Dear Debbie

My fiancé and I have been together for six years, and have finally decided to take the plunge and get married. We have already been living together for four years and so already have everything we need for our house. I have seen that some travel agents are now offering a service whereby your wedding guests can contribute towards buying holiday vouchers which you can then spend on your honeymoon. When I told my mother about this, she was absolutely horrified and said it would be really rude of us to ask for money in this way instead of gifts. What do you think? I don't want to annoy our guests!

Thanks,
Amelia

UKTV Style's Agony Aunt replies:

Hi there Amelia,

At the risk of crossing swords with your mother - I think it's a great idea! So many people nowadays get married after a lengthy period of living together, and have more than enough stuff! I mean, how many irons does one couple need? Quite honestly, once you've accepted the idea of a wedding list - which is pretty prescriptive in itself - what's the difference between asking for a particular kind of china and a contribution to your holiday of a lifetime?
The main consideration is that guests should feel their gift is something that you will really appreciate and treasure forever. So you need to give some careful thought to the process by which people make their contribution.