How much wedding gift to give as a bridesmaid after spending thousands?
Bridesmaids who have already spent heavily on dresses, travel, and pre-wedding events struggle to figure out an appropriate gift amount without appearing cheap. This financial strain makes it difficult to strike the right balance between honoring the bride and managing personal early-career budgets.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Giving just a card instead of a material gift when travel and party expenses are high
- 2Relying on the expectation that wedding parties are not expected to give gifts due to their prior spending
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“As the title suggests, how much would you give as a gift?”source ↗
“I have already spent almost $1900 on all of the expenses like dress, alterations, accessories, bachelorette trip, bridal shower gift, hair, makeup and nails etc.”source ↗
“I’m pretty early in my career and trying to strike the right balance, i don’t want to seam cheap but i have already spent so much.”source ↗
“What is an appropriate amount to give her? Is $300 or $350 appropriate? Please help!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6What to get your spouse for a wedding gift instead of registry stuff
- 9Affordable bridesmaid gifts they will actually use
- 13How is anyone actually affording a large wedding?
- 5Do I need to tip wedding vendors who own their business?
- 2How to ask for money instead of gifts without looking rude
- 12Inviting people to pre-wedding events who aren't invited to the wedding