I’m really on the whole wedding wavelength, if you haven’t noticed. With my friend getting married soon and me being the maid of honor, every little wedding snippet, detail, piece of news, or general industry hoopla now catches my attention. Amazing how that happens. At any rate, there’s a little something I ran across that I found interesting and thought I’d share.

There is a now a machine that the bride and groom can rent where wedding guests can insert their credit cards and leave a “gift.” The machine gives a little “deposit” slip of sorts where the guests can fill out a congratulatory greeting, put it in an envelope, and then stick it back in the machine for the couple to retrieve later. The funds received from the day are deposited into the couple’s account the next business day. Basically, if you forget the boxed gift you can just whip out your credit card and all is forgiven.

I’m really torn on how I feel about this. On the one hand, it’s a nice way to leave a gift if someone has forgotten one. I don’t really know how often a wedding gift is forgotten, but you know, in the event that you show up empty-handed, this machine could be a life saver. On the other hand, it seems a bit rude – almost like you’re charging admission to the wedding in a way, but at the very least a little pushy. It sort of screams “Please Give Us Money and Keep Your Store Bought Goods.” Not to mention the fact that those who don’t pay their credit cards off every month will pay interest on that “gift.” Gee, thanks.

Then there’s the matter of how much money do you leave? I’ve been to one wedding in my life and I wasn’t old enough to leave a gift or give cash, so I have no idea what’s acceptable. I’ve seen people deposit checks for $25, so maybe that’s the acceptable number? But, to me, having to insert a credit card would incite more anxiety than writing a check. I think it’s mostly because I’d feel obligated to leave more than $25. I don’t know what it is, but when I pay at a restaurant, I do the same thing. I feel obligated to leave more for a tip when I pay with plastic as opposed to cash. Maybe it’s just my weird tendencies and no one else experiences this.

So what’s a bride and groom to do? This trend started in Israeli where it is more traditional for guests to leave money or checks; however, I still wonder at the message it’s sending. The machine itself has to be rented, so if no one leaves any money, then the bride and groom come out at a loss. And, what’s the security on something like that? A rented machine that takes credit card numbers cause me a little concern – particularly with the amount of fraud going around right now.

Personally, I think a wedding party would be better off renting a photo booth and letting the guests join in and have some fun. No money required and you get some funny pictures to commemorate the day. It’s not pushy or rude and doesn’t insinuate that boxed gifts are worthless. I certainly don’t think that would be anyone’s intentions, by the way – to make someone feel bad about bringing a boxed gift, but I think it would probably make some guests rather uncomfortable.

What do you think? Is this something that sounds like a good idea to you, or do you have reservations like I did?

Related posts:

1. When Are Gifts Considered Cheap?
2. Top 6 Ways To Get Gift Cards For Less
3. The Cost of Being a Good Friend
4. 12 Things to Ask BEFORE the Wedding
5. An Overview: Prepaid Debit and Gift Cards