Do You Want Cash Gifts for Your Wedding Instead of Pots And Pans? – Our Nuptial Chest Can Make That Happen

If you know anyone who is married, or you’re a regular wedding guest, you can probably relate to the influx of gifts that end up occupying a space in the house indefinitely without being used. Anu Sanya, founder of Our Nuptial Chest (ONC), closely relates to that experience.

After a family wedding which ended up filling the house with gifts the couples did not need, she decided to create a solution that allows couples to get the gifts that really matter to them.

Our Nuptial Chest is essentially a platform where couples can register and get their guests to undertake to make cash donations instead of buying gifts. This reduces the number of actual gifts presented at the wedding and generally, makes it a less tedious affair.

For couples who want to use Our Nuptial Chest, the first step is to register and create a gift chest. While registering, the couple can add personal touches such as their love story, pictures etc. The details of the couple are put together in a profile that people can view when they look up each couple.

While registering, the couple can choose to make their account public or private. If it is public, anyone can search for their wedding hashtag and see their details. If the couple doesn’t want that, the account can be set to private.

Private accounts cost #5,000 to set up, and only people the couples share their link with can view the chest. High net-worth individuals and celebrities who have a need for privacy can use the private account to make sure that only selected persons can see details about the wedding and give gifts.

The platform only accepts cash presents. The cash is transferred to the couple’s account either periodically or after the time for the gifting process has elapsed.

I created a gift chest for a hypothetical couple with the wedding hashtag: Ice Cream. You can find the chest by typing the hashtag in the link here. Once the couple’s profile opens up, you can see details including what the money will be used for, how the couple fell in love, wedding date and venue etc.

By entering the amount you want to gift and selecting the give gift button, a payment page opens up and you can make your transfer.

What is the charge?

There are two payment options available. The first is that a couple can choose to let their guests pay for using Our Nuptial Chest. The other option is that the couple can pay for use of the platform, leaving the guests to only transfer their monetary gifts.

If the couple chooses to pay, they agree to pay 6% of all the cash gifts that are received into their chest. If the guests are paying, they pay #1000 flat rate on gifts less than #15,000, and 6% only on amounts greater than that.

Couples in Nigeria, and the United Kingdom, can use the platform to receive their cash gifts.

For couples in the UK, they can choose to pay 6% of all the funds they receive or allow their guests to pay. In the case where guests pay, they pay £10 flat fee if they are gifting any sum between £1 and £150. If the cash gift is above £150, 6% only is charged on the cash gift.

Our Nuptial Chest was launched in 2016 and is currently funded by bootstrapping. Since it launched, a total of 696 couples have used it to receive their wedding gifts.

For couples who would like to get the presents that are most special to them with the cash gifts from their guests, creating a registry of items will not work. For such, having a secure way of receiving cash gifts, without having to keep track of everyone who gifts, is quite important.

Our Nuptial Chest handles that process in a secure, and a bit romantic manner.