Today’s blog is one in a series that answers the questions that everyone asks before they attend a Wedding. So whether the Wedding you are attending is your best friend’s or a distant relative’s, let Kevin Smith Transportation Group (and our Wedding experts) be your guide to all things Wedding in the greater Philadelphia, PA area.
If you are looking for the industry’s most luxurious Wedding Transportation company, call 610-222-6225 today and speak to a Kevin Smith Transportation Group Wedding Coordinator. Your dedicated Coordinator will help you arrange all of your transportation, from Limos to Party Buses to Shuttles.
Not everyone is a Wedding expert. Here at KSTG, we work with some of the most respected Wedding Professionals in the business. Today’s blog will answer one of the most asked questions out there. How Much to Spend on a Wedding Gift.
How Much to Spend on a Wedding Gift
Is it ever ok to spend just $25 on a Wedding gift? Weddings are super expensive…for the guests. Recent surveys show that one in five people have declined an invitation to a wedding because they couldn’t afford to go.
Why? The answer makes a lot of sense. Wedding guests tend to spend a ton on everything from the travel to the gifts. Indeed, in 2019, it is projected that members of the wedding party will spend an average of $737 on the wedding and associated pre-parties.
Those who are close friends or family members in 2019 will spend on average $637. More distant friends and family members in 2019 will spend on average of $391.
One of the biggest costs? The gift. In 2019, Wedding guests will spend about $55 to $110 per gift, experts say, but spending varies significantly, depending on a number of factors.
One Wedding Planner told us “A minimum amount to budget for a gift would be $25 for a co-worker, $50 for a friend and $100 or more if they are family.”
How well you know the bride and groom? In general, the closer the relationship, the more you should spend. One Wedding Planner told us “The old rules say to estimate how much the couple spent on hosting you, i.e. the price of your plate, but the new rules say to spend whatever you think is appropriate depending on your relationship with the couple,”.
Here’s how much people will spend in 2019 according to our Wedding Planners, broken out by the specific relationship they have with the Bride and Groom.
| Amount Spending in 2019 | Close Family, Friend | Coworker, Casual Friend, Distant Family |
| Less than $50 | 14% | 23% |
| $50 to $99 | 35% | 39% |
| $100 to $149 | 19% | 14% |
| $150 to $199 | 13% | 10% |
| $200 to $299 | 8% | 4% |
| $300 Plus | 11% | 8% |
Wedding Gift Factors
Two other big factors for how much of a Wedding gift you give is age and where you live. Younger people tend to give less expensive gifts, possibly because they are earning less money.
Indeed, our Wedding Planners project that in 2019, those in the 18-37-year-old age group will spend an average of just $52 on wedding gifts when part of the wedding party, $44 for close friends or family when not in the wedding party and $42 for more distant relationships.
That’s compared to $159, $122 and $59 across all age groups, respectively. Also, if you live in the Northeast, you’re more likely to spend more on gifts, according to our Wedding Planners.
Experts say you can’t just use another person’s spending as your guideline on what to spend. Our Wedding Planners say that the couple’s registry holds clues on what you should spend.
“If they register at Target and Crate and Barrel, they’re setting the tone for gifts starting at $50 and running upwards. If they register at places like Macy’s, then gifts start at $75 and upwards. Tiffany’s? $125 and upwards with an emphasis on upwards,” they said.
Another tip is that you should never feel priced out of a wedding based on a registry. ”It’s a clue about what a couple wants, and for some people, it makes life easy, but feel free to give your own out of the box gift — whether it’s art you’ve made, a donation to a Zoo or a single place setting that three of you went in on because it’s what you could swing” says our Wedding Planners.
At the end of the day, your attendance should be the gift they truly want.
If you are looking for the industry’s most luxurious Wedding Transportation company, call 610-222-6225 today and speak to a Kevin Smith Transportation Group Wedding Coordinator. Your dedicated Coordinator will help you arrange all of your transportation, from Limos to Party Buses to Shuttles.
Thank you for reading today’s blog on the most asked Wedding questions. Please visit us next week as we continue to provide content on what you want to know most about. Visit Kevin Smith Transportation Group’s homepage to learn about the services we provide and check out the webpage on the #1 rated Wedding Transportation company in the greater Philadelphia, PA area.