Destination Weddings - Gift Ettiquette?

Personally...I DO give a gift at destination weddings, even though its not a requirement. Most people who are having a DW will tell you that due to travel costs, gifts aren't expected nor wanted. Just the guests being there are good enough.

The standard response of Gift Etiquette period is it is a gift, it is never required.

I am also doing a DW. We are putting together a gift registry on Amazon and one at BBB - pretty limited and other than a couple big ticket items (yay completion discount), it's mostly small pieces. Gifts are not expected; we would love to have the gifts, but really we want the people and the pictures.

Our DW wasn't thousands of dollars for people but it was still at least 1 nights lodging if not more...and yes...I believe everyone gave a gift.

Technically, our wedding is a DW since WE don't live in Florida (yet), but more than half of our guests do live within 2-4 hours. That being said, we are not expecting any gifts. We just want friends and family to share our joy and have a blast.

In any event, a gift is just that a gift. It's not required and there shouldn't really be any specific dollar requirement attached to it. Everyone's financial situation is their own. Just as a couple should have the wedding that they can afford, guests should give the gift that they can afford should they choose to give one

I've only attended one destination wedding and I gave what I normally would give. But it was in the US and relatively inexpensive in the grand scheme of things.

Like others have said, gifts are never required. If I had to drop $1500 between FH & I, I would probably still give a gift, but it would be small. I don't think it's fair to say that if people cannot afford a gift they should stay home. $1000 for one person is a LOT of money. You really think someone should stay home if they don't want to spend another $100 on top of that?

I don't think any DW couple expects gifts . We are having a destination wedding... it will cost the average person just under $1,500 CAD to come to Punta Cana for the week.... we are not expecting to receive any gifts. If we receive any we will be unbelievably grateful... but really the fact that they gave up vacation time and spent that money to come and be with us (68 people so far!) is more than we could ever ask for!

I am also attending a DW in the DR in April (I'm the MOH) and the couple is not expecting to receive gifts either. I will be giving them a small monetary gift... maybe about 1/2 of what I would gift at a local wedding.

My thought is that'd I'd MUCH rather have my friend attend my wedding instead of giving me a gift. And if I had a DW, I wouldn't expect anything.

IMO in any circumstance giving a gift is required. It doesn't matter if it's a destination wedding or not. I've attended multiple weddings out of town (for me) and I've always given a gift. Whether or not the couple expected one is irrelevant.

A gift is not a requirement by any means - that's why it's called a gift. My friend just had her wedding in Vegas.. I didnt give her a gift. I would have loved to but really couldn't afford it after paying for hotel & airfare for 2 people. Being there was her gift - and she said that in her thank you card.