Author |
Message |
Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 5:33 am
WOW! I am totally blown away, but then I have never given cash and we didn't receive any either. I always get something on the registry and maybe go up to $50 but only if they are really close friends.
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Cndeariso
Member
06-28-2004
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 5:45 am
i do not have anyone that i can think of at this point in time that i would spend $100 on for a wedding gift, graduation, baby shower or any gift of that nature. $25 - $50 is more the standard for our area and usually the lower of the two. anything more than that would stand out and be considered showy or braggardly.
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Denecee
Member
09-05-2002
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 5:50 am
For me, my gift depends on if I think it's true love happening, lol. They get rocks if it's a crock!
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 5:54 am
Interesting. Here a wedding gift is much more than a shower, graduation or baby gift. Shower gift would be about $25-$50 depending on relation. High school or college Graduation $25. Grade school graduation might be only $20. And if anyone gave a gift on the high end (like a few people gave us $200 for a wedding) we didn't think of them as being showy. We were so thrilled with their generosity that we wouldn't have even cared if they were being showy!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 5:58 am
Grade school graduation gets a gift from someone other than the parents???? The last 4 or 5 weddings, we've given a gift of about $100, but those were close friends and family. I haven't been to a wedding for a casual acquantice or friend in years (actually last one I was 9 months pregnant with Caleb, he was born just a few days later) and I can't even remember what we gave the couple.
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Cndeariso
Member
06-28-2004
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:00 am
gifts for grade school graduation? what is grade school graduation? not experienced with that concept. julieboo, i'm not saying that what you all are doing up there in Chicago is showy. i'm certain that customs are different for each part of the country. when i got married 4-1/2 years ago i know that no one spent more than about $25 - 35 on each of the presents we received. now, costs of those same items somewhere other than here may be significantly higher. i don't know. but, i am from an upper middle class family and felt that the gifts we received were very generous. i have also been told that our 1,500 sq ft $180k house would sell for over $500k in California and over $350k in some of the New England states. so, i would guess that prices of all things are relative to where one lives.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:08 am
mocha, i guess i'm sitting with you in the cheap club. cuz that's how i feel too!
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:09 am
I didn't think the amount spent on a gift was regional. Interesting. I don't think there's a set amount for gifts where I come from. It's all about how much you can afford and how much you want to spend.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:28 am
I remember when dh and I got married (23 years ago) and we were so puzzled because we kept getting 3 of our everyday juice stemware. 3?? that's kind of an odd number. It finally dawned on us that it added up to $25 and that's how much people wanted to spend. LOL
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Merrysea
Member
08-13-2004
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:32 am
I just sent my niece $50 for her high school graduation present, and I thought I was being generous!
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:49 am
My niece just graduated from dental school and I gave her 100 bucks. I thought that she deserved it because I was really proud of the effort it took to get through all that schooling. Anyone need a great dentist??? She'll be practicing in Syracuse, NY for a year or so and then returning to this area. I'll ask her for a TVCH discount!
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:19 am
Uh sure I can drive 6hrs to get my teeth cleaned lol.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:22 am
I think it's regional because I think the cost of a plate at a reception hall differs from area to area. Plus some people have reception halls while some people have a reception in a church basement or a backyard or where ever. Though I have to say that every wedding I've been to has been a church with a reception hall following with dinner & dancing. Never been to a backyard reception or anything like that. Must be the weather (either too hot or too cold or too rainy)!
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:24 am
Ok so what does the cost of the wedding have to do with the gift? I've never heard that before.
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Hukdonreality
Member
09-29-2003
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:30 am
I just have always been told that you should basically "pay for your own dinner" at the reception as to not make the newlyweds start out in debt. Must be a local thing because everyone I know does the same thing.
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Spygirl
Board Administrator
04-23-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:30 am
Mocha, it has a little to do with "buying" your dinner (sorry to be crude). The reception is a gift to the guests, and sometimes the "per person" is incredibly expensive - $30-$50 per person. So, a $100 gift to the couple from a couple would be in line with a response "thank you" for being invited to a very fun party. Does my explanation make any sense? LOL
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:31 am
Yep, Hukd and Spy got it right. (Makes sense to me Spy.)
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Racsan
Member
04-09-2004
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:50 am
I don't buy the "buying your dinner" line either! How the hell am I to know what the reception is going to cost? I've been to receptions where there is just cake, mints, nuts, and punch. I've been to swanky danky affairs. I've been to middle of the road affairs. Mostly it's the cake, mints, nuts and punch type wedding. So if I need to give my "thanks" properly, is it now appropriate for an invited guest to call the bride and ask how much per plate the reception is? And is it also ok to say, "gee, your reception is $50 a person and we can't afford a $100 gift so I guess we are not coming at all?" To me all of the above is ridiculous! I think I'll elope when the time comes!
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Racsan
Member
04-09-2004
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:53 am
Call me a cynic, call me rude, but maybe JUST maybe the bride and groom shouldn't plan such a swanky danky affair then they can afford all the expensive gifts they registered for! Or not count on money gifts to help them out of the hole they have dug themselves, or their parents, into.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:53 am
I understand what you're saying Spy. But to me that sounds kinda tacky. Ok so you invited me to your wedding and you decided to have an elaborate reception. Well that's on you, not me. I'll give you what I can give. And most registry gift lists that I've seen aren't that pricey.
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Rosie
Member
11-12-2003
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:57 am
I buy something that I think the couple will enjoy and that is also within my budget. Usually, can find something on their gift registry that works out. I have never considered what is being spent on the wedding itself when deciding upon a gift. It is none of my business what someone spends on their wedding.
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 7:58 am
Pay for your dinner?? Truly? that's the logic? wow! that just seems so tacky. So if you get chicken you can give a cheaper present than if you got beef or fish..oh my, imagine what you would have to give if you got a choice of entrees! LOL
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Texannie
Member
07-16-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 8:01 am
How come it's only weddings that you 'thank the hosts for a nice party' with a gift? I have hosted lots of lovely parties in my home and all I got was the pleasure of my guests' company! LOL
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Biloxibelle
Member
12-21-2001
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 8:09 am
oh oh I have been a bad guest. I have for the most part given picture frames. Very nice, high end picture frames. I have even made a habit of picking them up when on sale when I can. That way I have a stash of them. I always figured the bride and groom liked them to display their wedding picture. Guess I'll have to rethink my gift giving. I have question. If the bride or groom parents are footing the bill for the wedding. Do the bride and groom turn over the cash gifts to the parents?
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, June 23, 2006 - 8:11 am
I wouldn't consider 'paying for my dinner.' The wedding and reception is the couple's preference. I typically buy the gift I want to give to the particular people--that I can afford. Of course, I do spend more on relatives and friends and less on casual acquaintances and (former) co-workers. I typically do buy what is on the couple's registry. I bought my SIL a microwave years ago. I think it was $125 or thereabouts. That was pushing it, given our budget back then. I simply knew they could use one and wanted to give her something nice. For a co-worker I really liked but saw rarely, I purchased a $50 gift certificate at the store where they were registered (received the invitation late). I also send gifts even if I cannot attend--and, when possible, to the bride's home ahead of the ceremony. I avoid taking a gift to the reception--although I know a lot of people do that. I think my bottom range would be $50 and my top around $150. Biloxi, picture frames can be very expensive and are good gifts, IMO--no matter what you actually paid for them! Your question about the cash was in jest, though, wasn't it? That money is to help the couple 'get started.'
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