favors with charitable donations.

Just be warned that two can play at this game. Guests also have the option of ignoring a couple's registry altogether and buying a gift card from a charity card giver such as Tis Best for use at the charity of their choosing.

"If you're a couple who truly has everything, you might consider setting up a registry that will allow your guests to donate to a cause that's near and dear to your heart," Forrest says. "Some couples ask guests to make charitable donations in lieu of gifts, others include it in addition to a more traditional gift registry."