What's a suitable price tag for a royal wedding gift? [Poll]
Kate Middleton and Prince William have famously asked their wedding guests to donate to some favorite charities instead giving the royal couple gifts off a registry.
While that is generous and practical (what do you get a prince anyway?), can a guest really show up empty-handed? And either way, how much should a guest spend? We asked an expert:
"Typically when people are invited to a wedding it does involve travel and airfare and expenditures," says Lisa Gaché, manners expert and chief executive of Beverly Hills Manners. "For this kind of a wedding -- for any kind of a royal wedding -- it is considered a great honor. In order to show or convey respect and that gracious feeling for being invited, the ante is a bit more."
Gaché would put the sticker price at $500, what she called "a nice investment while not breaking the bank." Or, she says, you could get off a little cheaper by giving a gift with a personal touch.
"I just read that as a gift, George Michael is performing a song for the happy couple and that there is also a Royal Wedding Charity Fund. ... [T]hese two types of gifts fall under the category of getting to know the couple and presenting them with a special gift they would truly enjoy," she said.
"If you cannot offer something creative and unique such as a live performance, then the charity option is an excellent opportunity for guests to contribute their support monetarily. In this case, I believe a $500 donation would be considered generous."
Do you agree that $500 is an appropriate gesture in honor of Kate and her prince?
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-- Whitney Friedlander
Photo: Prince William and Kate Middleton, photographed soon after their fall 2010 engagement. Credit: Mario Testino / AFP / Getty Images