on our first saturday in melbourne, we were invited to a church wedding, followed by lunch in a function room of a hotel. nowadays, young people are so straight forward ...they ask for cash outright. the invitation card comes with an additional card on which was a poem spelling out very clearly what the bride and groom want as wedding gifts. i am sure you, young people, know about this site on the internet where they teach you how to write one of these poems (to ask for monetary gifts).
as if the rhyming verses is not a strong enough hint, there is also an empty red packet to go with it. some people may consider this tacky and low-class but i will compliment the couple for being honest and up front about it. who wants to end up with five sets of 20-piece fine bone china dinner sets or three oven toasters? i think most newly-weds will prefer cash as weddings are expensive affairs. a not so extravagant one held in singapore can easily set you back by $30k to $50k.
not very long ago, a gift list was considered distasteful but over time the gift list has become an acceptable thing. it is part and parcel of a wedding plan. over time, people may come around to accept that asking for cash is a practical thing.
even with a wedding gift registry, you could also end up with similar gifts or more gifts than you need. some relatives, colleagues or your parents' friends might have bought the gifts earlier, even before you sent out the invitation. these are the people who could present you with an item already picked on your gift list.
however, in asking for cash gifts, there is also a risk of you getting less than what you have bargained for. if everybody just drops the red packet into a box or slip in into a big envelope, there is a chance that someone may just put $2 into the ang pow or just stuff it with some neatly cut papers.
to pre-empt this and to identify the giver, i have seen people at wedding reception assigned to receive and mark each red packet or envelope as it is handed to them.
