I'm getting married in about 2 weeks

[Podaar]

Giving cash is pretty common around here. So much so, that I decided to have some fun with it when my eldest daughter married. At the reception, I sold "dances with the bride" during the dancing part of the evening. $20.00 minimum buy in and they would get a safety pin to pin it to her dress prior to the dance. I gave a $50.00 to my son to start the line and from then on there were at least four people in line and up to as many as 10. It started to be a competition after a while. You'd see ol' ladies elbowing their husbands to get out of the chair and dance with the bride.

The sleeves, back, and two stripes down the sides of her dress were covered in hundreds, fifties and twenties. It was great fun and my son-in-law told me the cash really came in handy on their honeymoon. 

[bosk1]

Giving cash is pretty common around here. So much so, that I decided to have some fun with it when my eldest daughter married. At the reception, I sold "dances with the bride" during the dancing part of the evening. $20.00 minimum buy in and they would get a safety pin to pin it to her dress prior to the dance. I gave a $50.00 to my son to start the line and from then on there were at least four people in line and up to as many as 10. It started to be a competition after a while. You'd see ol' ladies elbowing their husbands to get out of the chair and dance with the bride.

The sleeves, back, and two stripes down the sides of her dress were covered in hundreds, fifties and twenties. It was great fun and my son-in-law told me the cash really came in handy on their honeymoon. 

That's actually a really cool idea.  And as someone who was broke when my wife and I got married, and whose families weren't in a position to do a ton, I can say that the money IS really nice when you are just getting started and starting your household together. 

Piggybacking off that question: I'm broke as hell and have a wedding to go to on June 2nd, and also have other things I have to save for. I can maybe scrounge up $50 absolute max. Would that be okay? It's for a friend I've known most of my life, not a best friend, not somebody I hang out with often but a great guy who I've known for almost 25 years and know his family very well. I feel like that's pennies for a wedding gift but it's honestly all I can offer.

I would give the $50 and not lose a moments sleep over it.   You're not required to take out a home equity line of credit to gift at a wedding. 

I completely agree with Stadler.  But I will also suggest that maybe you talk to him at some point and say something along the lines of, "Hey, I know my little $50 may feel really meager, especially in light of how far back our friendship goes, but I'm really strapped right now and struggled to pull even that much together.  But I love you guys and wanted to do something, and that was the best I could do for right now."  If he is that good a friend, he probably implicitly knows all that already.  But sometimes, making it explicitly known pays unexpected dividends to the friendship down the line.  Just a thought.

[Cool Chris]

i worked weddings for years when I was in college. Not to imply I am an expert, but as a disclaimer. I always thought that "money dances" are extremely tacky. But I also saw many of them at the receptions I worked, and they usually seemed to go over big. So what do I know?

[bosk1]

i worked weddings for years when I was in college. Not to imply I am an expert, but as a disclaimer. I always thought that "money dances" are extremely tacky. But I also saw many of them at the receptions I worked, and they usually seemed to go over big. So what do I know?

Yeah, I felt the same way when I was single.  In a way, it is kinda tacky.  But I think that once you are married and/or older, you kinda "get it" that it's not a means of bilking you out of your money.  It's an acknowledgement that young couples can really use the help and really appreciate it after the fact. 

[Tick]

And always remember, the number one cause of divorce is marriage.