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Christie
Dedicated October 2018

Average Wedding Gift Poll

Christie, on May 13, 2018 at 9:28 PM

Posted in Etiquette and Advice 75

Out of curiosity, what do you think is the average or normal amount most people spend on a wedding gift? I am attending a wedding in a few weeks and I am always curious when I go to weddings if I’m giving a “good” gift.
Out of curiosity, what do you think is the average or normal amount most people spend on a wedding gift? I am attending a wedding in a few weeks and I am always curious when I go to weddings if I’m giving a “good” gift.

75 Comments

  • AJ
    VIP September 2018
    AJ ·
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    It probably is but my FH isn't always the best with etiquette (like might not have given much either, or not listed it as from both him and his long-time GF/fiancé) so I decided to be safe lol

    And asking him after the fact, YEP: at one he only gave a card, at the other he gave $20. He was an even more broke college student but still...jeez.

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  • M
    0000
    Mim ·
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    Why the need to "cover" your meal? The couple made a choice in the cost of the meal. Why would the expense be rolled on to the guests who had no say in the matter? If the cover your meal thing was an actually appropriate attitude, why not have someone sitting at the door with a cash box like at a pancake supper? What if someone was invited to a dear friends wedding and didn't a have the discretionary money to cover their plate? Should they really feel like they need to stay home? The expectation that guests need to pay a certain amount to attend a wedding is pretty gross
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  • Priscilla
    Devoted August 2018
    Priscilla ·
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    Minimum 50 and max 100 for me. I always give cash because Im too lazy to go shopping lol
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  • Sarah
    Master June 2016
    Sarah ·
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    When H and I attend weddings, we give a minimum of $200, more if we’re closer to the couple. For us, in our area, paying for our plate would be ridiculous because for his best friend’s wedding we would have only given $100 and for one of our family acquaintances we would have had to give around $400. That, IMO, would make absolutely no sense.
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  • plangalCG
    VIP May 2018
    plangalCG ·
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    I usually hover around the $100 mark And I sometimes gave less when I was younger. it’s actually been awhile since I went to a wedding though and now it would probably be $200+ because I can afford it. It also depends on other things like overall expenses, whether I also went to a shower, how I feel about the couple, and if I’m going alone or with a plus one.
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  • ISaidHallYes
    VIP November 2018
    ISaidHallYes ·
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    I agree about the misconception!

    I’ve heard something similar though but it was about missing the wedding. If you had rsvp’d yes then you should cover the cost of your plate on top of the gift if you can no longer make it last second. Just something I’ve always heard but could be a social thing.
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  • Yoomie
    VIP October 2018
    Yoomie ·
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    I like to give gifts off the registry at weddings and usually pick gifts totalling $120-$150 and send them about a month before the wedding (so I'm sure not to forget I got them a gift). If FH is closer to the couple, I have them choose the gift/money item/amount as he knows the couple better.
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  • #WhenYouWishUponAWelch
    Devoted July 2019
    #WhenYouWishUponAWelch ·
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    I will typically give at minimum $75 per person if I am going with my fiance, or a minimum of $100 if it is just me, and go up from there based on my closeness with the couple. But as other people have mentioned it depends on what you can afford as well as the area that you or the couple live in.

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  • Officiallymrs
    Super May 2010
    Officiallymrs ·
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    I always give a at least 250 and if we’re close w the couple it’s closer to 500 ( and I’m not lying becuase I’m annoymous) but it just what I’ve always done .. but I do think on average most people give 100$/pp from what I’ve saw st least
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  • Jen
    Super May 2018
    Jen ·
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    FH and I try to give $75-$100PP when we attend weddings together. It all depends on our finances at the time. While we were saving for our own wedding, our gifts to others were slightly smaller because of our trying to save.

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  • Mrs. Sponge
    Master April 2018
    Mrs. Sponge ·
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    I try to give at least $100, I went to a couple weddings in the few years before I met H when I was a single mother, no child support, barely getting by, that I could not give close to that. Now with H we give between $100-$300 depending on how close we are to the couple.

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  • firstoneat56
    Master August 2017
    firstoneat56 ·
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    I give anywhere from $100-$150 depending on the relationship. If it was me and my husband attending, double those amounts.
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  • Future Mrs M
    Super June 2018
    Future Mrs M ·
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    Depends.. 100-250. One of FH's closest friends got married last year and we got a custom sign for their foyer ($75) and then gave them $150 in cash.

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  • NVV2B
    VIP January 2019
    NVV2B ·
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    My fiance and I will give anywhere from $60-200 to the couple depending on how close we are to them and if we got them a gift for a shower or engagement.

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  • Meet_The_Clarks
    VIP June 2018
    Meet_The_Clarks ·
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    FHs cousin was married on 5/5 and we gifted $100 to them. In addition, we spent $150 on FHs suit (he was a groomsman) and our time/travel. the wedding was 2 hours from us and we had to go there on 5/4 for the rehearsal and dinner. We spent well over $300 total for their wedding between the gift, gas/tolls and tux. I felt like $100 was good enough.


    eta: I wanted to give $150, but it wasn't in the budget. Not with our wedding about 30+ days after theirs.

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  • T
    Super December 2018
    T P ·
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    I imagine that most people will spend different amounts on gifts depending on their relationship with the person. I will generally budget about $100 dollars toward a gift or gifts for a wedding in general. I spent closer to $1000 for gifts to my brother and his wife when they married, however. For very close friends, I would probably spend a couple hundred dollars on a registry gift they highly desire.
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  • starsinwaves
    VIP November 2018
    starsinwaves ·
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    I generally like to give $100pp, but it depends on some factors. We only gave my cousin $100 + a $40 gift for her wedding last month, but that's because money is a little tight for us right now with paying for our own wedding. I also got her a shower gift, so I factored that in.

    The "cover your plate" nonsense is common where I'm from (NYC). It's ridiculous for a few reasons -- how are you supposed to know how much your plate cost? And why are you expected to cover an expensive wedding if you can't afford it? I remember a few months before my best friend's wedding she was freaking out because they were invited to some fancy black tie affair and she was worried about having to give a $600 gift while they were trying to pay for their own wedding. It was crazy.

    Gifts can definitely get high in NYC though. I gave $100 to HS friends a few years ago and thought it was a decent gift, then my friend wrote out her check in front of me and gave them $250. She was closer to them and made more than me, but still, I was taken aback.

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  • Nemo
    Master August 2018
    Nemo ·
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    We've given $75 for couples we aren't as close to and $100 for couples that we are close to but FH was also a groomsman in that wedding. I'm currently in graduate school and not able to work full time so that's where our budget is right now. Once I graduate and am able to have a full time job, I suspect we will give more.

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  • queenbee
    VIP October 2018
    queenbee ·
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    For the wedding reception, I bring a card with $150 if FH and I both attend, or like $75-100 if one of us attends alone. There have been a few times when money has been super tight and I wasn’t able to give the full $150, but I think as long as you don’t show up completely empty handed, it’s fine. I’ve also given a gift at all bridal showers and engagement parties I’ve been invited too, plus given money in a card for the reception.
    I know that a lot of people gift enough money “to pay for their meal” as PPs said, but there’s no way to know for sure what someone is paying per meal (unless you ask, which is super tacky IMO). And it’s not my fault if someone spends $200 per plate for their wedding. I can’t afford to “reimburse” you for the reception that you invited me to 😂
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  • Colleen
    Master September 2019
    Colleen ·
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    I could not do some of these amounts could not afford it. I think some of it is on how well you know them and how much money you have. I know my Fiancé and I are not expecting big gifts from most of the people coming. We are putting some bigger things in registry. Yet trying to do small things also.
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