Reply To Wedding Announcenets Vs Invations

Your daughter chose not to have a wedding reception and invite all the family. This is not a negative thing, just her choice - which she was entitled to make. You say she has hurt feelings about not recieving gifts. Getting married does not entitle anyone to a gift. Most people choose to bring a gift when they attend the wedding and reception as a thank you for the food, etc. This is kind of like bringing a bottle of wine when you are invited to dinner. It is a thank-you for being a host. The reason for the dinner has nothing to do with the reason for giving a gift, a gift is given purely for thanks. Your step-daughter hosted a wedding and provided food and entertainment for her guests. This is why she received gifts, they were thanking her for being a host to a party they attended. Your daughter did not. This is why she did not receive gifts. She`s not entitled to any gifts. If she feels that badly about not receiving gifts, then tell her to renew their vows in a ceremony, spent ten thousand dollars throwing a party, and then she`ll receive gifts. Or, she could just buy herself a couple blenders and picture frames and save herself the expense.

Did they even send cards saying congratulations?
I wouldn`t expect gifts, but I would expect that.

Because your daughter didn`t have a large wedding nor did she invite the extended family, they have no obligation to provide her with a gift. Since she had a baby, you could have given her a baby shower but as for wedding gifts, they are not obligated to buy her anything. Even if she had a large wedding, no one is obligated to buy her a gift, people do it because they want to.