I'd say the cultures are 180 polar opposites Bitt. There are a number of people in this country that share the same cultural cues you've mentioned, but as I said, since this area is heavily multi-cultural with strong ties to tradition and heritage, it's important for a great many people to preserve that and follow these customs. If you're invited to a wedding, it's the bride and groom's thing and you should follow their customs.

Yes, I was told by the bride. The people who didn't bring anything literally brought nothing. Not even a greeting card.

I've not been to any wedding reception that was anything like a regular party so it's pointless to compare the two trying to draw some type of parity in acceptable gifts.

I don't like the concept of a registry for the same reasons some other people mentioned. Besides, I've been living with my fiancée for 5 years and we have pretty much everything we want and need. I could register for things like a 50" LCD TV or a Nikon D300, but that's just stupid.

I don't pre-evaluate how much a wedding is going to cost before deciding how much to give. But I'd never give a gift or cash of less than $100 or $150 (double including my SO).

Your wife was right that it was a man posting this, but that's more to do with where it's being posted rather than the contents. After all I told you it was the bride that mentioned this to me. The couple were both offended. It's definitely a cultural thing and I imagine in the US due to the melting-pot effect the situation is going to be a lot different and more homogeneous. Maybe I should have done a better job setting up the context so as not to receive posts saying that *I* was cheap - this wasn't my wedding. I respect the customs and cultural differences of others, so even though I'd always bring something, if I was going to a wedding where cash was not appropriate, I'd obviously bring something else. But out of the 20 or more weddings I've been to, I've never been to one where cash wasn't appropriate. And I'm talking about a few large bills with a nice card and a good hand-written note. Not a paper bag with 5's and 10's.

In this area of the country you have to be open and aware of a wide assortment of customs and traditions and acting as if the society is one white soup is just insulting in my opinion. And that's what was going on here with the people from work complaining. They were putting their own opinions (and extreme tackiness with regards to the humidifier lady) ahead of the customs of the people being celebrated.

For many people it's still standard practice that the parents (usually of the bride) will pay for and set up the whole wedding. These friends paid for everything themselves as far as I know and I'll expect to do the same for my own.