How much to give at a Romanian wedding in 2027: a clear guide

At a Romanian wedding in a large city in 2027, a couple of friends typically gives between 1,700 and 2,200 lei (about €320-410) in an envelope, and a single guest between 1,100 and 1,450 lei. Close relatives give more, while amounts are lower in small towns and villages. The baseline: cover at least each person's menu, then add a gesture that fits the relationship.

In Romania, the wedding gift is almost always money, given in an envelope (plic) at the reception. The unwritten rule is simple: cover what your seat at the table costs the couple, then add something that reflects how close you are. Below are the 2027 benchmarks by relationship, city and situation, with euro equivalents, plus our indicative calculator.

The rule behind every Romanian wedding gift

Romanian weddings are big (often 150 to 250 guests), long (dinner, dancing and the hora until dawn) and paid for largely by the couple, who count on the gifts to balance the books. For every guest they pay a menu, drinks and a share of the band, photographer, flowers and cake. In 2026 the menu alone cost between 150 and 550 lei per person depending on city and venue (ievent.ro, 20-city analysis), while venue packages with the menu included ran from 280 to 800 lei per guest (nunto.ro).

So the etiquette is:

1. 1The floor: your gift covers at least the menu of each person who comes.
2. 2The extra: how far above that you go depends on how close you are.
3. 3Your budget: give what you can comfortably afford. The couple invited you, not your envelope.

For context, a July 2026 survey by Raiffeisen Bank Romania and Appinio (1,300 respondents, nationally representative) found that attending a wedding costs on average 1,700 lei per person (about €320) and 2,600 lei per couple (about €490), with the cash gift being the main expense for 87% of guests (Observator, survey details). The same survey found that 55% of Romanians have turned down a wedding invitation for financial reasons, so you are not alone if this feels like a lot.

The calculator above is indicative: it starts from a base amount per adult for the area, multiplies it by how close you are, and counts children partially. The tables below use exactly the same figures. As a rough conversion, the National Bank of Romania rate in October 2026 was about 5.34 lei to the euro (BNR).

How much to give by relationship

For a wedding in a large city (Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Brașov, Constanța):

A few notes:

• Single guests give a bit more per head, not half of a couple's gift: the seat costs the same.
• The survey average (2,600 lei per couple) sits between "friend" and "close relative", which is where most guests are.
• Siblings usually give more than the last row; Romanian guides suggest 2,500-4,500 lei (invitera.ro), and they often help in other ways too.
• Parents usually contribute directly to the wedding costs rather than through an envelope.

How much the city matters

The same friend gives a different amount in Cluj than in a village in the south, because menus cost differently. Indicative amounts for a couple of guests:

"Mid-sized town" means county seats such as Sibiu, Oradea, Arad, Pitești or Suceava. Village weddings are often larger, held in a marquee or a family courtyard, and in some regions (especially Moldavia and Oltenia) gifts are announced aloud by name at the end of the night. If in doubt, quietly ask someone in the family how it works locally.

Venue level, alone or with children

• A premium venue (castle, estate, five-star hotel, menus above €120 a head): make sure the envelope covers at least each person's menu, even if that takes you above the table.
• A modest venue: stay at the lower end. Nobody expects Bucharest amounts at a 200-lei menu.
• Bringing a plus-one the couple does not know: count yourselves as a couple, that seat was paid for too.
• Children with their own seat: add part of an adult's amount. The calculator counts a child as 40% of an adult, roughly 350-450 lei at a friend's wedding in a large city. Babies without a seat are not counted.

The godparents (nași)

Every Romanian Orthodox wedding has nași, usually a married couple who act as witnesses at the church and as the couple's mentors for life. They are a category of their own and are not in the calculator. Romanian guides put their envelope between 4,000 and 10,000 lei (about €750-1,870) (avantgarde.ro), and on top of that, depending on family and region, they may pay for the tall wedding candles, the church flowers, or part of the party. All of this is agreed openly with the couple. Our guide to Romanian wedding traditions explains their role in more detail.

Civil ceremony only, or if you cannot attend

In Romania the legally binding marriage happens at the town hall (cununia civilă), often on a different day from the church wedding and the big party. If you are invited only to the civil ceremony with a small meal, the gift is smaller: for a couple of friends, roughly 1,000-1,300 lei in a large city and 600-800 lei in a village. If it is just the ceremony and a glass of champagne, flowers or a thoughtful present are enough. If you are invited to both, the main gift goes to the party. See our guide to civil marriage in Romania.

If you cannot attend and you are close to the couple, it is customary to send around half of what you would have given, since you are not taking a seat (invitera.ro). Send it before the wedding or the week after, with a personal note. Most importantly, decline early: the couple pays the venue per confirmed guest.

Envelope, bank transfer or card: the etiquette

• Write your names clearly on the envelope and card. The couple will open dozens of them.
• When to give it: usually late in the evening when the couple visits the tables, or in the gift box at the entrance.
• Lei or euros: both are common. Lei is the neutral choice; euros are more frequent in big cities.
• Bank transfer or card: more and more couples add an IBAN to the invitation or even have a card terminal at the venue (Libertatea). Add a reference such as "Wedding gift from Anna and Michael" and still send a card or message.
• Gifts instead of money: fine if the couple has a list or has told you what they want; otherwise cash is the most practical.
• Don'ts: never comment on other people's gifts, never attach conditions, never ask the couple how much they collected.

For couples: the gift in your budget

If you are on the other side of the table, plan your budget as if the gifts did not exist: deposits are due months before, gifts arrive on the last night. Organisers in the Raiffeisen survey estimated an average budget of 60,000 lei (about €11,200); see how much a wedding costs in Romania. Record the gifts the very next day, while you still remember who sat where. In Celebrum, the budget and the gift log sit next to your guest list and RSVPs, on your own wedding website.

Going to a christening this year too? We have separate benchmarks for how much to give at a baptism.