Your Stories: How Our Wedding Raised £2k!

Looking to accept charity donations rather than gifts at your wedding? Read on for top tips from a couple who have!

For many soon-to-be-married couples, the best gift a guest could give is their presence at the wedding. But if you're choosing not to receive wedding gifts, should you ask for donations to a charity instead? Here, we speak to Hope & Malc who did just that, raising nearly £2,000.

Choosing a charity

Your wedding day is a deeply personal one, so choosing a charity close to your heart is important. You no doubt already have a charity in mind, but if not, be sure to choose a charity which resonates with both of you so you can speak passionately about it on the day.

Hope & Malc chose to support Mamie Martin Fund. Here's why:

"I've had a long standing interest in International Development having previously worked for Oxfam and I'm also especially interested in Malawi because of the country's historic connections with Scotland. Hope has been a regular supporter of the MMF for some time and having previously worked as a youth worker was keen on supporting a charity that worked with young people."

Informing your guests

The best way to inform your charity that you will be supporting a charity in lieu of wedding gifts is in your invitations. Hope & Malc chose to include a note about their Give as you Live Donate fundraising page in with their wedding invites when they sent them out.

"We included some information about the charity on our fundraising page, and Malc also mentioned the charity in his wedding speech.
The feedback from our guests was really positive, with many commenting on the idea and our choice of charity. The number of donations speaks for itself!"

The donation value

Don't suggest a set value; allow your guests to contribute what they would like to.

By using a Give as you Live Donate fundraising page, your guests can also choose to keep their donation anonymous (which some people do prefer), add Gift Aid, and choose to cover the transaction fees if they wish.

Hope & Malc raised a fantastic £1,905 plus a further £355 in Gift Aid (paid by the UK government - find out more about Gift Aid here.) for Mamie Martin Fund.

Check out their fundraising page here.

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