A survey of 1,000 people planning to attend a ceremony in the next year found they’ll spend more than an average of $123 on accommodation, $117 on gifts, and $115 on outfits.
They’ll also splash out $106 for travel, $102 on a bachelor or a bachelorette party, $96 on alcohol, $93 on food, and an additional $86 on hair and makeup.
It takes the total to an eye-watering amount of more than $800 for just a single wedding.
With the average person planning on attending three weddings over the next 12 months, this means their costs could spike to thousands of dollars.
The study also found 54 percent felt pressured to spend more money than they would like when attending a wedding, and one of the main expenses is a wedding present.
It could explain why 51 percent plan on wearing the same outfit if they were attending multiple weddings, while going to more than one wedding within a year would also lead to 53 percent spending less on gifts.
The most popular gifts include cash (29 percent), personalized gifts (22 percent), white goods such as a freezer or washing machine (19 percent), or paying for part of the honeymoon (18 percent).
Despite nearly a third going for the easy option of giving cash to the newlyweds, personalized gifts are also appreciated. Half of those polled via OnePoll think it shows they care more than simply buying a generic gift, while 47 percent believe it shows the couple that they like personalized gifts – so they might receive something bespoke in the future.
It also emerged that 62 percent wished weddings were cheaper and two-thirds admitted they were concerned about the impact weddings could have on their finances.
While 45 percent believed weddings had become more expensive since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a determination not to let that hold them back, as 36 percent said more excited to attend now restrictions had been removed.
“With many people across the country planning to attend a number of weddings throughout the season, especially after the delays and backlog of the pandemic, people want to enjoy the big day.
“As our research shows, personalized gifts are a unique way to show your love, and finding one at the right price is all important for almost two-thirds of respondents.”
Total Cost of Attending a Wedding
Wedding outfit: $115. 52Alcohol: $96. 65Cost of travel: $106. 27Hair and makeup: $86. 67Food: $93. 76Bachelor/ette: $102. 06Wedding gift: $117. 69Accommodation: $123. 46Total: $838. 08
Produced in association with SWNS.
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.
