One of the most searched questions every year in Google Spain is how much money is given at a wedding. In fact, you may have landed on this article asking that question and because you have a link in the coming weeks or months. Well, the answer depends on many factors, mainly the relationship with the couple, the autonomous community, transportation or accommodation. Thus, the ideal amount can even vary from 120 to 500 euros or more.
Until a few years ago, wedding gifts were made to cover the expenses of the couple. However, at present, the budget of a wedding skyrockets with the photographers, the bus transfers, the gifts for the guests, the open bar and other extras. Although it is difficult to quantify how much it costs per diner, if the cost of the menu is around 170 euros, with a gift of 200 euros, we would barely be covering expenses or perhaps not even that.
What wedding gift to make depending on the relationship with the couple
The first thing on which the amount depends is the relationship or friendship with the couple. The normal thing is that parents and siblings give a generous gift, always above the average of the rest of the guests, to cover the banquet and have money left over for other expenses. We would be starting from 250 or 300 euros. In addition, a separate material gift can be made. In the second step would be the direct relatives and closest friends, about 200 euros per person. And in the third, the most distant relatives and friends or work colleagues, around 150 euros. If we are going with a child, we must add about 80 or 100 euros more.
The cheapest autonomous communities to get married
When we are invited to a wedding, the venue is another of the reasons we think about when deciding on the ‘apple’. Because we imagine how much money each diner’s menu can cost the couple to try to get closer to the ‘fair price’. Well, according to a Cronoshare study, the cheapest autonomous community to get married in is the Canary Islands. It is followed by Andalusia (although Seville is one of the most expensive cities in Spain) and Catalonia. At the opposite pole, the most expensive territories are La Rioja, Navarra and Castilla la Mancha. Although in addition to the city or town, the cache of the restaurant makes the price vary a lot, so it is always interesting to find out about it.
How much money to take from a wedding gift for transportation and accommodation
Once we know the city where the wedding is to be held and the date of the wedding is approaching, we will have to look for transportation and accommodation, unless it is close to home. This will mean about 100 euros for one person or 150 for two, approximately. If we add a meal on the trip or the hotel, the cost grows. Whether we like it or not, we are always tempted to reduce the money in the envelope and this is what happens in most cases.
But we should not remove everything, but a percentage that we consider correct taking into account the above factors such as relationship or the city in which we are. The normal thing is to take about 50 euros out of the envelope, so if you would have given him 200 euros close to home, an envelope with 150 euros would be correct.
What gift depends on the type of wedding
Another key factor is the type of link to be held. If the bride and groom have told us that it will be an informal wedding on the beach, the envelope may be less than if it is a traditional wedding on a farm in a big city. And of course, the gift must be even greater if the couple have organized a wedding for which they have asked to go in a tuxedo or gala dress in a luxury restaurant.
When to deliver a wedding gift?
We have already seen that there is nothing written in the protocol regarding the gift and that, depending on all the above factors and your budget, you must decide the amount of money that you will put in the envelope. What the couple will surely appreciate is that you give them the gift a few weeks before to cover all the expenses. Although the normal thing is that they let you pay for the banquet the day after the wedding, there are restaurants that even require the money in advance, so the gift will come in handy to pay for it.
