It will be hard to do this without coming off as rude. What I suggest is talking to your closest friend who is attending the wedding, and tell them this. Maybe they will spread the word for you, but do it in a way so no one knows that this is what you want. Like I said, it would not look good if you just asked for money.

If you would like to ask for money DO NOT print it anywhere. Leave registry information off all invites. This will cause the guests to ask around. You can inform people like the Bridal Party, parents and grandparents of this choice and they can pass the word around nicely. You could set up a money tree at the reception for these donations.

I have the same problem with my wedding. I already have pretty much everything we could need in our new life. I have been living on my own for 10 years. What we did is register for a few things. That way the guests that just cannot bring themselves to give cash will still have something to buy us that we can use, and the others will get the hint. We also set up a wedding website through mywedding.com and on it we put our registries and also noted that any monetary gifts would be put towards the purchase of our new home. You can reword to say whatever you are putting the money towards. We also put that if you prefer to give gift cards we would prefer gift cards to _____.
I think in this day and age people need to realize that many couples have lived together or at least out of their parents house for a while and already have most of the things that would go on a regular registry. I think it is fine to want money for presents, but remember that some people are old school and want to get you that pot and pan set or those knives and can’t even imagine sending cash. So, I would have a small registry for those people. I think most people would prefer to give cash (it is just easier on them), but they resent it when you tell them that is their only option.
Hope this helps!

dear guests, please be kind enough to give us cash. we don’t want your idea of a gift no matter how much it may mean to you, we want you to pay for our honeymoon so cash only!
oh yeah – thanks
greedy bride and groom

I wouldn’t worry about it seeming rude. People understand that’s what modern couples want now.

We had the printers do an extra card with a little poem about our ‘wishing well’. It went like this:

If you were thinking of getting us a gift to help us on our way
A contribution to our wishing well would really make our day
But the most important thing of all is that you come along to celebrate and have a ball!

You don’t tell them, and certainly not in an invitation.

When they ask your parents or bridal party, let those people explain that you already have your household set up and that cash would be lovely.

You are asking the wrong question. You should be asking “How can I maneuver prospective guests into asking me what sort of gift I might like?”

Etiquette dictates that you should never expect or anticipate gifts. Etiquette doesn’t even let you say “No gifts please” because that would imply that you COULD insist people bring you gifts, but are kindly letting them off the hook. So no matter how USUAL it may be for people to give wedding presents, you still invite people to your wedding solely because they are dear to you — gifts are the furthest thing from your mind when you issue invitations.

In the old days we did RSVP by phone. Usually the bridesmaids and groomsmen handled most of the calls, and they were prepared to advice people on gifts IF ASKED. Sometimes they would lead the conversation a bit by saying things like “They’re terribly busy these days trying to do everything themselves to save money.”

When people do ask what sort of gift would be appreciate, the response must include several options. “They both like Bombay gin, they’re registered at Target, and they’d welcome contributions to the honeymoon fund.” At target you register for towels, lots of towels. You keep one set for show and return the rest for cash.

RSVP by phone will also save you a ton of money (no stamps to buy, no printer to pay) and will give you greater control of your guest list. With those little cards, people write in names and invite guests of their own and this is awkward. On the phone your helpers can say things like “No, I’m quite sure the invitation is for Homer and Marge only. Bart, Lisa, and Maggie are not on the guest list.”

If you feel like just have to use those response cards, then the best idea I can come up with is to call people to make sure they received the invitation and hope they ask about gifts.

i think in the modern day world it is becoming a lot more acceptable to, as couples are living together before marriage and don’t have the need for your typical wedding gift ‘household’ items. There was a wedding in the family a while ago where a young couple added a slip in with the invitation a poem about prefering ‘gold and silver’ and mind you that side of my family is very traditional and they did not get offended!

Here is a link that explains how asking for money for gifts is not all that bad etiquette in todays era…

and there are some examples of how you can go about asking.

Good luck!

Uh, you don’t (Sorry) It is extremely bad etiquette to even hint at what they should bring as a gift, since that is not something that is required, but something they choose to give you in celebration of your wedding…
Just have a family member dicreetly pass the word around that you are not registered/not needing gifts, but that they (the discreet family member) will be giving you money instead (*hint, hint*)
Other than that, I don’t know any other acceptable way of doing what you have in mind…