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Sep 27, 2009
Hongbao headache
$100? $120? $160? How much hongbao money should one give for a wedding dinner without losing face - or a friend?
By Cheryl Tan
TCM practitioner Norfery Ngoh and his China-born wife --PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NORFERY NGOH
View more photos
YOU have the wedding dinner invite. But the bride is not the only one with jitters on her big day. You, the guest, are fretting over what to wear or how to make conversation with a table of strangers.
Hotel wedding dinner prices
Use this list of hotel wedding dinner prices as a guide to how much hongbao to give:
CAPELLA SINGAPORE
... more
And you wonder: How much should you put in the customary red packet or hongbao for Chinese weddings held at hotels?
The knotty issue is rearing its head as the wedding season gets underway following the end of the Hungry Ghost Festival.
How much hongbao money is enough?
The going rate seems to be around $80 to $120 a person, although it can go as high as $174 at swanky hotels.
Most people usually take into account which hotel the dinner is held and add a little more based on their relationship with the person, says executive consultant of wedding consulting firm Wedding Acts, Jonathan Goh, 38.
'You don't want to 'under-give' as that would be impolite and you should at least cover the cost of your seat at the table,' he says. He always makes sure to give at least 30 to 50 per cent more than the cost of his dinner.
'It also depends on my relationship with the couple and how generous I'm feeling at the moment,' he adds.
His generosity when it comes to wedding hongbaos stems from a bad experience during his own wedding eight years ago at Grand Hyatt hotel.
He recalled receiving a hongbao of $40 from a long-time friend and former classmate who also brought his girlfriend to the dinner, which cost $80 a head.
Sep 27, 2009
Hongbao headache
$100? $120? $160? How much hongbao money should one give for a wedding dinner without losing face - or a friend?
By Cheryl Tan
TCM practitioner Norfery Ngoh and his China-born wife --PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NORFERY NGOH
View more photos
YOU have the wedding dinner invite. But the bride is not the only one with jitters on her big day. You, the guest, are fretting over what to wear or how to make conversation with a table of strangers.
Hotel wedding dinner prices
Use this list of hotel wedding dinner prices as a guide to how much hongbao to give:
CAPELLA SINGAPORE
... more
And you wonder: How much should you put in the customary red packet or hongbao for Chinese weddings held at hotels?
The knotty issue is rearing its head as the wedding season gets underway following the end of the Hungry Ghost Festival.
How much hongbao money is enough?
The going rate seems to be around $80 to $120 a person, although it can go as high as $174 at swanky hotels.
Most people usually take into account which hotel the dinner is held and add a little more based on their relationship with the person, says executive consultant of wedding consulting firm Wedding Acts, Jonathan Goh, 38.
'You don't want to 'under-give' as that would be impolite and you should at least cover the cost of your seat at the table,' he says. He always makes sure to give at least 30 to 50 per cent more than the cost of his dinner.
'It also depends on my relationship with the couple and how generous I'm feeling at the moment,' he adds.
His generosity when it comes to wedding hongbaos stems from a bad experience during his own wedding eight years ago at Grand Hyatt hotel.
He recalled receiving a hongbao of $40 from a long-time friend and former classmate who also brought his girlfriend to the dinner, which cost $80 a head.
