Wedding Gift Math: $450 Plates Make Poor Millennials Cry

KEY POINTS

•The author once faced a $450 per head meal cost at her best friend's wedding, sparking a gift-giving crisis.
•She attended several other upscale weddings, realizing 'cover your plate' gift rules could cause serious debt.
•Financial planner Julia Pham advises early registry shopping and coupon hunting to get quality gifts on the cheap.
•Wedding planner Lara Mahler recommends gifting from $50 to $300 depending on closeness rather than meal cost.

Our heroine discovered her best friend's wedding charged a whopping $450 per head on food alone—an amount that could fund a questionable midlife crisis, let alone a gift. In her mid-20s and financially gasping, she faced seven more weddings at five-star palaces, threatening bankruptcy masquerading as sociability. Professional bridesmaids (yes, that’s a thing) recommend ditching the 'cover-your-plate' scam for smarter tactics: sniping $350 coffee makers at half-price sales or pooling money with other gold-diggers - erm, guests. Julia Pham insists early registry scanning nets best loot, while Lara Mahler gives ranges from $50 mugs for acquaintances up to $300 gold for perpetually close friends. Gift late, gift smart, gift without selling a kidney.