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How Much In Cash Should I Give As A Wedding Gift?

Asking how much cash should I give as a wedding gift is like asking how long is a piece of string. If you were to ask 100 people the chances are you may get 100 different answers and that would be dependent on many factors not least of all their nationality.

Different countries have different traditions regarding the giving of money as a wedding gift. In some it is very bad form not to, in others it is just the opposite and the giving of cash as a wedding gift can be offensive to the recipient.

United States

Cash giving as a wedding gift is relatively common in the United States. However it would still appear that there is a great difference of opinion on not just the amount of cash to give but also as to whether it should be given at all.

I have pooled here the results of my findings on 25 different website forums regarding giving cash as a wedding present and the amounts involved.

It appears that there is a very definite dividing line between large city dwellers and smaller town people. The large city mindset seemed to be almost unanimous in its advice-$100 dollars is the minimum you should consider giving and it should be more if the wedding is that of a close friend or family member. People from less urban areas seemed to suggest figures ranging from $25 to $100 dollars with more leaning to the lower figures.

Interestingly, dwellers from outside city areas were more often than not adamant that cash giving was not acceptable to them as a guest and they would never consider doing so.

U.K.

Although it is becoming more common the general feeling still seems to be that giving cash as a wedding present is not ‘very British’. Younger generations, who look more to America for their culture and influences, seem to accept it quite readily but for many of the older generation cash giving is considered rather crass and they are highly offended if they asked to do so.

Having said that in typical contrary British fashion it depends what the rules are. If guests choose to give cash rather than a present that is completely okay. If they are asked to give cash it is considered rude. I’ll leave it to you to sort through that conundrum!

Other Cultures

Other cultures worldwide have very old traditions for giving cash to the newly married couple some of which date back hundreds of years.

In Greece, an old tradition that is still practiced quite freely is that of pinning notes to the bride’s wedding dress.

A variation on this is observed in Poland where notes are pinned to the bride’s veil. This is supposed to ‘buy’ the guest a dance with the bride.

In Germany notes are still placed inside bunches of flowers and bouquets that are presented to the newly-weds.

In Italy and Japan if tradition is followed guests are obliged to give cash or envelopes of money as gifts.

A piece of advice that did seem to get repeated across modern cultures was how would you answer the following 2 questions:

1. How much can you afford to give?
2. How much would you spend on a wedding present if you bought one instead of giving cash?

Hopefully by answering those 2 questions you may get a better idea of how much cash you should give as a wedding present.

Perhaps a word of advice also for anyone planning to ask for cash as wedding gifts. Although this request doesn’t appear out of the ordinary to you, do consider any embarrassment or offence you may be causing your guests. If you are British or from a smaller town U.S.A. location you may want to rethink things. If you are from a large US city expect to be very spoiled!

Article by Outofstress.com expert author Deneice Arthurton.© Outofstress.com. Do not reproduce.