Going rate for NYC wedding gifts

What is the price range for a 'NY Gift'.

I just moved to New York about a year ago and allot of our friends are getting married. (we are getting married in my hometown )

Just wondering b/c in the midwest it's like $50 for the shower gift and $100 - $130 for the wedding gift.

I have no idea about up here.

TIA

So if it were my FH and I attending it would be $300 (just want to make sure I understand)

I forgot to mention that FH is in all of the upcoming weddings, there are about 5 this year plus our own.

You should give what you can afford.
Nowadays FH and I generally give between $300-$400. I would love to be able to cover our plates, but a $500-$600 gift is ridiculous. We're in our late 20's and we don't have tons of $$$, and honestly, that's A LOT of money!!

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Posted by wendyz06

I had a NYC wedding on a Saturday night. A $200 gift for a couple might not be enough. To cover your plate for a saturday night you should give around $500 - $600 per couple. If you are on a budget or aren't that close to the couple then $300 - $400 as a couple is fairly good.

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I wish you had come to our Saturday night wedding.

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Posted by wendyz06

I had a NYC wedding on a Saturday night. A $200 gift for a couple might not be enough. To cover your plate for a saturday night you should give around $500 - $600 per couple. If you are on a budget or aren't that close to the couple then $300 - $400 as a couple is fairly good.

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I think that's insane. Who can afford to give $500-$600 every time they go to a wedding??? If it was the couple's choice to have a wedding as elaborate as that, why should the guests have to pay for that? You give what you can afford.

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Posted by Dee9503

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Posted by wendyz06

I had a NYC wedding on a Saturday night. A $200 gift for a couple might not be enough. To cover your plate for a saturday night you should give around $500 - $600 per couple. If you are on a budget or aren't that close to the couple then $300 - $400 as a couple is fairly good.

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I think that's insane. Who can afford to give $500-$600 every time they go to a wedding??? If it was the couple's choice to have a wedding as elaborate as that, why should the guests have to pay for that? You give what you can afford.

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I agree. I would never, ever give a $500-$600 gift unless it was my sister. I think I gave $400 to my brother and that was with a guest. It's not the guest's responsibility to pay for the wedding.

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Posted by Snickers76

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Posted by Dee9503

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Posted by wendyz06

I had a NYC wedding on a Saturday night. A $200 gift for a couple might not be enough. To cover your plate for a saturday night you should give around $500 - $600 per couple. If you are on a budget or aren't that close to the couple then $300 - $400 as a couple is fairly good.

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I think that's insane. Who can afford to give $500-$600 every time they go to a wedding??? If it was the couple's choice to have a wedding as elaborate as that, why should the guests have to pay for that? You give what you can afford.

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I agree. I would never, ever give a $500-$600 gift unless it was my sister. I think I gave $400 to my brother and that was with a guest. It's not the guest's responsibility to pay for the wedding.

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Wow, seriously you should be a guest at my wedding!

I think that expecting to give (or receive) a $500-600 gift is not reasonable for or from everyone. Even $300-400 per couple is a lot. Remember that you give what you can and if you CAN cover your plate and feel so inclined, then great. But how can you really know how much the plate is? You can guestimate, sure, but sometimes the per person cost is a lot more than the average if the couple has the bigger room, added extras, etc etc.

So, give what you can. I, personally, would not give less than $100 per person, so $200 per couple, but would give more obviously for close friends.

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Posted by MrsQ-in2007

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Posted by Snickers76

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Posted by Dee9503

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Posted by wendyz06

I had a NYC wedding on a Saturday night. A $200 gift for a couple might not be enough. To cover your plate for a saturday night you should give around $500 - $600 per couple. If you are on a budget or aren't that close to the couple then $300 - $400 as a couple is fairly good.

---

I think that's insane. Who can afford to give $500-$600 every time they go to a wedding??? If it was the couple's choice to have a wedding as elaborate as that, why should the guests have to pay for that? You give what you can afford.

---

I agree. I would never, ever give a $500-$600 gift unless it was my sister. I think I gave $400 to my brother and that was with a guest. It's not the guest's responsibility to pay for the wedding.

---

Wow, seriously you should be a guest at my wedding!

I think that expecting to give (or receive) a $500-600 gift is not reasonable for or from everyone. Even $300-400 per couple is a lot. Remember that you give what you can and if you CAN cover your plate and feel so inclined, then great. But how can you really know how much the plate is? You can guestimate, sure, but sometimes the per person cost is a lot more than the average if the couple has the bigger room, added extras, etc etc.

So, give what you can. I, personally, would not give less than $100 per person, so $200 per couple, but would give more obviously for close friends.

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Wow! I agree with the other ladies here. We just got married in NYC in April and on average we received about 250 per couple. A few people gave more and a few people gave less. Guests are not there to pay for our wedding.

I have to totally disagree with the idea that you should take the cost of your plate into consideration when attending a wedding. You likely have NO idea how much it costs (and you can estimate, but you may not be accurate), nor do you know who is paying for the wedding in all cases. (Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't - but where to have the wedding and how much to spend was the COUPLE's choice - it shouldn't be your obligation to cover your plate.)

A gift is a gift - you give what you want to give and what you can afford, based on your relationship with the couple, not how much their wedding costs. I give based on my relationship with the couple and what I can afford - usually $300-350. When I was a poor law student, I couldn't afford to give much more than $200, so I didn't.

Yes, the average amount people give is about $300 per couple. However, not everyone can afford that... Some people give less, some more. You have to give what you are comfortable with.

I just had my shower yesterday - gifts ranged from about $50 to about $400 with the average around $150.

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Posted by MrsQ-in2007

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Posted by Snickers76

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Posted by Dee9503

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Posted by wendyz06

I had a NYC wedding on a Saturday night. A $200 gift for a couple might not be enough. To cover your plate for a saturday night you should give around $500 - $600 per couple. If you are on a budget or aren't that close to the couple then $300 - $400 as a couple is fairly good.

---

I think that's insane. Who can afford to give $500-$600 every time they go to a wedding??? If it was the couple's choice to have a wedding as elaborate as that, why should the guests have to pay for that? You give what you can afford.

---

I agree. I would never, ever give a $500-$600 gift unless it was my sister. I think I gave $400 to my brother and that was with a guest. It's not the guest's responsibility to pay for the wedding.

---

Wow, seriously you should be a guest at my wedding!

I think that expecting to give (or receive) a $500-600 gift is not reasonable for or from everyone. Even $300-400 per couple is a lot. Remember that you give what you can and if you CAN cover your plate and feel so inclined, then great. But how can you really know how much the plate is? You can guestimate, sure, but sometimes the per person cost is a lot more than the average if the couple has the bigger room, added extras, etc etc.

So, give what you can. I, personally, would not give less than $100 per person, so $200 per couple, but would give more obviously for close friends.

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I agree- we have 5 wedding before our own- 2 on LI, 1 in Binghampton and FH is down in Florida at his cousins right not. We will give $200 for the 4 on LI and upstate, and FH is giving $100 for his cousins (its only him there and he had to pay to travel there and stay in a hotel)

I can't even afford to buy myself new clothing..I'm wearing shorts I bought 6 years ago!!!

If I get 200 from every couple I invited I'll be thrilled.

$300-600 is just not feasible at this point in my life. And saying 'no' isn't an option, because most people will be insulted if you don't send along a gift anyway!

Its gotten to the point where I cringe when we get an invitation anywhere.

OK-mini vent over!

Until we started planning our wedding I honestly had no idea how much weddings cost! Now that I know - we give more. Our place was kind of expensive so knowing how much we spent per plate I take this # and adjust somewhat depending on the place, day or evening, etc...

No, it doesn't sound so romantic to 'try to cover your plate' - however I think that is what we've all become acustom to....