How Much Money to Give Newlyweds

How Much Cash Do You Usually Give Newlyweds?

May 18, 2011

A gift registry can sometimes feel quite limiting, so some of you may opt for giving some cash to the newlyweds. It's nice to know that the couple will be able to use the money towards their new house or even to cover some of the wedding costs. There are so many rules out there on how much to give, so I'm wondering what wedding gift money rules work for you. If you tend to give money to newlyweds instead of giving a present, how much do you usually give?

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2 Comments

HazelGraceD 1 year 50 weeks

Wow. I"m really surprised to see that most people are giving less than $100. Even at less fancy weddings I've attended this wouldn't even cover the cost the couple pays for you to be there. So basically, instead of them getting jump start after the wedding, they just end up with debt. I think it's very important to take into consideration the cost to the couple: estimate at east $80/head (if the wedding is at a nice venue, it's probably a whole lot more than that) then multiply that by the number of guests in your party and don't give less than that number. My uncle recently brought his wife and their 3 children to my brother's wedding and gave $100 for all 5 of them. This would have been a fine amount if it had been for 1 person, but in this case, after the food and drinks consumed, my brother was out a few hundred dollars. In the past, if I didn't have enough money to buy a proper gift I didn't go to the wedding (in which case it's acceptable to send something small or nothing at all). In the case of people who I was close with I would find the money by cutting expenses in other areas of my life. This only happens once for them and I feel like it's a guests responsibility to not leave them with a huge bill because we're being stingy. (NOTE: the one exception to this rule are destination weddings. A lot of my friends have weddings in exotic places where the costs are a lot lower for them, but I have to take time off work pay for travel costs and a hotel. In these cases I think it's ok to give a much smaller gift, or even nothing if the couple says that no gifts are required).

bluebellknoll 2 years 4 days

It really depends on how well I know the people getting married. If one or both are close friends, it would be at least $200. If not, then probably $100.

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