"We spent $80k on our lavish wedding - with $28k on food and $3k on fireworks" - video Dailymotion

Real Fix

Credit: SWNS / Zoë Burke  A wedding expert has revealed how much money guests should gift newlyweds - and says £50 is a "benchmark" to "cover your cost" on the big day.   Zoë Burke, 33, claims it is pretty standard to give cash to the bride and groom - replacing the tradition of gift giving.  She said although in the UK couples don't typically ask for anything, it is "appropriate" to give £25 and upwards to the newlyweds.  Zoë suggests £50 if you're a single guest, £100 per couple and £100 if you're family or a close friend.  But she said guests should never be "ashamed" if they can't afford to bring a wedding gift and it is never "expected".

Transcript

00:00How much money should you give as a wedding gift?

00:11This is one of the trickiest questions to answer when it comes to wedding planning advice

00:16A few different things are going to have an impact such as how well you know the couple and even what culture

00:20They're from because you know that has different etiquette rules and traditions surrounding it as well

00:25However, i've been in this game a long time

00:27So i've found some sort of benchmark figures from hitch that we can dig into and again

00:32This is all going to depend on what you can afford and your relationship with the couple

00:35So, you know take it with a generous pinch of salt, but if you're a single guest attending the full day

00:41Roughly around 50 pounds is considered an acceptable amount as a cash gift

00:45If you're a couple you double that so we're looking at around 100 pounds

00:49If you're immediate family of the couple again, it's going to be around the 100 pound mark

00:53Also if you're close enough to be in the wedding party again

00:56We're looking at that round 100 pound mark if you're an evening guest only between 25 to 50 pounds seems to be the kind of

01:03Benchmark and again if you're a colleague invited to the wedding, so you might not be that close again

01:08That kind of figure of 25 to 50 pounds is usually what people tend to go for

01:12I'll say it again because i'm sure people will comment it but it's all going to depend on what you can afford and gifts are never

01:17Ever expected, you know, they're nice to have but they're not obligatory that being said

01:21It's always nice to give something even if it's just a token gift, you know

01:25If you don't feel comfortable giving cash a nice bottle of wine champagne something like that is a great way to you know

01:30Celebrate the couple give them a token show your appreciation of being invited

01:34But it's not as blunt as you know giving actual cash

01:37The thing i'd say is if you feel uncomfortable with the idea of giving cash

01:40But it has been asked for if you know where they're going on honeymoon getting the money changed into the honeymoon currency

01:45Can I don't know why but it feels a little less like on the nose than giving actual like?

01:50British money with the king's face on unless they're going to cornwall or something for the honeymoon in which case

01:55Sorry, I actually have a wedding gift calculator on hitch

01:58You can search wedding gift calculator or like how much cash to give as a guest or whatever

02:03And it will take you to this article where you can fill in the details such as how well, you know

02:07The couple how long you've known them how many of you and your family are invited to the wedding

02:11Um all these different factors and it will tell you an approximate amount you should give it's quite clever

02:16Um, I helped to build it so yeah check that out if you're still stuck on how much cash to give as a gift

02:21And what's your what's your standard rate? You know, how much do you usually give as a wedding guest?

02:26It's hard to say isn't it wedding guests?

02:27How much do you gift as a wedding guest?

02:29Let's add it to the comments that people can see and we can see if these benchmarks are right or if we're way off

"We spent $80k on our lavish wedding - with $28k on food and $3k on fireworks"

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