Wedding gifts

My entire family walks with envelops no one brings boxed gifts on my side. i assume people will give at least $100 pp but i know our closer family members will give more. i normally give $100 unless im super close than $150 and i never walk with a boxed gift. i havent done that in over a decade lol

We had about 110 attend our wedding, probably about 120 in total who gave gifts/cash (if they couldn't attend we received the gift before/after the wedding).

Cash gifts ranged from $50 - $200+ per person. It can depend on how well the guest knows you, their financial situation, but it's not always the case. Couples/families usually gift together so a $200 gift could be from 2 people.

We didn't get a lot of boxed gifts but had a few. We received some before the wedding and opened them upon receiving them. We also didn't do a gift opening party after the wedding so we opened the gifts ourselves the next day.

View quoted message The attention is not something I wanted but I think some of the older guests expect it. So my parents are hosting and paying for it

I've heard some people give the value of the meal, but I have no clue how they calculate that. It would definitely depend on your guests.


Opening parties are getting more popular in the maritimes too! I've never been to one but I imagine it's much like a bridal or baby shower where you open everything and read all the cards out loud (the messages not the amounts!). I would hate that level of attention so I suspect we will skip it!

We did cash only and recieved $4K. Its always given now as oppose to boxed gifts that are kept in a corner never being used.

In the Italian culture we do Busta’s (pronounce like boosta). So basically if you are close family or friends of the couple you give what you think the cost of the plated meal is plus a little extra. If you are not that close you give what you can afford that is decent and reasonable. Or if you already had your wedding and this couple was a guest, you can go back and look up where you wrote how much they gave you and give the same! That is usually for the not so close cousins or friends. Then it just depends on how many guests you have and how generous they are. Even for our showers we usually don’t do gifts, we do money!

View quoted message Sorry I didnt mean open gifts at our wedding! We have gift openings the next day. It's an open invite to all wedding guests with food and drinks.

I've never heard of/been to a wedding where they opened the gifts at the wedding - I think i'd find that super awkward. At a bridal shower maybe, but all of the bridal showers I've been to were cash only.

In terms of what to expect - it depends on the crowd. All of the weddings I've been to I've never seen a single boxed gift. In terms of how much cash you can make it depends on the crowd again. If every couple/single guest gives $200 then multiply by your guest count.

It's really hard to say what you'll "make" though.

My parents literally got a $25 LCBO card from a guest for their wedding a few years ago. It's something you really can't even guess - everyone is different and has different budgets to work with, etc.

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Huh.... for sure not something that I've heard of - but if it's something that almost everybody does over there then I would say to just treat it as a Bridal/Wedding Shower. My cousin in-law opened just the boxes/bags and not the cards, but I opened everything. Only added about 15 minutes to the opening time and if it's what they are coming there for then you may as well open everything.

View quoted message Yes maybe it's a Saskatchewan thing but the day after the wedding there is a gift opening where everyone comes for food and everyone ouuus and awes over the crock pots you open

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At a gift opening? Like after the wedding?

View quoted message Sorry I meant open cards at gift opening.my parents are hosting one and I cant figure out why lol

Guest count: 180ish

Cash: upwards of $10,000 but you have to consider that some guests may be young, or have a big family, or just overall can't afford to give that much. Most common amount was $50/head but we did get some $10/head as well as some $100+/head.

Boxed gifts: Didn't get any at the wedding, best way to avoid getting physical presents is to have a Bridal/Wedding Shower prior to the wedding and make a registry. This will also encourage guests to give cash at the wedding as they would have already given a physical gift.

Cards: You don't open them at the wedding - you empty out the presentation bin/cage/box/etc. and have somebody put them away to avoid theft.

Opening gifts at a Bridal/Wedding Shower: Some people don't open anything, others open just the physical gifts, and some like me open everything! If you do open gifts at the shower - make sure you do it last and give the guests the option of leaving so they don't have to stick around for that if they don't want to (at least that's what we did).