Again, never!
There's one thing that many people do at a wedding that can lead to stress, heartache, feeling helpless and fearful of identity theft. The saddest part is that it is totally preventable.
Do not ever have your table for gifts and cards that you receive by any door that can be accessed by the public. Even worse is just outside the door in a hallway! The same goes for your guests' belongings. I know it's so convenient for guests to sign the guest book and drop of their gifts or cards at one place near the entrance. The same would apply to guests' coats and their belongings.
There is a solution. I want you to check out a company called Coat Check Complete and see if there is a similar service in your area. Please don't rely on your friends to take on this task of the gifts and card management or the guests' belongings. They might have the best of intentions, but they will sooner or later get distracted because they are your friend and their heart is where the action is at your wedding. You can't blame them for getting caught up in things and without them even being aware of it, walking off for a few minutes or more.
At the very least you should have all of your cards, gifts, and your guests' coats, purses, umbrellas, and so forth in an area as far from any door as possible. You might not feel that you have the budget for a service to keep an eye on everything, but we live in the world that we live in and the regret of stolen gifts, cash or gift cards that your guests have purchased with their hard-earned money is something you can't put a price on. Your guests could be faced with a nightmare of trying to stay ahead of identity theft, closing bank accounts, stopping check which will add to their burden financially and increase their stress level.
People might want to place blame if something like this happens, but the bride and the groom are the hosts and they owe it to their guests to make sure that their guests are taken care of properly.
