Being a wedding guest can be expensive – there’s travel, accommodation, you might even treat yourself to a new outfit – then there’s another cost to factor in: the gift.
It’s now commonplace for invitations to read: “Your presence is enough, but if you would like to give us a gift, please donate to our honeymoon fund.”
But replacing the traditional gift list with bank transfer details, can leave guests with a new etiquette dilemma: how much are you expected to give?
Wedding list service Prezola says it has seen a rise in couples inviting guests to pay for specific experiences rather than a generic cash pot. It says the average guest contribution is £116.
But expectations can vary widely, depending on everything from closeness and culture to the cost of attending.
Johnny, 34, says he and his wife Lottie contribute between £250 and £400 depending on how close they are to the bride and groom and what they can afford at the time.
“We don’t have that many friends, so it’s nice to give generously,” he says.
At his own wedding, most close friends gave between £100 and £200, one couple gave £400 and they received £2,000 from Johnny’s dad.
They used it as spending money on their 17-day honeymoon in Canada which Johnny says they’d saved for “because it’s not worth the risk of relying on donations”.