Wedding gifts for evening do?

[Guest2]

I received an image in a message from a friends soon to be wife basically asking for money for their honeymoon instead of a gift.

I’ve never brought a gift to an evening wedding reception, have you?

For me only day dos when there’s food and drinks - as that costs a lot of money.

Evening do you turn up, ask how the wedding was and go to the (usually) overpriced bar

 

[Guest2]

Username checks out

So, you're not invited to the wedding and she still wants something off you? I wouldn't be going in the evening either.

Wedding was close family only

For an evening. Id stick £20 in a card tbh, if you dont really care for the bride/groom then don't worry about it!

Yeh, will do this. Think they are quite poor, the evening venue isnt exactly the Ritz!

 

[Guest2]

Yeah pretty much this. We included a little poem in our invites that said similar. We didn’t need cutlery sets etc as had been together for about 15 years already

Calling them “quite poor” sounds a bit snobbish. If that’s your attitude towards them then probably just don’t go.

Ok, not poor, but ‘not much money’

Hence an image sent on social media asking for money for their honeymoon from guests going to an evening do.

When I get married, I wouldn’t expect gifts/money from guests going to the evening do only. Id just be glad they came - most evening guests travel quite far and make arrangements to come for whats usually 3 or 4 hours of drinks. Day guests by that point are quite drunk (having been at the venue for 8 odd hours already)

I’ll just stick £20 in a card and enjoy the evening

 

[Guest2]

You will likely get fed - lets get that straight.

Just drop some money in a card or a decent bottle.

I've been to around 10 evening weddings do's, there was only food at one of them. Most are overpriced bars at UK wedding venues (nice venues but as everyone knows as soon as 'wedding' is heard its x3 the price for everything)

 

[Guest2]

And the most petty award goes to...

I've never been to any wedding where there wasn't food of some sort later in the evening, there must have been some real states by the end if some of them hadn't eaten since the afternoon!

The evening receptions ive been to have started around 19:30, wedding day guest would eat I expect at around 13:00 and 18:00, then later on evening guests arrive.

 

[Guest2]

That's not normal, usually, UK weddings have just one formal meal, the wedding breakfast with the speeches etc.. some trays of appetisers before the main meal and then food later in the evening is typically ad hoc rather than some formal sit-down thing.

Seems about right for full day weddings - food in the evening but not a sit down meal.
I've certainly been to some evening receptions where there is no food served - I ate before I arrived, congratulated the couple, met a few people then went to the bar. Back home in the early hours.

The exception is Indian weddings i've been to - they REALLY go all out. Multiple meals, multiple days, different attire for certain events, open bars, fireworks etc.

 

[Guest2]

As Dowie covered, every wedding I've ever been to feeds evening arrivals (a member on this very forum fed me at his wedding when I came in the evening )

Sure it isn't formal, more of a buffet approach, hog roast etc.

Not all weddings are not the same though.
Some there's been no food in the evening, some there's been hog roasts, some buffet.

My mum and dad went to one recently where they arrived at 5pm and 2 trays of sandwishes ran out almost instantly. They had no food, just drinks which were highly overpriced