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Attending a wedding often involves various expenses beyond just the gift itself, such as travel, accommodation, and sometimes a new outfit. More couples are now opting to replace traditional gift registries with requests for contributions to honeymoon funds. This shift has introduced a new question for guests: how much money should they give? According to wedding list provider Prezola, there has been an increase in couples inviting guests to sponsor specific honeymoon experiences rather than contributing to a general cash fund. Their data shows that the average amount given per guest is around £116, though this can vary greatly depending on factors such as the relationship to the couple, cultural background, and the cost of attending the event.
Johnny, 34, explains that he and his wife Lottie typically give between £250 and £400 as wedding gifts, depending on their closeness to the couple and their current financial situation. At Johnny’s own wedding, close friends mostly gave between £100 and £200, with one couple contributing £400 and Johnny’s father gifting £2,000. They used the money as spending funds on a 17-day honeymoon in Canada, which they had saved for, preferring not to rely solely on guest contributions. Meanwhile, others like Hannah Rose-Thorn, 30, tend to give more modest amounts, regularly gifting £50 and having received a similar average contribution at her wedding, where they also included QR codes on the bar for easy donations. Although Hannah’s honeymoon was already paid for, she was gifted £3,000 to use as spending money and also received physical presents like champagne and glasses.
Views on cash gifts vary widely. Chelsea Chivers, who is set to marry soon, feels that money is now the standard gift and warns that physical items are often unwanted. She states, “Nobody wants that random dish.” Typically, she gives around £200 for friends and more for family but made exceptions depending on the circumstances, such as not giving a gift for a destination wedding in South Africa due to the high cost of attendance. Ollie Hickey finds money gifts somewhat impersonal and prefers gifts tied to personal memories. He envisions asking for meaningful items, such as records, for his own wedding, showing an alternative approach to the growing trend of cash gifts.
Not every couple uses their monetary gifts for honeymoons. Roxie Westwood, who married in Ibiza, ended up redirecting funds intended for her honeymoon towards IVF treatments. Although she hadn’t expected presents, guests gave about £100 per couple, which helped cover a substantial part of the IVF cost. She expressed gratitude for the support friends and family provided during this time. Similarly, Georgia Finch put money from guests towards a loft renovation, with about £2,500 raised from 80 attendees. She highlighted how some weddings use platforms allowing guests to contribute toward particular honeymoon experiences, which made giving easier—especially when money is tight. Cultural differences also play a role in gift amounts; for example, Ewa Lewszyk-Howes notes that her Polish relatives typically give between £250 and £400, reflecting different customs compared to the £100 from English guests, who often bear greater travel and accommodation costs
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