If you’ve been to a Chinese wedding, you would know by now that it’s customary to present the bride and groom a wedding red packet, or angpau – but the question now is: how much should you give?
To make it easier for wedding guests, content creator Joseph Lee, a.k.a jobroseph, provided a simple guideline as to how much you should fork out for a wedding angpau, based on the venues. According to Joseph, if the wedding is at a 5-star hotel, guests should give around RM500 and above. Why? He joked that couples that marry here “don’t eat chicken rice at kopitiams. They eat chicken rice at 5-star hotels,” so the amount should reflect their lifestyle.
@joobroseph Wedding Angpao Rates for Chinese Weddings 2023
If the wedding is at a Chinese restaurant, guests should give between RM200 and RM300. Joseph explained the rate, saying, “The couple (marrying at a restaurant) is not there to celebrate their marriage. They’re there to get their return on investment.” He added that Chinese restaurants are often cheaper, but the food is good – so you’re mostly paying for the food.
For weddings at a 3- or 4-star hotel, Joseph said that the couple are likely only having the wedding to please their parents, so guests should pay around RM300 to RM400. However, the angpau isn’t “bless the marriage” but instead to fund the couple’s therapy session for childhood trauma.
Many netizens shared their reactions to Joseph’s “guideline”, but added that they have their pre-set angpau amounts. One netizen prefers to give angpau amounts with the auspicious number 8, saying, “best friend (gets) 288, close friends (gets) 188 and hi-bye friend (gets 88)”. She also added that the venue doesn’t matter because her wallet might cry. Others joke that the couple should be happy with whatever amount they get, like one netizen who said, “I give RM100 to everyone. They’re 10x richer than me, (so) they don’t need my money.”
Of course, Joseph isn’t exactly serious about the amount – but it might be a good guideline for the genuinely confused.
Source: TikTok
