Is wedding gift-giving in decline?

If you’re a fan of Reddit, you’re accustomed to reading lots of griping. Brides, in particular, like to complain, especially when it comes to the subject of wedding gift-giving. One bride complained that …

“I recently had a wedding and had probably 70% of guests not give a gift [or] a card. Is it okay for me to be upset? I’m not expecting to be showered in gifts or money or anything. But shocked that people we are close to couldn’t even take the time of day to get us a 50¢ card or a home-made card or anything to congratulate us knowing how expensive weddings are in general.”

So here’s the question: is this bride’s experience isolated? Or is wedding gift-giving in decline? The DatingNews.com surveyed 1024 Americans on the subject. You may find these results surprising.

One in three people surveyed passed on attending a wedding because they considered it too expensive. According to the DatingNews, Americans spend an average of $360 for a local wedding and $1131 if they are part of the wedding party. Regarding the latter, 29% even declined being in the wedding party due to the expense.

Attitudes affected by age

But it’s the wedding gift-giving attitude that is so surprising, because results are so affected by age. In total, 59% said they “think it’s okay to attend a wedding without giving a gift.” But look at the breakdown by age:

72% of Gen Z (born mid to late 90s)

61% of Millennials (born 1981 to 1996)

58% by Gen X (born 1965 to 1980)

44% by Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964)

Survey respondents groused that couples don’t provide enough affordable options in their bridal registries. Some even feel taken-advantage-of, that they were only invited to the event so that they’d have to cough up a gift.

As you plan your Fayetteville wedding celebration, you might want to consider the sentiments expressed in this survey. You can read the complete results here.

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