I've only been to one engagement party & that was when my half sister got married last year. I was ticked because they were doing just everything way over the top, and I was sick of all the $ for the showers, the outfits, the wedding, and then an engagement party. She'd been dating the guy 7 years! We know his family already!

Anyway, around here a $50 wedding gift for friend or family is low-end. It's generally expected that you should at least cover what they are paying for your meal and at $25-40/plate meals, for 2 people, $50-80 gifts are just breaking even. For grandchildren of my cousin (would they PLEASE stop inviting me? How many generations down do you have to be to stop inviting me? Oh yeah - we're arabic - we're related through all generations) I give $50in hopes of not being invited again, and we do not go to the receptions anymore. For my half-sister last year, I think our wedding gift was around $225. I had a hard time paying that, but I didn't want to deal w/ my stepmonster saying I didn't get a nice enough gift for her daughter. When I got married in 1987, I received checks as high as $300-500 from business associates of my father who I didn't even know. Clued me in on how much he gave to THEIR children at their weddings.

Obviously, if you're a teenager or college student with a friend getting married, you're budget is going to be a lot less. But if the bride is also a teen or college student, their wedding might be much less expensive/simpler, so the monetary expectation would be much lower as well. And it differs regionally as well.

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I spent more attending a wedding in Chicago than I did on my entire wedding!! We were never that good of friends then, but now we aren't even friends at all. I fell to the "pressure" because I had some other good friends who were all invited to the same things, and we felt that if we all didn't go it would affect our working relationships (we all worked together)

Here was the breakdown:


Bachelorette Party Gift (Lingerie): $50
Bachelorette dinner and going out along with the bride's portion of going out and eating (of course she picked the most expensive place in Chicago): $150
Cabs for bachelorette: $25
Wedding shower gift: $50
Dress for wedding (it was black tie, I had to have a formal dress): $200
Cabs for wedding (to/from wedding, reception, back home): $50
Wedding gift: $100

Grand total: $625

Luckily I lived in the same town. If not, count in $500 in airfare and $250 in hotel and eating out charges.

Me eloping to vegas: about $600 including the ring
So, for an out-of-town wedding, it can get SUPER pricey.

Gosh I like to give a towel set as a gift. I always thought everyone could use towels. Guess I am really cheap

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~Happiness is a large family~

I must be cheap too.. cause i loved my towel set HAPPYMOM. We had a huge wedding and got alot of gifts.. we both lived at home till we got married so we had nothing. I was excited about everything we got.. even the less pricey items..and they are the most used. What ever happen to the true meaning of marriage.. it is not about the gifts.. but the love and support of family and friends.