Everyone always talks about how much money it costs to organise a wedding, but have you ever wondered how much it costs being a wedding guest? Think outfit, travel, accommodation and gift and your friend or family member’s big day could quickly become a costly affair.
This year, none of my friends have tied the knot, but in summer 2016, one of my best friends Andrea will get married to her lovely fiancée Michael. As we’re living in different countries now, costs will, of course, be a little higher than when you are attending your average local wedding, but to be honest, I don’t really care. I can’t wait to share her special day with her and her fiancée and quite frankly, I’d fly out to Australia, if I had to. Being single means, I can do whatever pleases me without having to justify my spending to anyone but myself – not everyone is that lucky though!
Financial experts Experian have asked 2,000 Brits about the costs involved in being a wedding guest and you might be surprised by their findings: 1 in 6 people have missed the nuptials because they couldn’t afford the big day and a whopping 25% of the questioned Brits admitted that they had had arguments with their partners because of the huge cost that comes with being a wedding guest.
With an average spending of £800 to £2000 per year, being a wedding guest is not cheap, but if you set some simple rules as a couple, you won’t only be able to keep your spending down, but you will also avoid unnecessary arguments and confrontation.
For lots of interesting facts about being a wedding guest, check out the infographic below and if you are in need of some tips on how to agree on spending rules as a couple, check out this article on the cost per wedding guest over on the Experian blog .
Do you agree with the figures mentioned above and have you and your partner ever argued about spending too much at a wedding? I’d love to find out in the comments below!
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When we attended our daughters wedding earlier this year we took stuff to cash converters to fund the petrol money up and back as well as the associated costs of being up there. We stayed at her house so had no accommodation costs but nothing else was for free.
I did my outfit from charity shops knowing that as she was marrying into serious money that nothing I could afford to buy new would ever look as good as what the rest of the wedding party were going in, so me being me I did my own thing. I looked good and felt good and did not have to worry about paying off a debt afterwards
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Thankfully I’ve only been to a couple of weddings and the one this year was a very relaxed day in a marquee on their farm – so dresses and wellies if needs be. I like the folky style weddings as they make for less formality, plus the bride and groom did not have a wedding list. A cheap day really but very lovely 🙂
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this is a great post and I think it is very expensive to be a wedding guest unless you are careful. Our dearest friends have just tied the knot and between outfits for the kids, foot wear for us (we were bridesmaid and usher so it didn’t cost us for outfits), an over night stay, Money for drinks etc and gifts we were about £500 out of pocket by the end of things.
It was so worth it and we budgeted for it so it wasn’t a drama, but if you had two or three weddings every year. Wow. That’s a lot of money!! H 🙂 x
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It really adds up, doesn’t it? You just think “Oh, it’s only a couple of drinks and a gift”, but you’re bound to get a new outfit and have to spend money on travel and an overnight stay.
Completely agree with this – weddings cost so much to attend when you take all the costs in to account!
Oh my goodness yes! It can get very awkward, especially when you add on extravagant hen/stag parties. If you’ve got a few weddings in one year it can stack up. I remember at one point hoping my dear friends wouldn’t get married because I couldn’t afford it! Luckily she got distracted by a baby 🙂
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When we got married we decided to go away and only invited my husbands mum and dad. In the end two of my friends asked if they could come too which was such a lovely gesture as i didn’t want them to have to go to such expense.
When i’m lucky enough to be invited to attend a wedding i wear an outfit i already own and spend the majority of the money on the gift. I have a friend who goes to a lot of weddings and buys a new outfit every time, then gets a fake tan, hairdressers appointment etc before travel, gift and accommodation expenses. It’s madness.
I can not believe that so many people borrow money to go to a wedding and do not know or have not thought about how to pay it back. Luckily I have only attended one wedding in the last eight years and it was local so no accommodation.
Last wedding I went to we spent about £500 for our family of 4 to attend, this included transport, 3 outfits and 2 nights in a hotel, my husband took on extra hours to pay for it