With wedding season in full swing, there’s a good chance you may have a wedding on the horizon to attend as a guest. Congratulations! Most of us love a good wedding and it’s an honour to make it onto the guest list of your nearest and dearest for their wedding celebrations. But how much wedding gift money should you give exactly?
With the average cost of attending a wedding estimated at around £391 (including your outfit, somewhere to stay, drinks and the gift) the cost of being a wedding guest soon adds up. With the costs of attending a wedding spiralling; it can sometimes seem like a minefield when deciding how much you should spend on a present or put towards a wedding gift list.
Read on for our guide of how much cash you should give as a wedding gift.
Wedding gifts for bride and groom
When attending a friend or relatives wedding, in most cultures it’s customary to give them a gift. This is to give them a tangible gesture to congratulate the new couple and give them a head start with gifts or money to help start their new life together.
Traditionally, gifts would often include items for the couples’ new home together such as white good and a shiny new toaster!
However, as most couples nowadays already live together this tradition has adapted accordingly. Couples may instead compile a gift list to upgrade their existing items, request experiences for their honeymoon or prefer to request money towards a honeymoon or large purchase instead.
It can be difficult to know how much to give as a gift, especially when your gift is given as money. This can mean it’s much more obvious how much you’ve spent compared to purchasing a fancy new cutlery set or personalised cheese board for the newlyweds.
How much cash to give as a wedding gift can feel like a minefield, but we’re here to help guide you. Many will often opt to try to cover the cost of their wedding meal in the cost of the gift.
Even using these basic guidelines, there may still be variations depending on several factors. These include if you have been invited to the whole day (or just as an evening guest), how close you are to the couple and whether you have travelled far to the wedding.
On an overseas wedding for example, you will have already had considerate expenditure just to get there. This may be taken into account when finalising your gift amount.
How much does a wedding cost in the UK?
Although it may feel awkward, and some people may prefer a physical gift than giving money. Money is of course an extremely practical gift that the couple can use towards what they choose.
With the average wedding in the UK costing around £18,000-£25,000, a cash gift can help considerably to offset this cost. It may also help to offset additional expenses such as the honeymoon.
With many modern couples already living together prior to getting married, rather than kitting out the house – a monetary gift can be a welcome contribution towards the wedding or a significant expense in the future.
Some older guests may see this as bad etiquette and prefer to give a gift instead. For this reason, we would advise couples to hedge their bets by offering both a wedding gift list and asking for monetary contributions towards the wedding/honeymoon/new house to allow for the taste of the guests.
How much money should you give as a wedding gift?
As mentioned earlier, there are a few factors that may be considered when judging how much cash to give as a wedding gift. These may include:
- How close you are to the couple – close family, best friends, wider family or friendship group or colleagues. As a rule of thumb, the closer you are the larger the gift you may be inclined to give them.
- Have you been invited to the whole day? Depending on the location, many weddings will have guests that attend for the whole day, with additional guests arriving later in the day for the evening reception. If you have attended for the whole day, and enjoyed a fancy three course meal, many see it as etiquette to at least cover the cost of their meal in the wedding gift. If you are an invitee just for the evening festivities, often a much smaller gift will usually suffice.
- Is the venue at home or abroad? If the wedding is abroad and guests have already spent significant amounts just getting to the venue (flights, accommodation, time off work etc), some couples may feel that they have already contributed significantly by just making it along. In this case your gift amount may be considered more optional. If the wedding is within the same country however, normal etiquette would determine the amount.
Further to that, you should give what feels right and shouldn’t feel pressured into giving large sums of money if you can’t afford it.
On the other hand, if you attend the day, enjoy the couple’s hospitality and have a great time; you shouldn’t be a skinflint and not give a gift either.
Here is our breakdown of what you should contribute:
- Single wedding guest: £30-50
- Couple for whole day: £50-100
- Immediate family: £100+
- Part of the wedding party (maid of honour, best man etc) £100+
- Evening guest only £20-50
- Work colleague: £20-50
This is of course a rough guide, and you should give as much money as a wedding gift as you feel comfortable giving. Your earnings and disposable income will obviously come into play, and if you can afford it or you are particularly close to the married couple you may choose to give much more!
If you are getting married and can’t decide what to ask for as a wedding gift, check out our wedding gift guide.
