Top Ten Gifts for

Top Ten Gifts for the Bride You are here: About > Style > Weddings Style Weddings Essentials Planning Your Wedding - Brides & Grooms Easy Wedding Checklist Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands Invitations, Programs, and Stationery Organization and Wedding Planning Articles & Resources Brides and Grooms Bridal Party & Guests Your Wedding Ceremony Wedding or Engagement Rings Wedding Locations Showers and Parties Style and Attire Celebrity Weddings Honeymoons Wedding Flowers Wedding Music Wedding Cakes, Food, Menus Invitations & Programs Wedding Photography Wedding Favors Articles Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Weddings newsletter! See Online Courses Search Weddings Top Ten Gifts for the Bride Weddings Blog « Looking for a bargain? | Main | Wedding traditions, and a weddings exhibition » From Nina Callaway , Your Guide to Weddings . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! June 22, 2004 Top Ten Gifts for the Bride Thoughtful gift-giving is rarely easy, but its particularly hard when the person you're giving to is already receiving tons of gifts. Friends of celebrities have this problem and now you do too. Your friend is getting married, but her birthday is around the corner? What should you give her that she hasn't already registered for? Here's a list of top ten gifts for the bride that she will truly find useful and thoughtful. Email a Friend Display Latest Headlines Read Archives Advertisement Most Popular Wedding Vows Dr. Seuss - Funny Wedding Vow Sample Wedding Ceremony Wedding Invitation Wording Sample Wedding Thank You Cards What's Hot Top Honeymoon Ideas 10 Tips for an Outdoor Wedding Wedding Flowers & Florists Valentine's Day Weddings Medieval Wedding Related Topics Honeymoons / Romantic Getaways Marriage Dating Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About Poll: What would you do with $10 million? 1) Spend it 4) Pay bills 2) Donate 5) Save 3) Invest 6) Not sure Is New York City Safe? Tips for Women Travelling What's Hot Top Honeymoon Ideas 10 Tips for an Outdoor Wedding Wedding Flowers & Florists Valentine's Day Weddings Medieval Wedding Headlines Weddings and Hurricanes As Hurricane Rita approaches Houston, I'm sure many couples who... Vintage Wedding Dresses If you're a bride-to-be who likes glamour, style, and old-Hollywood,... Ann Taylor Offers Off-the-rack Wedding Attire When J.Crew launched their ready-to-wear wedding and special occasions line,... Signature Cocktails I was at a cocktail party this weekend with a...

Wedding Gift Registry: Charity

CBS News | Wedding Gift Registry: Charity | August 5, 2005 13:00:24 SEARCH: CBSNews.com The Web Home U.S. World Politics SciTech Health Entertainment Business Opinion Sports FREE CBS News Video August 5, 2005 13:00:24 Living HealthWatch Leisure Series The Sat. Early Show Contributors • Section Front E-mail This Story Printable Version Wedding Gift Registry: Charity NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2005 Charitable Couples Aakash Thakkar and Christina Giallourakis (Photo: CBS/The Early Show) (CBS) The latest request at many weddings these days hasn't been for presents at all. With the average ages of brides and grooms today at 27 and 29 respectively, many have all the dishes and bedding they need. So instead of asking for china and crystal, The Early Show contributor Laurie Hibberd reports, they're asking their guests to donate to charity. When Christina Giallourakis and Aakash Thakkar got married this spring, they were actually excited that half of their wedding guests did not buy them gifts. Thakkar explains, "We had sort of tried to, in planning for our wedding, to sort of get the basics that we need. Sure, maybe we didn't have sort of all the toasters and silverware and plates, et cetera, that one might need. But I think, our general thought was we could buy that stuff along the way." Instead, this Washington, D.C., couple asked their friends and family to help start a scholarship fund at Thakkar's high school alma mater. He says, "The thought was to start a scholarship that would be perpetual, and would allow a disadvantaged child in the Washington, D.C., area to be able to go to St. John's College High School." And they're not the only ones to forgo presents for charity. The trend has grown in the last few years, with a number of high-profile celebrity couples, including Billy Joel and his wife, Katie, setting the example. "I don't think we ever considered asking our friends to buy us gifts," Katie Joel says. "My husband and I were really on the same page when it came to this issue. We wanted to have charity donations for the wedding from the beginning. I got a lot of feedback from different friends saying, 'It's great that you chose to give to charities, instead of asking for gifts. We don't want to buy you a coffee pot'." Kara Corridan, executive editor of Modern Bride magazine, notes, "Over the past few years, couples may donate the unused food from their reception to a local food bank, or they'll print their invitations and their stationery on recycled paper. Or instead of giving favors to guests, they'll tell them that they made a donation to their favorite charity." Bethany Robertson is the executive director of the I Do Foundation , a non-profit organization that helps couples incorporate charity into their big day. Roberts says, "We have seen a phenomenal increase in the number of couples who are participating. In 2004, we had about 20,000 couples in the program. And this year, we're on track to have over 200,000 couples choose a charity through either the I Do Foundation or one of our partners. This is money that did not currently or before exists in the charitable pipeline. This is money that was being spent on cake toppers and garter belts. Now, it's being used for children's health or for community development, things like that. I kind of think of it as icing on the cake, really." Experts say it makes sense that this trend is on the rise with couples waiting longer - and until they're older - before walking down the aisle. Corridan says, "I think now because we have more couples who have been living together before they get married, they literally just don't need the stuff that would end up on a traditional registry, or they may live separately, and so, they might end up with two sets of everything going in to setting up their home." For couples like Christina Giallourakis and Aakash Thakkar, who are tying charitable giving into the day they tie the knot, they say it makes all the difference. "I think it made our wedding better," Giallourakis says. "There was that much more interaction with all of our guests before the wedding. It wasn't they just went to a Web site and bought a gift and that was it. It was: How's the fund doing? Where are you up to now?" And Robertson is hoping that more and more people think of those less fortunate while planning for their own futures. She says, "The I Do Foundation's vision is really that in 10 years, when someone comes back from a wedding, people will say, 'What did the bridesmaids' dresses look like? Who was the best man? And what was the couple's charity?'" If you're wondering how much money can actually be raised like this, so far Giallourakis and Thakkar's scholarship fund has raised about $8,000. What's This? MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Rita Exodus Texas Gov. Reverses Southbound Interstate Lanes To Aid Evacuations • Passengers Watched Drama Unfold • New Orleans: New Flood Risk • Democrats Split On Roberts Wedding Gift Registry: Charity What More Engaged Couples Are Asking Of Wedding Guests • 'Jaws' Set To Scare Anew • Getting These Blues Can Help • Trend Report: Bright Ideas • Leo DiCaprio On 'The Aviator' Back To Top Bios | Contact Info Help | Advertise | Contact Us | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | CBS News Bios | CBS.com | CBS SportsLine.com | Internships ©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Love Is In The Air Here are some showy proposals and weddings that got attention. Celebrity Circuit Hollywood's elite turns up at Toronto Film Festival This Is His Life A look at award-winning "Piano Man" Billy Joel. Video Instead of registering for wedding presents, many couples are asking for donations to charity. The Early Show's Laurie Hibberd reports on this rising trend. 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