How Much Money to Give at a Wedding (2026 Guide)

Say you're British, married into a family from Patras, and heading to your first Greek wedding. You bring a nicely wrapped box from the couple's gift list. At the reception it sits alone on a side table, next to a basket overflowing with white envelopes. Nobody says a word, but you've just learned the main lesson. How much money to give at a wedding depends less on etiquette books and more on where the wedding is. In Greece and Cyprus, cash in an envelope is the gift, and it quietly helps pay for the night. In the UK, cash is common but optional. In the US, a registry still competes with it.

Below are the ranges people actually report, country by country and relationship by relationship, plus the rule of thumb that works in all four.

TL;DR: Give what covers your seat for a distant invitation, and what you can comfortably afford for someone close.

• Greece: around €50 per person for an acquaintance, €100 to €150 for a friend or relative, €200 or more for a very close friend or sibling (r/greece threads, 2024 and 2025).
• Cyprus: about €70 to €100 alone, €100 to €130 as a couple at a modest venue, more at a ktima (r/cyprus, 2023).
• UK: £50 to £100 for one guest, £100 to £150 for a couple (Hitched, 2026).
• US: about $100 to $150 for most guests, $250 or more for immediate family (Zola and The Knot, 2026).
• Travelling to a destination wedding? Give a little less in cash. Your flight is part of the gift.

Why the envelope matters more at a Greek wedding

At a Greek or Cypriot wedding the reception is priced per head, and the envelopes help pay for it. One r/greece commenter wrote that they paid all of their wedding costs from the cash in the envelopes. That is why "cover your plate" is the phrase you hear from Greek relatives.

One r/greece commenter, who had just got married in Athens, put it bluntly: unless it's just drinks with friends, a reception there costs the couple at least €40 a head, and most of the time more than €50. Another, in a thread about a cousin's wedding that drew 70 replies, wrote the most upvoted comment (37 votes), with this scale: roughly €30 a head for a very simple wedding, €40 to €50 for an ordinary one, €60 to €75 for something more elaborate.

So the arithmetic these threads keep coming back to is simple: what does a seat cost here, and how many seats am I taking?

How much money to give: Greece, Cyprus, UK and US compared

These are reported norms, not official figures. Each country's numbers come from a different kind of source, and we've labelled them so you can judge for yourself.

A few things jump out. Greek guests think per person. Cypriot, British and American guests tend to think per invitation. And Cypriot venues can cost more per head: one commenter put a ktima wedding at €120 to €150 a head, which is why the Cypriot figures rise with the venue.

Pro tip: If you're unsure, ask one person in the family what the venue costs per head. In Greece that question isn't considered rude, and it gives you your floor in one sentence.

The rule of thumb that works everywhere

Start with the seat, then adjust for closeness.

1. Distant guest, colleague, plus-one of a friend: cover your seat. In Greece that tends to land on €50 per person.
2. Friend or cousin you see a few times a year: your seat plus a bit. €100 to €150 per person is the band the r/greece threads land on.
3. Best friend, sibling, godchild: forget the arithmetic and give what you can comfortably afford. Commenters in one r/greece thread about a close cousin suggested anywhere from €200 to €500. Nobody expects you to borrow.
4. Koumbaros or koumbara: a separate category. You are already paying for crowns, candles and more, so the cash gift sits on top of real costs. We've broken that down in koumbaros duties and costs.

The rule works in the other direction too. If you're hard up, a modest envelope with a warm card is fine. The thing people remember is an empty envelope, or one with no name on it.

Going as a family, with children

This is where Greek maths gets real. If the couple pays per head, four of you at the table is four plates, even if the kids eat chips. An r/greece commenter gave the example of an uncle who arrives with his wife and two children and gives €120: at around €50 a head, the couple is €80 out of pocket.

You don't need to pay full price for a six-year-old. But a family of four giving what a single guest would give will be noticed. A fair middle ground is the adult rate for the adults and something for the children.

Destination weddings and guests flying in

If you're flying from London to a Greek island, paying for a hotel and taking two days off, you're already spending far more than the couple spends on your seat. Hitched's 2026 guide notes that in cash-gift cultures "a gift is typically expected" even at a destination wedding, "although most couples will expect something smaller".

That matches what one r/greece guest described: €100 for a best friend, after travelling alone to an island "at the other end of Greece" and paying for the travel and the room themselves. That's a perfectly respectable envelope.

Our honest advice: give what you'd give at home for that relationship, possibly a little less, and stop worrying. If the couple has put an IBAN on the invitation, you can even send it before you travel. We explain how that works, and how Greek couples feel about it, in the IBAN on the invitation debate.

Cash, card and the name on the envelope

A few practical points that save embarrassment:

• Use a sealed envelope with a card inside. Write your full name, or both if you're giving as a couple. A card signed only "love, Maria" could be from four different people.
• Don't write the amount in the card. Not even as a joke.
• Practice varies on when to hand it over. Some families take envelopes in the wishes line after the service, others leave a box out at the reception. Watch what the people ahead of you do.
• New, crisp notes are a nice touch but not required.

Stuck on the words? Our guide on what to write in a wedding card has lines to copy, including Greek wishes with pronunciation. For registry etiquette in the UK and US, see how to be a great wedding guest.

Per seat, then per heart

If you remember one thing, make it this: at a Greek wedding, think per seat, then per heart. Elsewhere, think per invitation. And in every country, the amount matters less than turning up, staying for the dancing and putting your name on the card.

What the envelopes don't tell the couple

From the other side of the table, envelopes are only half the picture. The other half is the headcount you gave the venue. Every guest who said yes and didn't come is a plate you paid for, and every "+2 kids" nobody mentioned is a surprise on the final bill.

WhiteClover keeps your guest list, replies and plus-ones together, so the number you give the venue matches who actually said yes. You can build your wedding guest list for free and send the invitations from it.

FAQ

How much money should I give at a Greek wedding?

The norms reported on r/greece are around €50 per person if you barely know the couple, €100 to €150 per person for a friend or relative, and €200 or more for someone very close. They are forum answers, not official figures.

Is €50 enough for a wedding gift?

In Greece, €50 from a single guest who is a colleague or acquaintance matches what r/greece commenters suggest. For a close friend, or if you're bringing a partner or children, it will probably look low.

Do I still give money if I'm flying to a destination wedding?

Usually yes, but less. Hitched says most couples will expect something smaller from guests who travel. Giving what you'd give at home for that relationship, or a little less, is reasonable.

Should a couple give double?

Roughly, yes, in Greece, where people count per person. In Cyprus, one commenter put a couple at €100 to €130 at a modest venue. US guides (Zola) suggest 1.5 to 2 times what one guest would give. UK guides put a couple at £100 to £150.

Can I send the money by bank transfer instead?

If the couple has shared an IBAN or a phone number for IRIS, yes. Bring a card to the wedding anyway so they know it was you.

Recommended

• What to Write in a Wedding Card (Greek + English)
• Greece Destination Wedding Budget Guide
• Great Wedding Guest: RSVP, Registry & Gifts