What to write in a wedding card with money: 49 lines

Money is a practical present but a silent one. An envelope says nothing about the people who filled it, and nothing about the couple opening it. One line fills that gap: a purpose, a picture, a small wish. It goes at the end of the card, after the congratulations it does not replace.

Where exactly the line sits, and why the figure never appears, is covered in what to write in a wedding card. How much to give is a separate question with its own rules of thumb, answered in how much money to give as a wedding gift, and the cash gift calculator gives you a starting figure. This page supplies only the words, and every line fits any amount.

If you are the couple looking for a way to ask for money, that is a different job, covered in honeymoon fund wording. Everything here is written for guests.

The honeymoon is the easiest purpose to write about: a travel moment is concrete, and the couple will think of you while they are away. If they have set up a honeymoon fund with named experiences, a dinner, a boat trip, a night somewhere special, echo their wording. If you know nothing about their plans, one of these will do.

• For a long lunch somewhere with a view, and no one checking the time.
• A little something for the honeymoon fund, so you can say yes to the boat trip without looking at the price.
• For one dinner on your honeymoon where you order dessert without discussing it first.
• Towards the flights, the ferries or the hire car: whichever gets you somewhere wonderful.
• For the upgrade you would never have booked for yourselves.
• For postcards, sun cream and at least one ridiculous souvenir.
• For the excursion you both pretended not to want until you saw the photos.
• If the honeymoon is already booked, consider this the start of the anniversary trip.
• Towards your travels, with one condition: a single photo of the view, sent to us.
• For the honeymoon, whenever it happens and however many weekends it turns out to be.

If you do not know the plans, do not pin them down. "For your travels" works whether the honeymoon is next week, two years away or a string of long weekends. If the couple are deliberately not travelling, because of children or work, the lines in the next sections are the better choice; a travel line would only point at what is not happening.

For a couple moving in together, buying or renovating, a contribution to the home can mean more than any trip. Whether it is called a deposit or a down payment, the lines stay deliberately open about which room or which bill; that decision belongs to the couple.

• Towards the house fund, and the first night you sleep under your own roof.
• A small contribution to the deposit, with all our fingers crossed for moving day.
• For the garden: a tree, a bench or simply enough compost to get started.
• For a kitchen table big enough for all your friends. We are volunteering to test it.
• For the paint, the curtains and the arguments about both.
• For the dull but essential things nobody puts on a registry: the boiler, the gutters, the good ladder.
• For the removal van, the parcel tape and the takeaway on the first night.
• Wherever you settle, may it feel like home from the first cup of tea.

If they have lived together for years and own everything already, the lines still fit: a home is never finished, and most couples have something they have meant to replace or repair for ages. If you know what it is, the balcony they keep talking about or the kitchen they have outgrown, write exactly that.

Often you do not know what the couple are saving for, and you would rather not decide for them. Then a line that leaves the purpose open but still sounds warm does the job. If they have named a goal, on a registry cash fund for example, the last two lines are for putting it in their own words. In Australia the box for cards and envelopes at the reception is often called a wishing well, and these lines work just as well there.

• For whatever you are dreaming about together.
• For the wedding fund, with every good wish for what you make of it.
• A small start on something big.
• For the thing you keep putting off. Now there is no excuse.
• We had no idea what to buy you, which is the best reason there is to let you choose.
• For a weekend just for the two of you, some time after the thank-you cards are done.
• Towards [the goal, in the couple's own words]. We are delighted to be a small part of it.
• You asked for help with [their goal], and we are very happy to give it.

Here is how it looks in a complete card, with congratulations, a line of your own, the money line and a sign-off: "Dear Maya and Tom, congratulations! Ever since that evening by the lake we have known you two belonged together. For whatever you are dreaming about together. All our love, Priya and Sam". The money line is the shortest sentence on the card, which is exactly right.

If a couple are clearly saving for something big, a house or a long trip, a line with a picture of the future usually reads better than one naming an object. "A small start on something big" suits them better than "for the new sofa".

The front of the envelope is more than decoration. The names belong there, so the couple know later who the gift came from; a few words about its purpose make it personal before it is even opened. Some families have customs of their own, such as the red envelope used at many Chinese weddings; where a tradition like that applies, follow it, and the lines still fit inside.

On the front of the envelope

• For [couple's names], for the travel fund. From [your names]
• For [couple's names] and their new home. With love, [your names]
• To be opened the morning after. From [your names]

Rhyming

• A plain white envelope, it's true, but full of good wishes, just for you.
• No box to wrap, no bow to tie, just room for something you'd like to buy.
• We couldn't guess what you'd like best, so here's a start; you choose the rest.
• For sandy toes and sunset skies, and every holiday surprise.
• Your bags are packed, your flight is due; the first round's on us, with love to you.
• For every shelf and every hook, and every meal you'll ever cook.

A rhyme works best where it stands alone, on an envelope or a tag. Inside a card with a message of its own, a plain line without rhyme is usually enough.

With a wink

• Guaranteed not to clash with your décor.
• No batteries required, no assembly needed, and it will never end up in the loft.
• We checked, and you already own a toaster. This seemed the next best thing.

Humour suits money well, because it eases the slight awkwardness many people feel about handing over cash. Keep the joke on the gift, though, never on the couple or their finances.

Not every cash gift comes in an envelope, and not every one comes from a single person.

By bank transfer or app

A bank transfer, an Interac e-Transfer in Canada, a payment app in the US or a cash fund on the registry: the reference or message field is short, and the couple see it exactly as typed. Put your names first so the payment can be matched even when the text is cut off.

• [Your names]: wedding gift, love to you both
• [Your names]: for the honeymoon fund
• Congratulations from [your names]!
• For the card itself: Our present has gone straight to your account, so there is no envelope to hunt for tonight.

By cheque

Write the cheque to the names the couple use now, not to a married name one of them may not have taken. In the US, a check made out to two people joined by "and" generally needs both signatures before it can be deposited, while "or" lets either of them bank it.

From a group or a team

• From all of us together, so it adds up to something worth having. Congratulations!
• The whole team has clubbed together and wishes you both a great deal of fun with it, at home or away.
• From the whole gang, on one condition: at least one dinner out of it, together.

Whoever organises the collection should enclose a list of everyone who took part, so the couple can thank each person. The card carries the names, never the individual amounts.

From parents or grandparents

• For your start together, with all our love and no strings attached.
• We had help when we were starting out, and we are glad to pass it on. Spend it on whatever makes you happy.

A larger sum from family deserves a few personal words rather than a line from a list. Saying plainly that nothing is expected in return spares the couple from feeling they must account for how they spend it.

When the amount is small

• With love and every good wish, for something nice for the two of you.
• For a coffee for two on a quiet Sunday, with wishes for many more.

A small amount needs no explanation. A warm, specific line makes it a gift worth remembering, while an apology only puts the figure in the spotlight.

The same lines work for an anniversary, such as a silver wedding anniversary or a golden wedding anniversary; only phrases like "first home" or "first year" need changing.