First let me start by saying that by 'Canadians' I don't just mean people who live in Canada. In contrast to the places I've been to in the US, Southern Ontario isn't really a melting pot. There are more nationalities and ethnicities living here than anywhere else I can think of and most keep strong roots to their cultures and customs.

So this past weekend I attended the wedding of a couple of our friends. These are people my fiancée met through work over two years ago and we've become somewhat close. The wedding ceremony and reception were at a private golf club and the setup was quite decent, with a candle-lit sunset ceremony and all.

Since we're planning a reception of our own for next June I'm always curious about costs and "income." Long story short, these friends made back less than half of what it cost them to host the function. WTF!

I know their per-plate cost and we put in about 3x that for the both of us. Obviously many didn't cover their plate cost. That's bloody rude. But to make matters more embarrassing, a couple of people didn't bring a gift of any kind!

The expected gift in many cultures is cash. That's certainly the case for most European and asian cultures. The bride is Vietnamese/Chinese and the groom Polish. As is custom in Chinese tradition they sent out a small red envelope with the invitations. Many people at their work were "offended" that they would expect cash as a gift. WTF! Have these people never been to a wedding in this country that wasn't some anglo-trash cold-cut and beer setup?

personally, I wouldn't think of attending someone's wedding and giving anything but cash unless they specifically asked for something else instead, like via a registry for instance, and mentioned something about not wanting currency.