I think it is a very personal thing depending on the couple who are getting married. I got maried in October 2006. I had been married before and when I got got divorced I kept the house. In time I met my 2nd husband. He lived with his parents. He got a promotion at work which meant he had to move from Scotland to England. We bought a house together which he moved into while I sold my house in Scotland. This meant we were running 2 houses and had double of most essential household things when I sold up and moved in with him. When we got married we didn't need toaster, kettle, towels etc. What we did need, was to do some home improvements. Inside our invites we had the following:-
To celebrate our wedding you may wish to buy us presents,
However this is not required, all we want is your presence.
If you insist, we must admit, some money would be great
To help us do some home improvements at a later date.
If you still feel the need, to get us a small token,
We would appreciate vouchers for any shop that's open.
Regardless of what choice you make, all we would like to say,
Is come along and have some fun, on this our special day.
Our guests all said they felt better giving us money or vouchers, as they knew their present would be put to good use instead of sitting in a cupboard somewhere not being used.