Cash wedding present - how much?

System

My brother has just announced hes getting married next October and would like cash . I will talk to my sister and agree an amount . It will cost us around £400 for accommodation + new clothes etc so its not going to be much under £600 by the time its all done.

psychopathbabble

If our guests gave us the money that we were paying for their meal then we would have had over £50 PER PERSON... and we definitely did not get that much!!


I normally give around £50, more if it's a really good friend or close family member. We have a wedding in October, 2 weeks before our baby is due and I'm probably not going to be able to make it (it's 500 miles away) so we will probably give a bit more as we won't be spending the money to get there, new dress, hotel etc.

Anything that is given is gratefully received, so I'm sure your friend will be happy with anything that you give.

psychopathbabble

Have a look on the internet for a personalised gift... I've given a few and they have been very much appreciated. One couple said it was the only personalised gift they had received so they loved it.

hazyjo

If it was someone really close, £100. If a very good friend, £50. If just a wedding from someone you know, £30. I do think £20 is a bit 'minimal' and £30 sounds so much better.


I also think presents are lovely. I would also much rather spend a tenner on something they've chosen than worry about how much cash they've put in an envelope. There are TONNES of sales on at the moment, it's worth getting a bargain something for £20 that would normally have cost £70! (Obviously you can't give a bag, but I just got a fab one for my mum for Christmas down from/to those prices in Ollie & Nic.)


Champagne bucket? (With or without Champers/fizz!) Bakeware? (Nice cast iron stuff in Sainsburys.) Or check out notonthehighstreet.com (this is a list of wedding gift ideas under £40 - highest price first. Some nice ones http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/gifts/shop-by-occasion/wedding?utf8=%E2%9C%93&filter%5Bprice_at_least%5D=0&filter%5Bprice_at_most%5D=40&filter%5Bdelivery_zone%5D=1&filter%5Bsort%5D=_price)


Good luck.


Jx

megc_2

When we got married, people gave gifts of between £10 and £100. Each and every gift was appreciated and valued for what it was- an expression of their love for us.
We certainly did not expect guests to cover the cost of their invite, paying for their meal etc. If we did not want to buy their meal, we would not have invited them.
I think it's so sad that there are expectations placed on guests as to how much they should give as a gift. I'd rather not have a gift if someone could not afford it, but have their presence. Just give what you want to and can afford.

eamon

I've just recently been to a nephews wedding. The cash gift was £100 (£300 if you include my brother & sister). This will allow them to buy outright household appliances etc or just to help offset the huge amount that the wedding & reception cost. May seem a lot but I don't have any dependents and for me and my siblings its not a huge amount of money. I wont know for another month (waiting for the credit card bill) how much attending the wedding (did also have a weeks holiday as well) has actually costed but so far the total is in excess of £800.

ziggy2004

I would probably give £50 for a friend more for close friends, we tend to club together and give a larger amount from a group. We have a suggested donation minimum and leave it up to each person to put in what they can afford/want to give. This way no one has to feel bad for not giving as much as they would maybe like to give. This is for any events btw not just weddings.

At our own wedding ( a long time ago) we had a box where people put in cards as well as gifts of money/vouchers. Not everyone put their name on envelopes containing money and I have no idea if everyone who came gave us money or a present, it does not matter if they did or not their company was very much appreciated as were the gifts we received.

fairy_lights

I always give £20-30, and that's from me and my partner. Maybe it's a generational thing though, we're in our 20's and no-one has a huge amount of spare cash, from speaking to friends that seems to be the standard that we all give.
Weddings are expensive to attend - clothes, hotels, not to mention the cost of stag and hen do's. A gift is surely a token to let the couple know you're thinking of them, and want to contribute to their honeymoon/house fund or whatever, not an obligation.

gardner1

eamon wrote: »

I've just recently been to a nephews wedding. The cash gift was £100 (£300 if you include my brother & sister). This will allow them to buy outright household appliances etc or just to help offset the huge amount that the wedding & reception cost. May seem a lot but I don't have any dependents and for me and my siblings its not a huge amount of money. I wont know for another month (waiting for the credit card bill) how much attending the wedding (did also have a weeks holiday as well) has actually costed but so far the total is in excess of £800.

"This will allow them to buy outright household appliances etc or just to help offset the huge amount that the wedding & reception
cost"

This is half the problem.....people spend stupid amounts of money on wedding

selement

I'm a bit stingy, especially reading what some people on here have put! I usually spend £20-£30, even if its me and my partner going. For a close friends wedding recently we gave £50.

As fairy lights said above we're in our 20s and skint, we're not home owners, we dont go abroad every year (and when we do its to a cheap all inclusive), and most friends are in the same boat.

We're getting married this year and asking for honeymoon contributions, I wouldn't judge a friend for not giving me £50. Although the comment someone made about remembering who gave a tenner if it was a close friend I guess I would be a little disappointed at that but wouldn't say so and would still thank them as really they don't have to get anything. An evening guest or someone not so close invited for some reason giving that much is totally fine as lucky to get anything really.

I think a lot of people forget that although gifts are the social convention they aren't mandatory!