At weddings today, for various reasons, many people choose to give a monetary gift or gift card to the bride and groom. I've heard many sad stories about unattended reception tables where the greeting cards containing money or gift cards were stolen. It's hard to imagine such bad behavior from an invited guest or the hired help.
That brings me to the topic of this article......a safe place to put monetary gifts. One of the best ideas today is the wedding card box, bird cage, treasure box, or wishing well. One bride bought a (five-tiered 36" tall) wedding card box so that it would be very noticeable if someone should try and walk out with it. Wedding card boxes can be elaborate, resembling wedding cakes, or simple resembling a gift itself. You could make a wedding card box yourself. With a little creativity and instructions, it may not be hard to do.
Start with a high quality paper mache box, round , heart or square. Cover the box with fabric or paint, add trim, flowers, ribbon, pearls, etc. It does take some skill to make a card box presentable for a wedding. Go to a craft store and buy a wire bird cage, paint it match the colors of your wedding, or buy a wooden wishing well and paint it. Guests can bring greeting cards and place them in the specified container. This idea makes it harder for someone to steal the greeting cards.
A beautifully designed (tiered cake-like) wedtding box is sometimes used instead of a wedding cake. A real sheet cake is used for the bride and groom and for serving guests. After the reception the bride can use the boxes to store her wedding memories in. This is very affordable for weddings on a small budget.
With all the excitement of a wedding many gifts have been stolen....some irreplaceable heirlooms and large monetary gifts. I hope I've given you some ideas that will help to keep the monetary gifts where they belong.
