Did you know that in the past, giving a gift at weddings wasn?t really a thing" Instead of receiving a bunch of presents on the big day, a dowry was paid for the bride, and this money compensated for the expenses of the wedding celebration and helped make things easier for the bride and groom to start their lives together as a couple. Of course, many dowries often went to the parents of the bride, rather than being gifted to the new couple. The original dowry happened in 2000 BC. Then came wedding chests, which contained everything the bride owned. She?d bring it over to her new husband?s house once they got married. (I don?t know about you, but I?d need a monster of a chest for all of my stuff.)
After the chests, a new item began appearing in American weddings, especially in the South: the key basket. This was a small (obviously, since it?s for a key) basket to hold keys, which was meant to represent her new role in the home. The First Wedding Gift Registry
In the 1920s, Macy?s (Marshall Fields as it was known back then) put the bridal registry into action, which paved the way for a slew of other stores to begin their own. The first gifts people gave to newlyweds were things like china, silver, and crystal?sets of dishes so that the new couple could do things like have dinner parties without embarrassing themselves with mismatched dishware. A huge component of getting married in the early 1900s was selecting a good china pattern. Of course, we still spend time pickin...