Which charity for a wedding

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Our wedding is coming up next June so we are sending out invites soon. We have everything we need for the house and have no use for candelsticks holders or picture frames etc. We are comfortable so feel it selfish and rude to ask for financial contributions towards the honeymoon. I suggested that we pick a charity that we would like people to donate to instead and putting the money to better use etc. So far I have thought about maybe the Make a Wish foundation but wanted to see if there is any other charities I should consider

Air Ambulance, Kidney Research, Macmillan all sound good.

I think Mermaids was a joke suggestion - they do some extremely questionable things, and many of your guests won't want to donate to them.

Sorry about your dad

@MsSquiz oh I am so sorry for your loss. What a sweet gesture and a way to remember for on your special day ☺️

@Rubicon80 thank you for telling me. I never heard of them before so did not know

@Rubicon80 also thank you for the condolences

Why not ask people to make a donation to a charity of their choice in yours and your husbands name. That way you don't have to choose a specific charity and people can make donations to causes they feel most comfortable donating to?

Thank you for all the lovely suggestions I really appreciate them. Going to be really difficult tonight to pick one as it is so hard to choose with so many different people and animals that need help.

@SmileCheese never thought of that. Certainly an idea to think about.

I think it’s a lovely idea, and very generous of you. Personally I try to support “less fashionable” charities, like Arthritis uk. I had an aunt who suffered with arthritis, and some days couldn’t use a hair brush or comb because of the pain. Or a local hospice is always in need of funds.

Choose one/two/a few that mean something to you. Definitely won't be easy as you seem a thoughtful caring person. You could choose one animal based charity, one children's charity, a health/Cancer charity then people can choose which they prefer?

Alternatively you could put along the lines of "charity of your choosing" but then you risk people donating to save the snails* or similar

*just an example no offense intended snails need love too etc etc

@lancashirebornandbred omg that sounds terrible. I have thought of going for one that gets overlooked.

Maybe a local children's hospice

We chose two charities so people had a choice, both very close to our hearts.

Smilecheese I think that’s the best way to do it. It may just be me but I absolutely detest people who demand birthday/Christmas/wedding presents to be a cash donation to a charity. When I buy someone a present it’s because I want to get THEM something. Of course it’s a nice thought to have people donate to a charity, but I find it cheeky when people ask for you to give your money away to someone else in lieu of a present you’d actually want to buy them. I already donate an amount I can afford to charities that I agree with, as do most people. I already cringe at people asking for cash at weddings, let alone people asking for cash to give away to other people

never thought of that. Certainly an idea to think about.

Given that you don't have a cause that is particularly close to your heart it would allow you to not have to decide which you feel would be most deserving and it also allows more charities to benefit which can only be a good thing.

@zxcvhjkl I think if we are still stuck tonight we will go for one of those options and if the issue is close to a person I love I am happy they helped that cause no matter what it is even if it is saving snails 🐌 🐌 🐌

@Raphael34 but we literally have no need for anything. Anything would just be a surplus or not used.

@SmileCheese problem is more we have too many. We already donate to 8 seperate charities between us and have adopted 2 separate animals with the WWF

In that case I’d ask for no gifts, not we’ll take your money to give to a charity

What about the charity that helps organise dream weddings for the terminally ill?

@Raphael34 problem is people will WANT to gift something anyways. I am already getting questions about it. This seemed like the best solution I can find

The salvation helps everyone no matter who or what they are. They are always really grateful for any donation they recieve and their boss does not earn hundreds of thousands of pounds

@IndigoHexagon oh that is a lovely idea.

@Lowlandlucky I do actually already have them on the short list. It is a lovely suggestion ☺️

I would go for something local to you (like a hospice) or alternatively you could find a go fund me page and donate to them.
Go fund me is a good one because you know that all funds donated would directly help someone specific (like treatment in America for a child which won’t be funded by the UK)
Obviously most charities are worthwhile causes but big charities do get quite a lot of support (such as mcmillian with the nationwide coffee mornings etc). I’m not saying the big ones don’t need funding or don’t deserve it thought

We gave "favours" from McMillan, the little daffodil pins.

The daffodils are Marie Curie aren’t they?

I wouldn’t give to Macmillan. They get so much in the way of donations and despite what their tv ads say, they very often aren’t there when needed.

Do you have a local charity that your donation would really make a difference to, rather than being a drop in the ocean to one of the usual suspects?

I would personally choose a baby loss charity due to our own experiences such as Tommy's, The Miscarriage Association, or Sands. All of which have been really helpful to us over the past 3.5 years after losing three babies in pregnancy. Tommy's in particular are doing a lot of work to research miscarriage and finding ways to prevent parents in the future from going through what we (and thousands of others) have done. No parent should ever lose a child, let alone multiple.

BUT! I agree with PP that you should choose a charity that really means something to you. I think it is a wonderful idea

The daffodils are Marie Curie aren’t they?

Yes, I think you're right it was a long time ago