How much to give a close friend for her wedding

Marymoore

a close friend of mine is getting married and has invited me and husband. she’s getting married in a registry office and just having a small meal in a nice hotel with 20 people. How much would most people give from us as a couple?

also any idea of a small gift idea to give

Akrasia

The general rule is that you would give the couple a gift at least as valuable as you would be prepared to pay for a slap up meal and a night out for you and your partner

Minimum 100 euros per couple is about the norm at the moment.

But this person is a close friend, so what I would do in that case, is give her a hundred euros in a card,, and then spend some time doing up a photo album or do something creative or choose something personal that reflects your friendship

[Deleted User]

The average is about €200 per couple these days. What I sometimes do with a close friend is give half cash and half present, so I've given something to cover the meal and also given something more personal.

magicbastarder

don't sweat the 'how much should i spend' question too much; if €200 is a lot for you, and she's a good friend, she'll know that and won't (shouldn't!) expect it.

Marymoore

Ye I was thinking of giving €200 and a gift but I felt that is the standard amount and a close friend should give more. The gift I was going to give is a set of small China cups and saucers (cost €50) I was thinking should I give €250 and the gift maybe

Marymoore

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117629852#Comment_117629852

what kind of presents have you given just for an idea thanks

John_Rambo

€200 and a gift that the couple would appreciate and value is ample. Any more cash is a bit crass for an intimate wedding, if you want to go further contact the photographer and pay for a framed photo, or a good bottle at the top table may be appreciated. Hope you have a great day.

Akrasia

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117629919#Comment_117629919

Does your friend collect small china cups and saucers?

For my wedding, we got a gift of crockery, nice 'normal' sized cups and saucers and matching teapots etc It was great, we loved it, use them all the time and mourn the passing of each one as time and use causes them to get chipped and broken

We also received some really 'nice' gifts that were more expensive but very impractical, so they are kept nicely in the attic but we're never going to actually use them

Another gift we got was a coffee grinder. Use it regularly, some art, they're on our wall and we love them, silverware that is not used often but really great to have for those special occasions...

We got loads of picture frames, which are brilliant,but when they are all 'wedding' themed, it means we didn't end up using most of them. Non 'themed' picture frames would have been way better.

Just want to give you some of my own personal experience from my wedding for what its worth

Marymoore

Thanks John. The issue is thinking of something they as a couple would appreciate… and no she doesn’t collect China cups.. it’s only an idea I thought of maybe it’s a bad gift..

[Deleted User]

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117629950#Comment_117629950

Recently I gave a Genesis photo frame (I know my friend likes their stuff) or experience things that I know they want to do but haven't got around to (like whiskey tasting). I have also sometimes given money in the currency of the country they're going to on honeymoon, but that's probably not a runner right now.

Akrasia

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117629998#Comment_117629998

Whatever you get them, if they're a true friend, they'll appreciate it. But just because it's a wedding, doesn't mean it has to be a 'wedding gift'

For lots of my closest friends and family, I got them cash for their wedding because that's what they needed at the time. but what I did for them was created a video for them, with some music and video clips and pictures.

I asked them to send me a bunch of pictures from when they were kids growing up, and when they began dating and moments along the way to their wedding, and I put them together into a slideshow with some nice music.

Its something they can keep forever and look back on periodically.

If you want, I can PM you the link to an example of one I made.