How Do You Determine How Much To Spend On Wedding Party Thank You Gifts?

Spend what you can reasonably afford for the number of people involved. It shouldn't be cheaping out or "covering your plate" for lack of a better term. These people are sacrificing their time, money, emotions, to be part of your day. So a reasonably valued non wedding related gift personalized to their interests they will use/treasure is the key. Don't worry about what other brides are paying because no two people have the same finances and sometimes not even the same mindset. If you know you can't afford nice gifts for 14+ attendants without going cheap and generic, try to not to ask 14+ attendants.

I don't really think there's a general rule to follow. I spent around $70-75 per person on the actual gifts (jewelry which they were not expected to wear to the wedding). I also paid for all of my girls' hair and makeup, and I bought them silk pajama sets with their initials monogrammed for getting ready. In total I probably spent around $300 or so on each bridesmaid, but I only considered the jewelry to be the actual "gift" because it wasn't related to the wedding. My girls paid for their own bridesmaid dresses, which ranged from $125 to $150 depending on the style each girl selected. I didn't use any kind of formula but instead I just bought what I felt they would enjoy because all of my bridesmaids are big jewelry people.

View Quoted Comment Totally agree that people should only spend what they can reasonably afford! No one should go into debt or spend money that they can't afford to spend over a bridesmaid gift. You definitely bring up a good point - before asking people to be part of the wedding party, people consider the expenses (rehearsal dinner, gifts, transportation for a larger group, etc) to ensure they can reasonably afford the costs that come with having that many people in the wedding party.

View Quoted Comment Okay!
I don't know how to respond, to be honest.
I hadn't thought much about this but I get your question. I like Ava's suggestion; "I have never heard of the price of the gift correlating with the amount of money the bridesmaids had to spend, but that does make sense to a degree! If you are requiring your bridesmaids spend $300+ on a dress, it kinda makes sense that your thank you to them would be greater since your demands of them were greater" but it doesn't work for us , we are paying for their attire,accessories, make up and hair.

View Quoted Comment We are in the same boat. We are paying for everybody’s attire, hair and make up. That’s why I was curious if people thought in that situation, should the extravagance of the gift reflect the extravagance of the wedding?

View Quoted Comment I think it should, this is the best bet after all. But this is a know your people thing too.

I’ve wondered this myself! I’m generous when it comes to gift giving and will probably get something a little more expensive than I anticipate, especially since we each only have one bridal party member.


I’ve had my eye on a cute bracelet from Etsy for a while, but I’m not 100% it’s my sisters style. So I’m now contemplating a bracelet from Tiffany’s to match one that I have or a pair of Tieks ballet flats. Both around $200.
My two brothers will be escorting my mother down the aisle, so I’m getting them something small, like a personalized pocket knife, about $25 each. They have everything and don’t need anything and I think it’s something they’ll like.
I think it’s really truly up to you and there is no rule or guideline.

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In the beginning I just knew I wanted to budget everything for my wedding. We are going for a microwedding. My FH and I want to use the rest of the money towards other things such as our honeymoon, and future house projects. I am still moving budgets around because my FH and I are still deciding between two venues we both like. Both are different so depending on what we choose will depend on where to spend everywhere else But I am still using that rule of thumb that everyone else sticks by which is whatever you request of them and have them pay you return with a thoughtful gift that is just as equal. Again it's totally up to you! But always take that into consideration

I personally don’t think there should be a cost associated with it. The most thoughtful gift can be the cheapest, like a nice handwritten thank you note and/or a framed picture.

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It's good to know that there isn't a known general rule on how much to spend. I agree that I wouldn't count things like robes or getting ready outfits towards the thank you gift, but I also realize that this might be different based on culture/area. I spent a lot of time trying to pick out thoughtful gifts that each girl would appreciate, but wasn't sure if there was any "rule" stating that I needed to spend more, or if I went way overboard. It is interesting to hear everyone's opinions on this topic. Thank you for your reply!

View Quoted Comment No worries! I wasn't asking anyone to put a price on their friendships or anything. I keep seeing things for sale that I think my wedding party would like, and I got to thinking about how if I could financially afford it, I would literally just keep buying my bridesmaids stuff lol. My question was really about, how do you determine what amount of gift you consider to be sufficient enough/at what point do you say that you don't need to buy your wedding party more gifts? I think it's super generous of you guys to pay for your wedding party's attire and such!

View Quoted Comment I'm similar to you, where I usually end up spending a little more than I planned, since I love giving gifts to other people. Those all sound like great ideas! Very meaningful, and things that are personalized towards each person's interests. It's good to know that there isn't any specific rule to follow on wedding party gifts. Thank you for sharing!

We focused more on finding a gift that was specific to the person than worrying about the price. I think we never spent more than $60 on one person.

But each gift was tailored to the person who received it - like we had been buying birthday gifts.

I think that's more valuable than how much you pay.

View Quoted Comment That makes sense! Definitely things to consider. I agree that giving a thoughtful gift that's at least equivalent to what they've been asked to invest is ideal. Wedding budgets are tough to navigate sometimes, I'm sure you'll find the perfect venue for both your wedding and your budget! Thank you for your reply!

View Quoted Comment Totally agree!! Cost certainly isn't the important part. Part of the gift I'm giving to my bridesmaids is a handwritten thank you note and a framed photo of us. If I were a bridesmaid, I would have absolutely loved getting something like that from the bride. I did buy my bridesmaids 2 additional gifts each to go with the photo and thank you note, but realized I wasn't sure if I was "supposed" to spend a specific amount, and if so, was what I spent enough? Based on everyone's replies, it sounds like there is no rule, which is good to know! Thank you for your reply!

View Quoted Comment I did something kind of similar - I purchased a gift that's "common" among all my bridesmaids (a tote bag with their name embroidered on it), and will include a handwritten thank you note and a framed photo of us for each one as well, and then got a couple different gifts for each person based on their individual interests. I tried to spend roughly the same amount ($45-$50) on each person.



I totally agree that the actual dollar amount spent isn't the important part! I am just curious how everyone determined what amount they'd spend on thank you gifts, and whether they used any specific "rule" or general guideline to set that number (regardless of what the actual number is). I keep seeing things either in stores or online (not intentionally looking for them, I just happen to come across them while shopping for other unrelated things) that I think they'd like, and I'm tempted to buy them everything I see lol. So, in trying to figure out where I should draw my line in how much to spend, I figured I'd ask everyone how they decided on their amount (regardless of if it's $10 or $200).

I feel like the price tag isn't so important as much as the quality of the gift. You know your friends, and if you can get them a gift you know will be truly meaningful to them, they're not going to care if it was $20 or $200. If you get them a generic BP gift that costs a ton of money, I'm sure they'll still be grateful, but it won't mean as much to them as something that is really personal to them.

View Quoted Comment Thank you for your reply! I totally agree that the price isn't the important part, and that the thought behind the gift is way more meaningful! I got each of my bridesmaids a "common" gift (a tote bag with their name embroidered into it), and will be including a framed picture of us and a handwritten thank you note too. In addition to those, I am also buying each bridesmaid a few gifts that are unique to their individual interests and hobbies.


My question wasn't meant to ask about what price should be spent, or about the thoughtfulness of the gifts. Instead, my question was intended to ask about how people decided where to draw the line on spending on thoughtful thank you gifts (regardless of whether that amount is $10 or $100). I'm done searching for thank you gifts, but I still see a LOT of things advertised to me online (and sometimes things I come across in stores while shopping for other unrelated items) that I think my bridesmaids would like, and I'm sometimes tempted to buy "just one more" gift, lol. However, I've already got gifts for each one. So, my question was meant to ask about where people draw the line on how much they consider to be enough of a wedding party thank you gift, and also how they came up with whatever number they did (whether that amount was based on the amount that the bridesmaids invested on their dresses, or an amount that the bride and groom thought was right, etc).

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Those all sound lovely!