How Much Money to Give at a German Wedding in 2026
In short
- Friends and acquaintances give €50 to €100. Close friends give €80 to €200.
- Colleagues give €30 to €50, or €10 to €20 each into a collection.
- Germany is the European country where the gift is not expected to cover the cost of your seat. Nobody is doing that arithmetic.
- If your budget is €30, €30 is a perfectly acceptable gift. This is not politeness; it is the actual norm.
If you have read anything about wedding gifts in Poland, Italy or Romania, Germany will come as a relief. There is no formula, no per-plate reference figure, and no expectation that you fund your own dinner. German wedding-gift culture is built on the assumption that the couple invited you because they want you there.
That does not mean anything goes. There are bands, and they are reasonably consistent.
The amounts
| Your relationship to the couple | Typical gift |
|---|---|
| Distant acquaintance, or a plus-one who barely knows the couple | €30 to €50 |
| Colleague | €30 to €50, or €10 to €20 into a group collection |
| Friends and acquaintances | €50 to €100 |
| Close friends | €80 to €200, or €150 to €250 as a couple |
| Siblings | €100 to €250 |
| Parents and parents-in-law | €150 to €500 |
Bands as published by wishlist.de, last updated in February 2026.
The parental range is wide on purpose. German parents frequently contribute to the cost of the wedding itself, and where they have, the envelope is smaller. There is no correct figure inside a family that has already discussed it.
The thing that makes Germany different
In most of the countries covered on this site, a guest works backwards from what their seat costs. In Germany, essentially nobody does.
There is no German equivalent of the Polish talerzyk or the Italian coperto functioning as a floor. Ask German couples what they expect and the answer is consistently that they invited the people they wanted at the wedding, and the gift is genuinely a gift.
The practical consequence: €30 from a student is a real and welcome gift, not an embarrassment. German wedding advice says this explicitly and repeatedly, and couples confirm it. If money is tight, a letter and your presence are the accepted answer, and no German host will think less of you for it.
This is worth stating plainly, because a guest arriving from Eastern or Southern Europe will instinctively over-give, and a guest travelling the other way will instinctively under-give and cause offence.
Geldgeschenke: how the money is presented
Germans do give cash, and unlike in Britain there is no awkwardness about it. What is different is the presentation. A plain envelope is acceptable but plain; the German tradition is to make the money into something.
Cash folded into origami, notes pegged to a decorated line, coins set into a framed picture, a “money tree” with notes attached to the branches: these are ordinary German wedding gifts, and the effort is understood as part of the present. If you would rather not craft anything, a card with the money inside is entirely fine.
Many couples also publish a Wunschliste, a wish list. Treat it as a suggestion rather than an instruction. Following it is easy and welcome; ignoring it in favour of cash is not a breach of anything.
Group gifts among colleagues
Workplace weddings in Germany are usually handled collectively. Somebody circulates an envelope, everyone puts in €10 to €20, and the office gives one gift.
Two situations to distinguish. If you are invited to the wedding as a colleague, €30 to €50 from you personally is the band. If you are not invited and are simply congratulating someone at work, the collection is the whole of your obligation.
If you are the foreign guest
Two adjustments are worth making, and the first is counter-intuitive. Resist the urge to over-give. A €300 envelope from a friend does not read as generous in Germany so much as slightly odd, and it can leave the couple feeling they owe you something in return. The bands are not a floor to be cleared; they are the actual range.
The second is to work out what you have been invited to. German weddings frequently split in two, a registry office ceremony at the Standesamt and a larger party later, sometimes separated by months. An invitation to the Standesamt alone is a smaller occasion, and the lower end of your band is the right answer.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do you give at a German wedding?
€50 to €100 as a friend, €80 to €200 as a close friend, €100 to €250 as a sibling, and €30 to €50 as a colleague or distant acquaintance.
Is €50 enough for a German wedding?
Yes. €50 sits squarely inside the normal band for friends and acquaintances and will not be read as ungenerous.
Do I have to cover the cost of my meal at a German wedding?
No. Germany has no cover-your-plate expectation. Unlike Poland, Italy or Romania, German guests do not calculate backwards from the per-head cost, and couples do not expect them to.
Is cash an acceptable wedding gift in Germany?
Yes, and it is common. Germans often present it creatively, folded, framed or attached to a money tree, but a card with notes inside is perfectly acceptable.
What do I give if I am only invited to the Standesamt?
The lower end of your band. A registry office ceremony with a small lunch is a smaller occasion than a full reception, and the gift scales with it.
How much goes into a colleague’s collection?
€10 to €20 per person is standard. If you are personally invited to the wedding as well, give €30 to €50 of your own on top.
Should I bring the money in cash or transfer it?
Cash in a card, given on the day, is the norm. If you are travelling in from outside the euro area, the rules on carrying and converting gift money are in envelope or bank transfer.