How do you write a good wedding message card?

The average wedding gift amount hovers right around $100, which is a great place to start, and you can increase or decrease that based on how close you are. If you're very close or related to the couple (and have the wiggle room in your budget), you may choose to spend more—about $150 per guest (or $200 from a couple).

We recommend spending around $50 on a gift if you're not attending the wedding, though you should spend a bit more if you're a close friend or relative of the couple.

For a colleague or acquaintance, $50 to $75 is acceptable. You can work within that range at your discretion. For family or someone close to you, $75 to $100 and even as high as $150 is perfect. Then if you're going as a couple, it's routine to double the amount or keep it at $200.

Tucking cash or a check inside a card and bringing it to the wedding reception is still totally acceptable though—but if you bring a check, it needs to be made out correctly. Otherwise, the newlyweds might not be able to cash it.

Parents of the bride and groom collectively contribute about $19,000 to the wedding, or about two-thirds of the total cost, according to WeddingWire. The bride's parents give an average $12,000, and the groom's, $7,000. Just 1 in 10 couples pays for the wedding entirely on their own, according to TheKnot.com.

Easton, Blum, and Hamilton all agree that given the impersonal nature of a cash gift, the amount needs to be substantial, to the tune of around $500. Howser recommends not gifting less than $300 if you opt to give a cash gift.

Nationwide, the average cash gift is about $160, according to wedding-registry website Tendr, based on data from the 2016 wedding season. And wedding gift amounts tend to spike during prime summer season, Tendr found.

“We suggest no less than $100, but prefer $350 or more since that is an average fee for most wedding musicians when compared to others involved with the ceremony.” Another cost the groom's family takes care of is the officiant's lodging.

The most traditional way to go about this would be the bride pays for the groom's wedding ring plus a gift and the groom pays for the engagement ring and matching wedding band for the bride. Today, a more modern approach by many couples would be to accept the wedding bands as a joint investment by both people.

According to the WeddingWire Newlywed Report, parents pay for 52% of wedding expenses, while the couple pays for 47% (the remaining 1% is paid for by other loved ones)—so parents are still paying for a majority of the wedding, though couples are chipping in fairly significantly.

If the groom's parents are contributing financially to the wedding, they don't necessarily need to give the bride a large gift—paying for their portion of the wedding is gift enough.

The mother of the bride is the last person seated before the officiant, groom and best man take their places at the altar. She can walk alone or be escorted by her son, son-in-law or another relative. She is seated on the left side in the first row.

Because hundreds of years ago, women were considered chattel and the bride's family used to have to pay off the groom's family in the form of a dowry to take their daughters off their hands.

Traditionally, the bride's parents (although anyone can host!) will pay for and throw an engagement party for their daughter and her husband-to-be, for the express purpose of welcoming him and introducing friends and extended family to the groom and his family and friends.

“The tradition of the father walking the bride down the aisle has evolved from what it was to it being a gesture of uniting families and showing love and respect for the new marriage.” There are now many variations: Brides can still opt to walk down the aisle with their father, or they can have both parents join them.

A popular wedding planning site found the average wedding cost in 2021 was $28,000. Having a wedding isn't as simple as saying “I do” — and can be a lot more expensive. The average cost of a wedding in 2021 was $28,000 (including the ceremony and reception), according to The Knot's 2021 Real Weddings Study.