how much do you spend on wedding gifts?

Question

for brother/sister?
for child?
extended family?
close friend?
just a friend or colleague?

for me i would say

brother/sister - as much as i could comfortable afford
child isn't applicable to me
extended family - $50-100
close friend - $50-100
colleague - about $30 unless they are super special

i didn't say that mine should be standard, i said that's what i give...$30 isn't rude when you are a graduate student. if they want money, they shouldn't have invited me, because i don't have much to spare!

it's great that people think they should "pay" for their meals and drinks at a wedding, and if you can afford to do that at every wedding you attend, good for you...but i would rather have people there that i care about than only people that can afford to pay for their own meals...

Answer 1

It would also depend on if you helped them do any thing for the wedding.

brother/sister: as much as possible
child: you more than likely paid for part of the wedding
Extended family: $25-$75
close friend: $30-$100
just a friend or colleague: $15 - $40

Answer 2

For brother/sister --> about a 1000$ or more
For child--> as much as i can ( my grandma gave me and husband 5000$ as a gift)
Extended family -> 200-300$
Close friend--> 300-500$
Just a friend or colleague --> 100-150$ --> At least for the reception seating 100.00$

Answer 3

It depends upon how much I can afford. Also, if I am invited alone or with my boyfriend.
Generally, it is recommended that if you give cash that it be roughly the cost of the dinner that the bride & groom are paying. However, that isn't always affordable.
I'd say $50 to $100 per person (doubled if it were me plus BF) for everyone except brother/sister or child - - for them I would try to give more if I could afford it.
If I were buying a gift I would try to spend in a comparable price range.

Answer 4

We don't give money - we choose a gift according to who is getting married, what we know about their situation, and what we think they might like. There's no sense giving a food processor to someone who never, ever cooks!
Never have a money amount in mind - it costs what it costs, period. Also, of course, depends upon what our personal situation is at the particular time. For example, at the time of one nephew's wedding, things were incredibly tight for us, so their gift was monetarily worth way less than a nephew who got married last year, when we had some semblance of disposable income. However, each gift was chosen carefully, regardless of the cost, and I'm sure my sister didn't compare what we gave to each of her sons...
When we got married, we didn't have a registry, and were just so totally grateful for any gifts we did receive, and accepted each and every one most graciously - from a small ceramic ornament to a frying pan to a handmade comforter. We hosted the wedding celebration for our guests to ENJOY, not because we wanted gifts. We got married for the bounty of love, not of worldly goods.

Answer 5

My brother-in-law got married this summer and we were really cash strapped being we're building an addition on our house and had committed to two vacation trips. So my wife decided to give her brother two pieces of furniture (bedroom side cabinets) which had been built by their grandfather decades ago. She asked her brother if he wanted them and he was overjoyed to get these family heirlooms and his fiance thought it was a really great idea.

Then we realized they were not going to fit in our Subaru wagon and we didn't want to put them on the roof for a 600 mile drive so we decided to ship them. Found a company that picked them up, crated them and delived them. I think it cost $350 which is probably a lot more than we would have spent on a gift. (we had already bought them some nice engagement gifts and shower gifts). And now I'm using a paint-stained step ladder as a nightstand until I get around to building us some new ones.

This totally doesn't anser your question, I know, but it's a tough one to answer. Standards differ a lot in different parts of the country and in different families.

Answer 6

We are in a situation where we get invited to A LOT of weddings and showers. For our siblings, nieces and nephews, we usually do a $100.00 wedding gift and a $25.00 shower gift. For friends' children and our children's friends, we usually do a $50.00 wedding gift.
We live across the country from most of these people, so we usually do not attend the weddings and showers.

Answer 7

Wedding gifts - Generally 200 / It does not matter to me who the host is. I assume that I need to pay for my dinner/drinks (if they have them) , entertainment and provide enough money for the bride/groom to select a gift or use the money towards honeymoon / house.

If I don't want to go to the wedding or if there have been times when I felt I couldn't afford it. I would decline the wedding event in writing / thank them for the invitation and send a 25 gift to congratulate them /send my best wishes.

Answer 8

for my brother...I'll probably give either a small gift or nothing at all...he and his gf didnt give us anything at our wedding and he was miserable the entire time

for a child...I'd probably be paying for a portion of the wedding and I'd get them something for their home...my parents got us a new dining room table

extended family...$50 becuase I'm not close to any of them

close friend...$100-$200 depending on if I'm helping with anything at the wedding (I'mn pretty crafty so I offered to help with centerpieces or favours and stuff)

friend or colleague...$50...if they werent very close to me I wouldnt even attend.

Answer 9

I always pay for my meal which in this area is like $100 per person- so $200.00 for two of us for the wedding.

The shower, I normally spend $50.00

$30 seems awfully rude, I personally would just decline instead of eating someone's food and only giving them $30!

I am a graduate student too.... But I also work full time so I would be embarressed to give someone 30 dollars but that's just me!

Answer 10

Depends on how close you are to the person. I would give more to a close friend than I would a cousin I wasn't close to. $100 is probably my average and if I am really close to the person, I would probably go a little higher.