Wedding shagun: how much, and when to hand it over

Wedding shagun is the highest-stakes envelope in Indian social life, mostly because everyone can see you hand it over and somebody is writing your name in a register.

The amount

It scales with closeness and with what the family gave at your own functions, many households genuinely keep a book. As a rough map:

• Colleague or acquaintance: ₹1,101 to ₹2,101.
• Friend, ₹2,101 to ₹5,101.
• Close friend or extended family: ₹5,101 to ₹11,001.
• Immediate family: whatever has been decided at home, and it is rarely your decision alone.

Always ending in one, always. And if the family gave you ₹5,101 at your wedding, ₹5,101 is the floor, not the target.

When to give it

At the reception, usually during or just after the stage photo, handed to the couple directly or dropped in the box beside them. Not at the mehendi, not at the haldi, those are for the family, not for envelopes.

Write your name on it

The single most common mistake. An unmarked envelope in a stack of two hundred means the couple has no idea who to thank, and it is the reason the register exists. If you are sending a digital one, your name is already on it, which is one small advantage.