Cards getting stolen

If it is in a foyer, someone could grab it during dinner and walk right out of the door. Put it somewhere not near the door - maybe near the DJ? This way someone is always near it.

Mine will absolutely have a lock.

What kind of lock would be best? I saw some people get a little heart lock from Amazon but that seems so easy to pick

We had a host that greeted guests and then held the cards for the evening. I didn't use a lock.

Why don't couples put the card box in the room with them? At my wedding, to the right of our sweetheart table was the cake, to the left was the card box.

We're putting our locked box right in front of our sweetheart table so if anyone tries to leave with it or tamper it someone will see.

I think it would be very easy to steal the box if it was in the foyer and away from the reception.

Our card box will only be out during the cocktail hour. Immediately after my matron of honor's husband has been instructed to remove the card box and lock it up in his car. We don't want to use a lock because we think it looks tacky but we also don't want to leave the cards out in the open without someone looking after them. I would like to think everyone we are inviting would never steal our cards but it's better to be safe.

It should be in the corner of the room FARTHEST AWAY from the exits. Putting it outside the room is asking for trouble. The person stealing cards isn't opening the box and hand picking the cards out. S/he's taking the whole thing out the door and picking / cutting the lock off later so IMO, the lock is kind of worthless. Mine is a glass terrarium, which, if I locked it, the thief could just smash it on the ground. Same with a lot of wooden boxes. The safest thing to do, IMO, is to have it far away from the door, and have your DOC / trusted WP member empty the box every 30 minutes or so and put the cards in a locked room at the venue.

ETA - Sorry, I know I sound like a crazy person but this has been my #1 worry for months and there have been, like, 3 posts on it today! I'M ON EDGE, PEOPLE!

It's best not to put the box near an exit or the entry to your hall, especially if you are in a non-exclusive venue. Put it inside the hall near you or a trusted guest. Remove the box to a locked area or car trunk after all guests have arrived and had a chance to put their cards in there.

As a guest - don't put cash in the card, always write a check.

Ours was a box you couldn't see through with a card-sized opening on the top and a velcro opening on the bottom. There wasn't a way to lock it. Instead, we put a brick and some jingle bells in it so it would make a lot of noise if it was picked up unless you knew they were in there and held it carefully.

What about the gifts? Would they also be on the table next to the sweetheart table? Problem is, I don't think the guests are allowed in the reception area until after the ceremony

Maybe it could be put outside where the cocktail hour will be and then taken inside after

I feel like y'all have some seriously sketchy people coming to your wedding if you feel the need to lock up stuff... If you don't trust the people you are inviting..why invite them?

@Tara - a lot of the cases I'm seeing is the waitstaff stealing the cards and even one story was a DJ.

I'm super high anxiety about this - especially because the table the cards have to be at is right near the exit. We have a lock but I think I am also doing the brick with the jingle bells.

I'm having a glass terrarium-style box so there's no point in adding a lock. I'm planning on keeping it on a small table right behind our sweetheart table.

OP, you're overthinking this. The guests can hold onto their cards/gifts until the reception.

My sister actually gave her gift to my father who handed it to me while in the bridal suite. My Mom did the same when my Aunt gave me jewelry.

The rest of the guests who had cards with cash inside held onto it until they got to the reception.

Mine does not lock but will be in a very visible area. Maid of honor or mother will remove it at some point earlier in the night.

I think it is best to have security in layers. Putting a lock on the box makes it harder for the casual thief to just reach in and grab a few cards. Putting the card box in a visible area deters someone taking the whole box. I agree with removing the box from the reception area and putting it in a locked space once dinner is being served. Oddly, my caterer suggested that an ideal place for the gift table and card box was in a corridor with a french door leading outside...I don't agree.

My FH and I purchased a LARGE antique trunk that goes with our venue and we are building a box within it for the cards so that if someone wants to steal the cards they'd have to steal the entire trunk which would never work because it's very heavy and would need two people to carry. Anyone who even attempted it wouldn't make it very far before being stopped. It may be ridiculous but we chose to go that route after reading all the reports of card boxes being stolen. Plus we are restoring the trunk and will have it within our home to store linens after the wedding!

My mom keeps telling me she's putting several bricks in ours LOL... Yeah I definitely wouldn't keep it in the foyer outside the reception room though, that's 10X riskier than having it in the room.

We're just having our coordinator watch over ours then moving it to a safe around dinner time.