What seems to be the average wedding gift for a friend/acquaintance?
Original post by Shorty McBride
I did a search, and the general concensus is to give what you can afford.
To the married ladies: what was the AVERAGE monetary gift received from friends? (not best friends)
I've NEVER been to a friends wedding, so I'm really not sure!
TIA
ssdbk
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My usual is to give $250 to $350, and that is pretty much what I received. My DH's friends always give each other a lot more. We got $900 from one of his friends! So my dad, hearing about it goes, 'how about you invite him to Passover next year?' Also, DH's work people gave a lot.
JandJ1224
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I guess I am really bad but I am hoping that people will 'cover their plates'. It is hard enough starting out. Its not like I would be mad or anything if someone can't afford but i guess I'm hoping for the best. lol In the past we have given $200, after reading this maybe I should bump this up!
Thumballina
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Friends we usually give $300 Family and close friends $500 or more
stlmn2u
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It depens how close you are to this friend....I have friend's who I am very close with and then I have friends who I don't see often...I would say anywhere from $150-$300....
Blu-ize
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I still say the cover your plate thing is ridiculous. It's not the guest's job to pay for the reception.
I have given different amounts depending on what I could afford at the time and he relationship.
I gave more to my BF at her wedding than I did my cousins for instance. Did I cover my plate? Probably, but that didn't even enter my mind.
ShortBride
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Posted by Blu-ize
I still say the cover your plate thing is ridiculous. It's not the guest's job to pay for the reception.
I have given different amounts depending on what I could afford at the time and he relationship.
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I wholeheartedly agree. I am very glad that people who couldn't afford to 'cover thier plates' still came to our wedding, and would have been devestated if they stayed home so they could write a smaller check! But then, we only invited close friends and family. Most people were very generous. Some were not. People from OOT often give gifts instead of cash.
Most of your guests, unless they are from LI, do not know how much your hall costs. They certainly do not know that you got sushi during the CH hr, etc. until they get there, and it is not their job to pay for it.
Mrs_C_in_'07
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We normally give $200-$250, except if its a really close friend or family, then we up it accordingly.
Brassgirl9
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LENOX!!!
cjb88
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for a couple, we did minumum $250-300... that way we at least attempt to cover our plate and then some
MrsStefan
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I've been giving about 250 for FH and I
BKtoLI
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I generally give about $200-$300 for DH & I, and it goes up if we're in the wedding or it's a close friend or family member. I gave my brother $550 for his wedding.
I try to cover our plates and then some, because we all know the hall is not the only expense of a wedding. However, if it's an OOT wedding, then the amount drops because we have to pay for extra expenses like hotel, airfare, etc.
About 85% of our guests did not cover their plates and we didn't really care, because it was a party celebrating our union, not a fundraiser.
Katie&Chris2006
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It really varies depending on our relationship with the couple getting married. We tend to be in the $250-350 range for the two of us. We had 9 weddings last year.
Thanks for this topic Nicole, I always wonder where my gifts fall in the range of gifts as well.
psf80
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We give anywhere from $200-400 depending on who it is.
eden
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I'll give 100-500 depending on who it is and where they are having the wedding.
Obviously if it's friends having a wedding in some distance and cheap locale like Wyoming I'm only giving 100 from us both. If it's relatives in New York, we'll give anywhere from 300-500 depending on how close we are to them.
Trying to cover a plate should not even be attempted when you're in NYC. I mean when couples are getting married at $200 per plate (after taxes and tips and location fee) on average in NYC, there's no way we middle-class folks can afford to attend any weddings!
Why should we be penalized for having relatives/friends with expensive taste!? I definitely don't expect my friends/family to give us anything more than $100 per plate, and we would be happy just to get anything at all.
So I say there's no hard and fast rule, just use common sense. :)
aliwnec10
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We generally give $300 for friends & family. And we always think about covering our plates... that's just something we've been taught along the way.
Nina
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Posted by Brassgirl9
LENOX!!!
For the wedding gift?
Nina
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Posted by SPITSBRIDE
If it's a close friend or a relative we give anywhere between $350-$400 and if they are an acquaintance we usually give $250-$300
Same here.
amyg1033
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I buy the annual magazine (well it's more like a book) that has all of the wedding reception places in Long Island and it has the average price per plate listed for each of these places. It really helps to give you an idea of how much to give as a gift. Some places are fancier then others and it's nice to take that into consideration when giving a gift. I also take into consideration whether it's a Fr, SAt, SUn wedding or a day or night wedding.
CLMon7906
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Posted by Blu-ize
I still say the cover your plate thing is ridiculous. It's not the guest's job to pay for the reception.
I have given different amounts depending on what I could afford at the time and he relationship.
I gave more to my BF at her wedding than I did my cousins for instance. Did I cover my plate? Probably, but that didn't even enter my mind.
which is why I don't feel the need to break the bank....i'm sure that our monetary gifts have covered our plates for the most part, but that was not our goal....we actually asked FMIL how much she thought was a good gift...she told us $150-200....and that is a lot from a young couple starting out with a pile of bills of their own. i think it's greedy to expect to get a certain amount...and personally, i'd much rather get that great crystal platter i actually wanted (and can't justify buying at $80) than the $200 check that FH will use for bills anyway...then i feel like the guests really thought about me enough to explore my registry and give a gift they felt i truly wanted...to me cash says 'i'm too lazy to find out what you like/want/need so just do it yourself.' (that's JMO)
