Telling people you only want their presence rather than presents at your wedding seems like a gift. Many guests, however, doubt the sincerity of such a request and bring a gift anyway. To fully express that gifts are not really necessary, use proper wedding etiquette. This ensures that guests truly understand your wishes.

Avoid mentioning any gifts at all in your invitations. Focusing on gifts in your invitation at all is considered bad taste and poor etiquette. Instead, make it a point to omit information that would normally point toward gifts, such as a wedding website where a registry can be found.

The best way to ensure that you do not receive gifts is to politely ask people to not buy you anything. Casually include it in conversation if you must, but the best way to address the issue is to let guests know when they inquire about your registry.