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Dear Moneyist,
A friend of mine is getting married next month with a handful of guests, mainly family and close friends. The wedding itself was put off because of the coronavirus pandemic, but they are having a large party next year. I was only invited to the party next year. Do I send a gift? If so, do I give my gift now or later?
Friend Who Just Wants to Do the Right Thing
The Moneyist: ‘I’m astounded that I have NOT received my payment’: When will I receive my stimulus check?
Dear Do the Right Thing,
Send it now. Send it later. Send it now.
I hope that helps. Any other time you need advice, you know where to find me! Apologies for being glib. I’m merely trying to keep it light. We all need some levity and perspective during these turbulent times. There’s no right or wrong answer. The world is upside down. Who would have thought that a pandemic would have so rudely interrupted our work, life and even our weddings?
Send them a card saying with a bottle of champagne or a bunch of flowers saying, “I hope you have a wonderful day. I can’t wait for the party next year.” The best part about living in the middle of a global public-health emergency is helping each other and realizing that petty preoccupations have no place in our lives. What is the point of walking this earth otherwise?
Here’s another story about a wedding that did and didn’t happen: Friends of mine were due to get married on the Greek island of Paros a few years ago. There were high winds on the sea the day of the wedding ceremony. The priest, who had the keys to the only Catholic Church on the island, was unable to make the trip from the mainland.
Despite that unforeseen turn of events, the wedding ceremony went ahead on the steps of the town hall, with a narrow pebbled street that wound its way down to the town center acting as the aisle. The father of the bride made a speech, invoking the Greek gods of wind and sea, and the bride and groom made their vows. We partied like it was 1999. (It was, in fact, just a couple of years later.)
The moral of this love story? We were there come hell or high water.
The priest arrived the next day and they did it all over again. They met their first challenge as a not-quite-legally-married couple with grace and humor. What could have been a huge negative (no priest) turned into a giant positive (fun story). Your friends won’t care if you give them a gift now or later, as long as you let them know the wind is blowing on their sails too.
Coronavirus update: COVID-19 has now killed at least 773,649 people worldwide, and the U.S. ranks 10th in the world for deaths per 100,000 people (51.5), Johns Hopkins University says. As of Sunday evening, the U.S. has the world’s highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases (5,401,167) and deaths (170,019). Worldwide, confirmed cases are now at 21,590,578.
The Dow Jones Industrial Index DJIA, +0.12% closed Friday with a small gain, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.01% and Nasdaq COMP, -0.21% closed slightly lower as investors await progress on a vaccine and, as Democrats and Republicans debate the details of the next unemployment benefits, round two of the economic stimulus program.
AstraZeneca AZN, -1.09% in combination with Oxford University, BioNTech SE BNTX, -3.32% and partner Pfizer PFE, -0.28%, GlaxoSmithKline GSK, -1.55%, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, +0.16%, Merck & Co. MERK, -1.51%, Moderna MRNA, +1.94%, and Sanofi SAN, -1.32%, among others, are currently working on COVID-19 vaccines.
You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions related to coronavirus at qfottrell@marketwatch.com
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