civil witness costs and presents.

maryfred

Getting married in September.very small civil ceremony.my sister is my witness,my partners son is his.local hotel,so no travel expenses.my sister is wearing a dress that she has,she's not a make up/hair do kind of gal.the other witness has a suit. I hadn't thought of covering any costs for them cos it's such a small do,and to be honest,we're doing it on a VERY small budget.but reading some of the threads here,should we offer to get my sisters hair done and maybe buy new shirt/tie for the other witness? Or something else? What about a gift for them? We've already said that because it's such a small do,ceremony,meal,few drinks,that we're not expecting any gifts from anyone.How anyone organizes a big wedding is beyond me??!! My brain is fried as it is!! HELP!!

Milly33

Congrats to ye!! Sounds like lovely to have it nice and intimate.. It is up to ye what ye want to spend, all the things here are just opinions and it always comes back to do whatever ye want to do..

If you and the groom are dressing up it probably would be nice to have your sister and the son dressed up aswell or made feel special but if they aren't bothered or maybe have something that would do then tis grand..

Pistachios & cream

Congrats. I think as long as you are not expecting your witnesses to go to a lot of expense for your wedding then there is no reason to be paying for these.

It is only when new dresses, shoes, hair and makeup are needed that the bride and groom should pay.

An Bhanríon

Never mind what other people are doing. It's very easy to get carried away and think you SHOULD be doing this and that.

Maybe get them a little gift as a token to remember their part in your wedding. You are not asking them to spend money, e.g. to buy a particular dress / suit, so in my book there are no costs for you to cover.

We are not having a bridesmaid or a best man for our wedding. Our mothers will be our witnesses. We are paying for both mothers' rooms (it's in the hotel package) and my sister's room too (she has helped a lot with preparations). We may get our mothers a small gift too. But really our gift to them is that we chose them to be our witnesses. They were both mad chuffed to be asked!!!

Gatica

I think for something so low key without expectation of extravagant spending from your witnesses, there's no need to be paying for them. However, if you feel it would be nice to give them something, then sure it would be nice to offer to do something for them like a shirt and hair....

flikflak

Got married at 12 then took our 2 witnesses for a posh lunch. It was just the 4 of us and their small child and was a lovely way to celebrate. Did not give them any gift, or ask them to wear/look a certain way.

maryfred

Only just realised that I hadn't replied to this thread at all! My bad! I'm going to buy both witnesses a small gift just as a token of appreciation.Think I was just going into panic mode! All calm now,till I find something else to panic over.

mozattack

I wouldnt give them a cent towards this, are you mad?

tinkerbell

Huh? Why in the name of god would you buy them presents?! They are just showing up on the day .... There is honestly no need.

maryfred

mozattack wrote: »

I wouldnt give them a cent towards this, are you mad?

Ah,no, quite sane thank you. But thank you for your contribution.

maryfred

tinkerbell wrote: »

Huh? Why in the name of god would you buy them presents?! They are just showing up on the day .... There is honestly no need.

My sister has helped me out with things that I needed help with to do with the wedding. My partner is looking after his son,he decided that himself. And they both have been extremely supportive of us getting married when others for various reasons have not. So in neither case is it a matter of them "just showing up". With such small numbers,I'd hate to think that any of our guests thought that way.

Milly33

Both replies above seem a little harsh.. That sounds perfect just something nice and small as a token gift I am sure would be much appreciated