We put a note at the bottom saying that should you wish to give a gift, we'd appreciate money for future home improvements. There were things we wanted to upgrade as it had been years since DH bought the house and set himself up cheaply, but not enough things to fill a gift list.
One thing we did want was a Denby set. We live within 10 miles of the factory shop, so bought it in sales months later as seconds, over 50% cheaper than if we'd got first quality from somewhere like Debenhams with vouchers- to me that would be a total waste of guests' money.
In the year after the wedding we did up the entire upstairs, so the gifts did get used for purpose. Some people gave vouchers for IKEA and B&Q which were useful towards that. Unfortunately we had a substantial amount for M&S which were a pain to use well. We got a good towel set which matched the bathroom, but the other legacy of those vouchers is a pair of shoes that were too painful to break in and sit sadly in the bottom of a cupboard.
I don't get the issue of including information about gifts. Why make 60 odd sets of people chase you up to ask, because they'll want to give you something. Some people chose some personal gifts, and they were beautifully chosen as they'd put a concious thought into them.
The poems can be twee, and the one that OP rejected was not the best of the poems out there, but I have no issue in the couple being clear about what they'd like if the guests want to give something.