Personally I prefer to give money for weddings, particularly as both DH and I have very large families (and hence soooo many weddings!) and I'm just too lazy to shop for the perfect present for all of them. In our tradition though, we usually give money as a gift so the married couple can put it towards what they want, and we will try to cover our 'per head' cost...usually that's a minimum of $100 for the 2 of us. People still also buy gifts which is fine also.

My main problem is when people specifically ask for money only - leaving u no option to buy a gift...I don't really think that's fair as like most of you have mentioned, not everyone is comfortable giving money or can afford a lot to give. Although I come from a background where giving money as a gift is the norm, I don't like to be told it's my only option! *lol*