How much should you spend on a wedding present

shop-to-drop

The amount to spend is very personal depending on what you can afford and how close your relationship is. I'd think £30-£50 for a day guest and £10-£20 for an evening only as a rough guide.

clearing_out_my_pockets

screamer wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread I just didn't see the point in starting a new thread to askt he same question.

Background first. Next door neighbour getting married. Not invited to the wedding just the reception. Am house and cat sitting for a week afterwards when they go away. Haven't been invited to any of the 4 hen nights, or the groom's 40th birthday bash (but have been asked to fix their computer). The bride and groom have asked for money but basically we're skint too because we're saving up for our own wedding. OH got some Capital Bonds from work but my question is would it be acceptable to give some of these as a gift instead of cash? I suppose it's a silly question but then again there's sarahlasvegas who says her guests spent £50. Well, considering this woman has spoken to me twice in 3 months and one of those was to ask a favour I don't think I can justify spending £50 when I'm saving her £50 by looking after her cat instead of having her put her in a cattery. I just feel bad for giving her gift vouchers when she's asked for cash!

We've invited our next door neighbour to our evening do, but we really don't 'expect' a present or anything from them!

Piggo_2

I think the way that people ask for money as wedding gifts is out of line. You shouldn't have to pay to attend a friends wedding and if you do choose to give a gift (including money) it should be a personal gesture not an expectation. Often on wedding invites people say to give money to "contribute to the wedding & honeymoon" - if they can't afford the wedding & honeymoon then they shouldn't have it. Asking people for money directly simply makes some people feel awkward especially when they don't have a lot to give.

melancholly

Piggo wrote: »

Asking people for money directly simply makes some people feel awkward especially when they don't have a lot to give.

no more so than a wedding gift list with set prices, where they know what you will have paid. buying wedding gifts can be hard when you don't know what to get or what homeware stuff they have or what other people may buy; lots of people find straight forward requests or lists so much easier.

anyone who would judge me for not spending lots isn't a friend whose wedding i would want to attend.

Piggo_2

I agree - you can see how much people have spent on wedding gift lists as well and this too can be awkward for some people but is neccessary for some couples who are having large weddings and want to control what they're going to get. People often just feel more awkward about giving friends money. An alternative to money is a home made gift or something personal that you've come up with this can often be really appreciated.

PootleFlump_3

Piggo wrote: »

I think the way that people ask for money as wedding gifts is out of line. You shouldn't have to pay to attend a friends wedding and if you do choose to give a gift (including money) it should be a personal gesture not an expectation. Often on wedding invites people say to give money to "contribute to the wedding & honeymoon" - if they can't afford the wedding & honeymoon then they shouldn't have it. Asking people for money directly simply makes some people feel awkward especially when they don't have a lot to give.

I think thats the the point though - you dont have to. Im sure anyone who put this in their wedding invitation doesnt expect anyone to give them anything but its a way of ensuring that those who do want to give something and wouldnt dream of not doing so at least dont waste their money on something that the bride and groom arent going to use or dont need. Id personally prefer to give money than to buy something thats going to sit in someones cupboard and never used.

blondali

£50 for a wedding gift

LittlePrincessAnge

I always try & give what it has cost the bride & groom to feed us, so I tend to look online at the hotel wedding brochure where the happy couple are having there reception to gauge a guess at how much the wedding breakfast costs & give that as a gift.
Sometimes it works out expensive ie. if the wedding breakfast costs £50pp we give £100 for the 2 of us but the way we see it is that they have been kind enough to invite us & feed us for the day & so the least we can do is pay for our own meals.
HTH

katerinasol

screamer wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread I just didn't see the point in starting a new thread to askt he same question.

Background first. Next door neighbour getting married. Not invited to the wedding just the reception. Am house and cat sitting for a week afterwards when they go away. Haven't been invited to any of the 4 hen nights, or the groom's 40th birthday bash (but have been asked to fix their computer). The bride and groom have asked for money but basically we're skint too because we're saving up for our own wedding. OH got some Capital Bonds from work but my question is would it be acceptable to give some of these as a gift instead of cash? I suppose it's a silly question but then again there's sarahlasvegas who says her guests spent £50. Well, considering this woman has spoken to me twice in 3 months and one of those was to ask a favour I don't think I can justify spending £50 when I'm saving her £50 by looking after her cat instead of having her put her in a cattery. I just feel bad for giving her gift vouchers when she's asked for cash!

I wouldn't give her any money. Are they paying you to look after the cat?

MrsC....tobe

I try and give a minimum of £50 if I'm there all day, and like LittlePrincessAnge I try to cover the cost of my meal. If it's evening only I go for anything between £20 (for someone I don't know quite aswell) and £40 (for a good friend). Chances are I'd already have spend money on an outfit etc so I don't feel I am being mean with those amounts.
Give what you can afford.....
Thankfully I don't have any weddings this year, that I know of anyway, so nothing for me to worry about!