6 Times You Don't Have To Buy The Bride A Gift

Weddings are expensive. Not just for the bride and groom, but for guests, too. And if you’re in your 20s or 30s — or if you just have a huge extended family — you know that wedding season is killer. Seriously, how do you afford shower, reception, and sometimes bachelorette party gifts for four or more weddings in a year? That adds up. Have fun wearing the same dress to all of those weddings... and if you're a bridesmaid in multiple weddings, godspeed. While it’s important to follow wedding etiquette and be a generally decent human being, and most of the time you should give a present (no matter how small it is), there are a handful of times when you don’t need to buy a wedding gift for the bride-to-be.

So my fellow financially strained friend, you’re probably hoping one of these loopholes applies to you. If one does, congrats! You’ve won the wedding guest lottery. REVEL IN IT. (Disclaimer: If you’re close friends or even just good acquaintances with the bride and groom, you might just want to get them a token gift anyway. Thirty bucks probably isn’t worth souring a relationship.) Here are the six times when it’s totally OK not to get a gift for the bride:

1. If it's a far away destination wedding

And I mean far away. If you're paying for a plane ticket to Paris or Tokyo, your presence is probably a gift in itself. Buy hey, if a couple thousand is no big thing for you, don't be a jerk. Give the happy couple a little something.

2. If you don’t know the bride or groom, and are going with a date

It's definitely your date's job to foot the bill here. All you have to do is wear a pretty dress and take advantage of that open bar.

3. If you’re taking photos, or doing something the bride would need to pay for

Maybe you're offering up free photography services, baking the wedding cake, or crafting all the centerpieces (and buying materials). If you're going above and beyond and the bride has insisted you don't get her anything, feel free to take her up on that.

4. If it's a second or third marriage

OK, if she's a close family member or friend, you still have to buy her a gift. But if this is your second cousin or a friend from high school you hardly talk to anymore? You might be able to get out of this one.

5. If they know you’re broke, and tell you not to

NO SHAME. Chances are, you're going to pay back your friend in some other way down the road. Or maybe you're just waiting for a couple more paychecks, and then you can mail a gift. Better late than never?

6. If you’re a wedding crasher

Because a gift would just be weird. Party on!

Images: Beth Dubber/FOX; Giphy (6)