How much money will we receive at our wedding?

I do not want to seem like a jerk or anything like that, but I was wondering how much money do you think we will receive at our wedding from our guests? We have approx 160 people coming to it. We spend alot of money upfront, and were wondering if we will at least break even. What does everyone think?

How much money will we receive at our wedding?
It depends on how much money you spent on everything.





It is very possible that you may not break even. Just remember, this will most likely be the biggest celebration you and your future wife to be will ever throw for yourselves. It will be worth all the wonderful memories.


Make sure you have a GREAT TIME!





Just like every other party you attend the person that is throwing it is the person that takes the financial loss. If your parents are not helping with the cost you should expect a loss.





That is why some gals become 'bridezillas'. ha ha. Just make sure you both enjoy it. It is no different than taking a dream vacation to your favorite destination. The only thing you gain is a GREAT time and awesome memories. In my opinion a wedding is the same.





My husband and I have been through a rough time with Immigration. It has put such a strain on our marriage. I can't help but think back to our wedding day and how special it was to me. I forget all about the "hell" that Immigration has put us through and focus on us. He gave me the nicest memory and it will remain with me forever. I think making 'memories' is what will keep us together for more years to come. :0)





Just make sure you are spending what you both can afford.





We took a loss on our wedding.


I doubt very few people profit from a wedding in 2008 unless your parents are paying for it, or know someone that is a caterer, photographer, Dj, baker, florist or something like that. You would need to make major cuts in many areas or know alot of people willing to help you out.





You have to remember you will receive 'gifts' for the bridal shower. If you have more 'women' in the family it will be profitable since they will attend the bridal shower and give a gift at the wedding. ha ha.





Anyways, good luck.


FYI


Oh ya, where I am from in the U.S. is customary to give money at the wedding reception. The guests usually put money in the wishing well or a box for the bride and groom. You receive majority of your gifts at your bridal shower.





Also, I don't know if your family has the tradition you can dance with the bride and groom by giving them some 'cash' towards their honeymoon. My family is not keen on this dance so I couldn't do it. I have been to weddings where couples got a bit of extra spending money from this..





When I attend a wedding I think to myself how many places can go that allows you to dress up, have a nice meal, booze all night long, and dancing. If you were to afford a day or night out like this it would cost you quite a bit. However, some people don't think like this. I have gone to weddings and saw guests leave early after they had their meal and alcohol.





My family and friends stayed all night and had to be kicked out of the place. lol. It was a good idea that we had our wedding at the hotel since many ended up renting a room and staying the night. lol. Also, it helped that when my wedding was over the bar inside the hotel was alive. Many friends and family went there after my weddding..
Reply:Nobody can tell you that and its not even something you should be thinking about. When you plan a wedding plan what you can afford, not what you can afford as long as you get so much back. I would not expect to break even as it often doesn't happen. Not everyone will give money and not everyone will give even enough to cover the cost of their plates as it is not necessary. Our wedding cost us about $3500. we had about 40 guests and I think we got about $850. We rest was gifts or some people didnt give anything at all. We weren't expecting anything so what we got was great. I think you should probably focus on planning your wedding and not so much on your guests wallets.
Reply:I wouldn't count on breaking even. Some people will give you regular gifts, some will give generously, others will give modestly, and you'll even probably have at least 1 or 2 who won't give anything.





We spent about $20,000 on our whole thing, and recieved about $9,000 in cash. We were thrilled with that, I can tell you.





You have the wedding you have because it is meaningful for you, not hoping to recoup your costs from your guests. This is why you do the things that matter to you both, and leave out those things that don't. Regardless of the gifts we got or didn't get, we had the exact wedding we wanted, and there's no way to put a price on that.
Reply:Ok, grouchy people, it's just a question. He didn't say: I want people to pay to be at my wedding, or I hope I make a fortune for marrying this broad. He just asked what to expect.





I agree, it's not what's important and you shouldn't expect it but that doesn't mean you can't just give him a ballpark figure of what YOU got.





I've noticed a lot of people on here are either having their parents pay or only contributing a portion to their weddings. When you're paying for everything yourself, and you're not flush, money IS a concern.





Finally, people DO say you break even, or make money, I've heard it all my life, although I've always doubted it, given the costs of putting on even a small wedding.





In any case, I don't know why people are so quick to pour acid all over someone who's asking questions. Even if they're breaching 30 rules of etiquette, just nicely respond and advise that their plan is in poor taste. Brides are supposed to be gracious women, not tomcats.





I haven't had my wedding yet, Matthew, or I'd just tell you what I got.
Reply:I don't know where you are based but I am from the UK.





At our wedding in June we spent in total 25-30k (in pounds sterling)





For our guests meals and drinks (we had a pay bar but provided a welcome drink, wine with meal and champagne for toasts) I would estimate we spent 5k





We were very lucky that a lot of our guests chose to give us money instead of gifts as we already have a home together and had most things your would normally buy for a wedding present.





Any way the average gift was £50 per couple, but we received £1000 off my grandparents so in total I think we received approx £2500 which we have put towards a deposit on buying our first house.





I hope I have answered your question, but wish to point out that you should be inviting people to share your day with you, not to cover the cost of their meal.
Reply:I invited around 400 guests, probably 200 or so actually went to the reception. Many people didn't even give us a gift of any kind. Many people gave gifts off our registry, or gave us gifts they thought we'd like (ew.). Out of the people that did give us cash... We received around $3,000, which we're very grateful for! But really, there's no way to tell how much money you'll get, but you honestly shouldn't plan on getting very much. You can't count on anything.
Reply:NO one breaks even. Please.





We spent 32 thousand dollars, we had 33 guests people and we received $3600 in cash. The least we received was a $40, the most $500. Most people gave $100-200. The rest were boxed gifts.





We are very grateful that we received anything if you asked me, but certainly we were NOT counting on any gifts to fund our wedding.





Good luck
Reply:NOBODY knows!





There is NO set price for how much cash one should give.





Only a few people gave us money at our wedding (small, only less than 50 people total), IIRC the total was $650 with most of it from my parents.





I wouldn't have had a problem if I got $0.00 for gifts for our wedding.





Gifts and money should never be expected.
Reply:You're expecting money? Is this some tradition I dont know about? All we got was gifts!


You dont generally spend money on a wedding because you expect to get it back. You spend it because you want to. We didnt spend what we couldnt afford.
Reply:Spend only what you can afford. Your question is just an affront to wedding guests everywhere. The money is supposed to be for a GIFT, not to finance your wedding.
Reply:There is absolutely no way to predict that. You should not expect to "break even". You need to spend only what you can afford.
Reply:it was kind of funny on my wedding the people who has good jobs and good income gave a little like 10 pounds and the people who dint have much income gave us like 30 to 50 pounds lol
Reply:WOW
Reply:Hmmmmm. are you suppose to make money at a wedding?