Wedding list tradition turned on its head

A novel new website allows guests to buy from couples not for them

Nearly 100 years ago, the first wedding list was created by a department store in Chicago. Since then millions of couples have used the traditional ‘list’ to identify items they would like as gifts to set up their new home. These days however most engaged couples have all the household items they need and more, as over 80 per cent have already lived together for an average of four years before they wed.

The ‘Reverse Wedding List’ was created when one such couple, Marcus and Gemma Daborn, came up with the ingenious plan to turn a cluttered household headache into a money-spinning honeymoon funder. They listed all the household items they no longer needed and invited their wedding guests to buy a gift from them rather than for them.

‘We had so much stuff we no longer needed – two blenders, two printers, loads of duplicate DVDs and CDs so this seemed like the perfect solution to de-clutter and raise some cash at the same time,’ says Gemma. ‘We gave guests the option to donate the item they purchased to charity if they didn’t actually want to keep it themselves and we also listed non-marital things, like dinner for two at ours.’

The list also helps couples get around the awkward issue of asking for money as a present.

‘The great thing about the ‘Reverse Wedding List’ is that the emphasis is taken away from the cash. It’s also great fun getting creative with what you can list,’ says Marcus. ‘Gem’s uncle in Australia bought my set of dumbbells which I’d never actually used. He then opted to donate them to charity. We de-cluttered and gained £25 and Gem’s uncle got the satisfaction of donating the item to a good cause. Win, win, win!’

For more information see www.reverseweddinglist.com