Of wedding banquets and angpows...

[berryhappy]

Sigh, angpows. One of the problematic Chinese practises.

Problematic? I have friends of other nationalities who will have to foot the bill for inviting their guests which sometimes includes accommodation if the guest travels from somewhere afar. Although they receive in return gifts, some of them comment angpows are more practical. At least there is a potential of breaking even.

In Japan, I heard that the amount will also depend on how close you are to the couple. But for not very close friends, the amount is already about S$400 plus? Although you will get back around half the amount in gifts such as tea sets, after a while you will have more than enough tea sets.

 

[zekai]

Sometimes I put tissue paper inside the angpow if the groom still owe me money.

OMG :bigeyes:

 

[vanisia]

imho, i think when a person attends a wedding dinner, it is very important for respect to be given to the wedding couple. besides the angpao issue... i find it extremely appalling for guests to arrive in sloppy clothes. teeshirts! jeans! sandals! OMG...

but of cos, i'm not married yet. hopefully when my time comes, i won't be so traumastised. else i'll hafta get some door bxxxhes to enforce dresscode. :bsmilie:

 

[innovas1]

http://www.talkingcock.com/html/tampenis.php?offset=6

On June 15th, 2001, at the wedding of his niece held at the well-known Red Star restaurant at Havelock Road, Mr Kiam Ai See, owner of the Wu Lui chain of hardware stores,performed his amazing feat.

Despite the average cost of $40 per head charged by Red Star, Mr Kiam gave an ang pow worth exactly 5 cents to the wedding couple, completely bucking the trend of giving an ang pow proportionate to the cost of the wedding dinner for each person. This amounted to exactly 0.125%

Mr Kiam explains, "I didn't give 4 cents or $40 because, you know, at weddings, it is very bad luck to give any amount with the number 4. And, this is such a happy occasion, that's why I gave 5 cents. Some more, the Singapore 5 cent coin got the gold colour, so it's very auspicious for the couple."

Filled with the double happiness of his niece's wedding and winning this award, Mr Kiam downed multiple bottles of Cognac provided by the young couple at the wedding dinner and had to ride home with the couple in the wedding car as he was too drunk to drive.

When the bride was asked how she felt about her uncle winning this award, she said with understated quiet pride, "I heard he's adopted."
Ms. Kiam, a clerk in a construction company, and her husband will not be going for their honeymoon as they have to work to pay off their wedding.

Mr Kiam is also the proud winner of 'the man least invited to any wedding' award, and recycles toilet paper.

 

[xmen1977]

well, it's never been easy getting married

u want to share your happiness with people ard you by giving and at the same time worrying whether u can recover back the "losses"

think that's life, just have to give and take

no doubt, who would not grumble at what they took back

 

[amateur_photographer]

sorry, but I don't understand this.

If the couple wants to share the happiness, why the hell they expect the guests to give angbao plenty enough to cover the dinner?

 

[xmen1977]

sorry, but I don't understand this.

If the couple wants to share the happiness, why the hell they expect the guests to give angbao plenty enough to cover the dinner?

that's the controversial part

dun really say couple shld expect angbaos but because it's part of the tradition

so from the angbaos they get, they hope these can cover their cost

 

[pcwe68]

I will give less to the following

1) those that invite me 1-2 weeks before their dinner => I am a backup, so give backup angpow :bsmilie:
2) those that book their hotel 1 year in advance, but choose the lower rated ones in orchard road and pick a WEEKDAY. (and it rains heavily on that day - super stingy type)

But I make sure it still cover their cost.

 

[lauLEE]

couples having wedding dinners must be sensitive to some ppl who are really poor and as such ang pow is really a big burden. personally i feel that young couples should not budget too much for the dinner and go for the 5-star function rooms UNLESS they can easily afford it (and not depending on loan and ang pows to offset the costs). Life after marriage is a very long and costly affair, esp when you start to have kids.

 

[zekai]

couples having wedding dinners must be sensitive to some ppl who are really poor and as such ang pow is really a big burden. personally i feel that young couples should not budget too much for the dinner and go for the 5-star function rooms UNLESS they can easily afford it (and not depending on loan and ang pows to offset the costs). Life after marriage is a very long and costly affair, esp when you start to have kids.

I think this is very true. when i was still in school, i had friend who threw lavish dinner... i struggled to give a decent angpow. I did not want them to suffer any losses as it was their big day.

But i still uinderstand when they want to grand celebration as it is once in a life time (hope).