‘We’ll give up to £400 to the honeymoon fund’: How much should you give at a wedding?

Being a wedding guest can be expensive – there’s travel, there’s accommodation, you might treat yourself to a new dress – and then there’s another price: the gift.

It is now commonplace to read invitations that say, “Your presence is enough, but if you would like to give us a gift, please donate to the honeymoon fund.”

But replacing the traditional gift list with bank transfer details can leave guests with a new etiquette dilemma: How much should you give?

Wedding listing service Prezola says there’s an increase in couples inviting guests for specific experiences rather than a general pot of money. It says the average guest contribution is £116.

But expectations can vary from proximity and culture to the cost of tracking.

Jonny, 34, said how close he and his wife Lottie are to the bride and groom and they contribute between £250 and £400 depending on what they can afford at the time.

“We don’t have that many friends, so it’s good to give generously,” he says.

At his own wedding, most close friends gave between £100 and £200, one couple gave £400 and they received £2,000 from Johnny’s father.

They used it to pay for their 17-day honeymoon in Canada, which Johnny said saved up “just not worth the risk of relying on donations.”